Vittorio Emanuele di Savoia-Carignano, Principe di Savoia

What it cost

Coffee and diet of the poor

In the mid-19th century, luxury items like a cup of coffee cost 2 grana, a price that laborers often paid daily as a digestive despite their poverty. At the same time, many workers lived as mangiafoglie, eating pasta only occasionally because it was expensive relative to their daily wages.

What people wore

Folk costumes signaled social status

Folk costumes in rural Italy served as detailed social markers, where the quality of dye, the number of buttons, or even the type of metal in a finger ring signaled a wearer's wealth and marital status. These traditional outfits, often featuring unique local embroidery and lace, were brought out specifically for harvest festivals and religious processions.

Daily life

School uniforms and lack of toilets

School children wore mandatory aprons; boys wore black with blue bows, while girls wore white with pink bows, with stripes on the sleeves indicating their grade. Due to severe facility shortages, some students had to relieve themselves in school courtyards or nearby outhouses because toilets were often absent.

Work

Eight-Hour Workday in Pazzano Mines

In the Pazzano iron mines, a regulation established in 1845 set a working day of eight hours, which was notably shorter than the 10 to 16 hours common elsewhere in the Kingdom.

Music

Pifferari musicians perform for the Madonna

As Christmas approached, wandering musicians known as pifferari traveled from the mountains to Rome, playing bagpipes and oboe-like pifferi to perform devotional concerts before images of the Madonna.

At the table

Frugal flavor for polenta

For peasant families, one salted herring was considered sufficient to flavor a large serving of polenta for at least three people.