Francesco di Ferdinando de' Medici

What people wore

Ordinary People Wore Fashionable Silk Garments

Ordinary people, including shoemakers and tailors, often wore fashionable items like silk breeches, velvet berets, and garments decorated with silk ribbons, sometimes defying strict sumptuary laws.

Daily life

Schooling for children in Savoy towns

Towns such as Chambery and Montmelian paid schoolmasters, supported by ecclesiastical institutions or private patronage.

News and letters

Improved speed of mail delivery

Thanks to improved efficiency, mail sent by the ordinary service that previously took two weeks could reach its destination in just five days.

Music

The Popular Pavane Dance

The solemn, slow-moving pavane was a popular dance used by nobles for grand entries and festivities, often accompanied by drums, oboes, trombones, and violins.

What it cost

Wheat price surge in Parma

The controlled price of wheat in Parma's public market surged from 117.18 soldi in 1588 to a peak of 402 soldi per unit in 1592 during a severe subsistence crisis.

Getting around

Travel was primarily on foot

For the vast majority of people in the Duchy of Savoy, traveling meant going on foot, as they lacked the means for other forms of transport.

Work

Common trades and dual employment

Common jobs included construction workers like masons, stonecutters, and carpenters, as well as domestic servants and daily laborers working in trades, commerce, or agriculture. Urban residents often pursued a double activity, maintaining small plots of land near the city alongside their main trade.