Luigi di Borbone, Conte di Roccaguglielma

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.

Daily life

Cost of meals and daily dreams

In some areas, public soup kitchens served meals for a modest fee of 11 centesimi per portion. Meanwhile, the urban poor in cities like Naples sometimes dreamed of basic comforts they lacked, such as a clean house with fresh air, white bedsheets, and regular meals of meat and pasta.

What it cost

Food costs for the poor in Naples

For one soldo, a poor person in Naples could buy a slice of pizza, a small cone of fried fish, or six small, slightly worm-eaten pears.

What people wore

Wedding attire and color norms

For weddings, pastel colors were still common in this period, and it was considered inappropriate for brides over 25 years old to wear a white dress and veil.

Getting around

Travel by foot and mule

In many mountainous and southern areas, people could only reach towns on foot or by mule along uncomfortable mountain paths until roads were improved.

At the table

Pizza as an affordable daily meal

Poor Neapolitans could purchase a slice of pizza for one soldo, a common price for a simple meal including items like fried fish or boiled corn.