Rinaldo Francesco d'Este

What people wore

Sardinian Costume as Cultural Identity

During the second half of the 18th century, traditional Sardinian costume became a distinct and exclusive form of cultural heritage that served as a tool for ethnic and social identification. Although garments varied by village, they were deeply rooted in the daily lives of the population.

Daily life

Primitive one-room homes for the poor

For the poor, homes were primitive, one-room ground-floor dwellings built from raw bricks or stone with packed-earth or cobblestone floors and no windows. The hearth was dug into the floor in the center of the room, and the home contained only a large parents' bed and mats for the children.

Work

Servant wages and rural conditions

Servants were often paid in a mix of money and goods, with annual wages typically ranging from 4 to 7 scudi for women and 6 to 10 scudi for men. Rural servants frequently had to endure harsh, primitive conditions, living in the open countryside with livestock for years at a time.

Music

Common dances: baddu pasturinu and baddu tundu

In this period, people frequently performed two main types of dances: the baddu pasturinu (pastoral dance) for pairs and the baddu tundu (round dance) for groups holding hands in a circle.

At the table

Tomatoes were a daily staple food

During the eighteenth century, tomatoes were already part of the daily diet in Sardinia and were preserved for long-term use with vinegar, a preparation known as sa pibarda.

Getting around

Hours spent walking to fields

Commuting to distant fields often took several hours of walking, because agricultural lands were generally far from the villages.

What it cost

Cost of game and poultry

In Nice, part of the Kingdom of Sardinia at the time, a capon, a brace of partridges, or a good hare cost 30 sols.