Federico Ubaldo della Rovere, Duke of Urbino

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

Letter travel time: Turin to Paris

During the early seventeenth century, a letter typically took about a week to travel between Turin and Paris, although this was subject to weather conditions across the Alps.

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

Strict grain rationing in Parma

During the 1590-1593 famine, authorities strictly limited grain transactions, prohibiting any individual deal involving more than 4.7 kg of grain to prevent hoarding.

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

Public works for the poor

In 1591, the construction of the Parma Citadel was ordered specifically to provide employment for a labor force of 2,500 poor city residents.