Margherita de' Medici

What people wore

Passing Down Heirloom Clothing and Textiles

Clothing and accessories were historically valued as tools for social integration and communication, and they were commonly passed down from one generation to the next. Items were analyzed in archives through inventories, jewelry lists, and fabric samples that documented how people dressed.

At the table

Rural diet of beans and chestnuts

During times of severe famine, country dwellers survived by consuming minimal food, such as beans and chestnuts, as cities prioritized their own limited grain supplies over feeding the rural population.

News and letters

The Cost of Sending a Letter

Sending a letter by the ordinary postal service cost between 7 and 9 Milanese soldi per ounce, which was roughly equivalent to the price of three or four loaves of bread.

Getting around

Travel and Communication in the Duchy

In the early 17th century, the Via Emilia was a vital, though sometimes poorly maintained, route for transit between Piacenza, Parma, and Bologna, featuring regular services by couriers and messengers who operated on fixed schedules. Travel on this route was managed via post stations where riders could change horses to maintain efficient communication networks.

What it cost

Fixed bread prices in Parma

In Parma, bread was sold at prices fixed by public authorities, and poor city dwellers could buy lower-quality bread made from pulses and cereals at state-run shops during times of famine.

Daily life

Cooking with a swivel arm and alcoves

In the rural Apennines, families cooked using a swivel arm called a cadnil to hold pots over an open fire, often inside a large wooden hood. Wealthier families built alcoves into the wall beside the hearth where they could rest in the warmth.

Work

Barber-surgeons in Parma

Barber-surgeons were the most numerous medical workers in Parma, often performing both grooming tasks like shaving and invasive procedures such as bloodletting using razors and lancets.