Francesco I de' Medici

What people wore

The trend of men wearing beards

While once clean-shaven faces were common, by the mid-sixteenth century, about ninety-five out of every hundred Florentine men adopted the trend of wearing beards, which was considered more masculine. Those who chose to remain clean-shaven were often mocked as old-fashioned and labeled with the derisive term zazzeroni.

Daily life

Schooling for children in Florence

Merchant children attended practical abacus schools to learn reading, writing, and arithmetic for trade, while wealthier families hired private tutors to teach Latin, grammar, and geometry. Girls were traditionally taught domestic arts, though some progressive families began to push for broader education.

Work

Limited annual work days

Florentines did not work more than 230 days per year due to numerous mandatory, unpaid feast days that broke the annual work rhythm. Apprenticeships often began between ages 10 and 11, and families sometimes had to pay the employer to have their children trained.

Music

Recycling popular tunes for religious hymns

Popular Carnival melodies were often recycled for religious use as hymns through a process called contrafacture, allowing people to sing spiritual texts to familiar tunes.

At the table

Daily meals for poor families

Poor Florentine families typically ate three modest daily meals: bread soaked in wine upon waking, a midday lunch, and dinner after sunset. Saltless bread was the foundational staple for every meal, supplemented by affordable vegetables like onions, fava beans, and black cabbage.

Getting around

Pack animals dominated 16th-century travel

In the 16th century, travel across mountain routes was done exclusively by pack animals like mules, as carriages could not navigate the terrain. Large carts used on flat roads were often pulled by oxen, while carriages were rare and uncomfortable, lacking suspension.

What it cost

Desperate food sources during famine

In desperate conditions, the poor consumed unusual sources of food; mice were purchased for one giulio each, and cats were sold for forty soldi.