Do you have a "barbiere" (barber) in your Family Tree?

It's by researching old Italian records that we often discover unique information that can help us weave a real story. For instance: the family residence, the parents' names and what they did for a living. There were farmers, carpenters, shoemakers, blacksmiths, stone cutters and yes, barbers.

The word "barber" comes from the Latin word "barba" meaning beard but in ancient times, barbers were not just trimming beards. The first barber shops also known as tonsores opened in Rome around 300 BC and in between haircuts and shavings, barbers were known to practice teeth extractions, abscess incisions and cauterization of wounds.

Until at least the 1700s, doctors were always considered intellectuals, not adept to manual work which was traditionally practiced by barbers, i.e. bloodletting. And that’s where the traditional barber pole comes from; those barbers who practiced bloodletting would let people know by showing the barber pole outside their shops. The colors (red and blue) and the white stripes represented: red for the arteries, blue for the veins and white for the long bandages that were used to bind the wounds after surgery.

Well things have changed since then and today barbers only deal with hairs, beards and yes love affairs at least for that one barber in Seville…

Do you know what your Italian Ancestors did for a living? More at: www.myitalianfamily.com