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Donna Francesca di Paola Lucchesi-Palli

12 Oct 1836 – 10 May 1923

8 facts1 source

Facts and their sources

A life in time

  1. 12 Oct 1836

    Born

  2. 1868

    A son is born

  3. 10 May 1923

    Dies, aged 86

During her lifetime

She lived through 10 decades. Pick one to hear and see what it was like.

General history, not a record about the family: each item says where it comes from.

The 1830s · Donna is born

In the news1835–1837

Deadly cholera epidemic hits Italy in 1835

A cholera epidemic struck Italy between 1835 and 1837, resulting in over 140,000 deaths, including nearly 20,000 in Naples alone. Poor sanitation in urban centers favored the spread of the disease, which disproportionately affected the poor.

Getting around

Travel by mule and lettiga in Sicily

In Sicily, travel was often done by mule or in a lettiga, a carriage-like box without wheels carried by two mules that moved at about three miles per hour. This unconventional vehicle was notoriously noisy due to bells and prone to swaying on uneven ground.

At the table

Scrap fish for a soldo

For one soldo, a poor resident could buy a small paper cone of fried fish known as fragaglia, which were the scraps from the bottom of fishmongers' baskets.

Photography is born. The daguerreotype was presented in Paris: for the first time a face or a street could be kept exactly as it looked.Around the world · 1839

Photography is born. The daguerreotype was presented in Paris: for the first time a face or a street could be kept exactly as it looked.

Unknown · public domain

What people wore

Cleanliness of Sorrento peasant women

Sorrento peasant women were noted for their cleanliness, never being seen in public without being combed and wearing footwear, even on regular work days.

Music

Music in religious festivals

Religious processions and festivals were vibrant musical events where people sang devotional songs and participated in popular theatre performances. These celebrations often merged music, dance, and collective banqueting to strengthen community bonds.

Daily life

Peasant homes in Fardella

Peasant homes in Fardella typically consisted of a ground floor for stables and storage, and a single first-floor room where families cooked, ate, and slept; they lacked both drinking water and electricity.