Are these Italian men wearing uniforms or costumes?

Question

Hi. I just connected these men to my family tree. I believe this photo was taken in Italy around 1890 (at least I'm quite certain that the man in the middle was born in 1858 in Milano). I only found one ship called Rivadavia, but it was built in 1910. 

Are these uniforms, or costumes from the photography house? 

https://imgur.com/VAmWI6X

Comments

the name on the cap,may be ship they served on.Do not know how you would prove that.

Answer 1

Dear Yisela,

   I searched with the terms "image Italian sailor uniform from 1890" and a stock photo came up that looks just the same as your men.  The pants in the photo were dark, not white.  There was no description, however, as I searched for an image.  

   You may be able to find a uniform description in old navy documents, if you read Italian.  Hope this helps! -NGP

Comments

I did some searches as well but the bigger issue here, I think, is that the Rivadavia was an Argentine ship, not Italian.

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Aha, nevermind. I see that Yisela has a lot of family that started out in Italy and ended up in Argentina. 

Still, that means the uniforms would be Argentine, not Italian.

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Nanette, great idea! I followed your advice and googled for those words, and look at this and this. They are uniforms from the Royal Navy, and... well, they look EXACTLY like these men's uniforms. I then googled "Royal Navy RIvadavia", and there is a connection, however the year is still not right. The Rivadavia was built in 1910. Do I maybe have the wrong man? You can see the comparison photo I used, where I took the birth date from. If Luigi was born in 1858, that would make him 52 in that photo :/

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That could be him, but it may not be. The ship was never under the control of any country but Argentina. Any sailors from the ship would have worn Argentine naval uniforms, not British or Italian. Did Luigi emigrate from Italy to Argentina?