Louis Gonzaga

Getting around

Dangerous mountain travel required extreme caution

Traveling the Apennines was so dangerous and arduous that travelers often made wills and held religious ceremonies before departing to protect themselves from bandits and accidents. Even royal visitors, like Galeazzo Sforza in 1471, had to have their carriages dismantled and moved by mule back.

Daily life

Schooling for children in Florence

Merchant children attended practical abacus schools to learn reading, writing, and arithmetic for trade, while wealthier families hired private tutors to teach Latin, grammar, and geometry. Girls were traditionally taught domestic arts, though some progressive families began to push for broader education.

What people wore

The trend of men wearing beards

While once clean-shaven faces were common, by the mid-sixteenth century, about ninety-five out of every hundred Florentine men adopted the trend of wearing beards, which was considered more masculine. Those who chose to remain clean-shaven were often mocked as old-fashioned and labeled with the derisive term zazzeroni.

Music

Popular Carnival songs and street theater

Florentine Carnival songs were popular secular tunes performed by costumed groups during street festivals, often featuring witty, satirical lyrics about different trades.

At the table

Meat as a rare treat

When a pig was slaughtered, it was customary for neighbors to share blood sausage as a gesture of friendship and good luck. Meat was otherwise rarely consumed by the poor, reserved primarily for special occasions like holidays.