Alexander Farnese

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.

What people wore

The everyday lucco robe for men

In summer, Florentine men of age eighteen or older often wore a long black robe called a lucco, which was made of serge or black cloth and reached nearly to their heels. For winter, this comfortable garment was often lined with fur or velvet to provide additional warmth.

Getting around

Dangerous mountain travel required extreme caution

Traveling the Apennines was so dangerous and arduous that travelers often made wills and held religious ceremonies before departing to protect themselves from bandits and accidents. Even royal visitors, like Galeazzo Sforza in 1471, had to have their carriages dismantled and moved by mule back.

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.

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.

Daily life

Diet and food preservation methods

Because refrigerators did not exist, food was heavily spiced to help preserve it, leading to gout among the rich who consumed significant amounts of meat. Poorer families relied on simpler diets consisting mainly of vegetables, legumes, and animal innards.