Constança Maria de Mendoça Rolim de Moura Barreto, Duchess of Loulé

What people wore

Women's practical footwear and dress

Women in the Beira Litoral region often went barefoot, carrying clogs or slippers in their hands to put on when entering towns. They would tuck up their skirts with a sash tied around their hips for ease of movement.

Daily life

Small, multipurpose homes with central kitchens

Many popular homes were small, multipurpose spaces where a fireplace in the kitchen served as the central point for cooking, eating, and even sleeping. For the poorest families, dwellings often lacked basic furniture such as beds, relying on chests or arks instead.

Music

Nuns as skilled musicians

Nuns in monasteries were skilled musicians who played instruments like the organ, harpsichord, and harp, and they sometimes commissioned and performed complex concertato music.

At the table

Daily routines and tavern meals

Workers often started their day at 6 am with a mata-bicho, consisting of bread and a glass of aguardente, before heading to work. Frequent tavern meals were also common, where men might eat half a loaf of bread, some mackerel, and a quartilho (about 0.5 liters) of wine.

Getting around

Travel by boat and pack mule

Travelers heading from Aveiro to Oporto frequently used boats and then continued on pack mules, often riding without stirrups or reins while the muleteer dictated the pace.