Adeline Landegen

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

Compulsory schooling and common truancy challenges

Schooling was compulsory for children aged 6 to 9, but truancy was common because parents often prioritized farm labor. In 1885, a teacher might struggle to manage a class, and when school facilities were rented, they often lacked basic furniture or toilets.

What it cost

Domestic servant wages in Naples

In Naples, a domestic servant could earn as little as 8 lire per month, while a housemaid might earn 30 lire.

What people wore

Holy Day respect in clean clothing

On feast days, laboring men and women carefully preserved special clothes to wear, as wearing a clean, pure white shirt or jacket was considered a necessary sign of respect toward God.

Getting around

Stagecoach travel was slow and exhausting

Before widespread rail, stagecoaches were primary for intercity travel, with a journey from Bologna to Florence taking up to 15 hours. Travel was slow, often requiring numerous stops at post stations to change horses.

At the table

Polenta as a daily staple

By around 1870, peasant families in the Veneto region relied so heavily on cornmeal that they ate two to three kilograms of polenta daily, spending up to 60% of their income on it.