Francesco de' Medici

At the table

Strict bread rationing for the poor

To ensure urban stability during food shortages, authorities strictly rationed bread, forcing the poor to eat smaller loaves made from a mixture of less valuable cereals and pulses. In contrast, fine flour bread was reserved exclusively for city residents.

What people wore

Passing Down Heirloom Clothing and Textiles

Clothing and accessories were historically valued as tools for social integration and communication, and they were commonly passed down from one generation to the next. Items were analyzed in archives through inventories, jewelry lists, and fabric samples that documented how people dressed.

Getting around

Travel and Communication in the Duchy

In the early 17th century, the Via Emilia was a vital, though sometimes poorly maintained, route for transit between Piacenza, Parma, and Bologna, featuring regular services by couriers and messengers who operated on fixed schedules. Travel on this route was managed via post stations where riders could change horses to maintain efficient communication networks.

What it cost

Grain sale limits during famine

During the famine years around 1590–1593, authorities prohibited the sale of grain in quantities larger than 4.7 kg to prevent speculation.

Music

Music in Homes and Religious Devotion

During the early seventeenth century, music was an integral part of home life, with keyboard tablatures enabling people to play compositions like dances or sacred works on instruments such as the organ, harpsichord, or clavichord. Meanwhile, religious life featured cradle devotions at Christmas, where music was played while rocking a cradle representing the Christ child.

Daily life

Schooling for the noble elite

Duke Ranuccio I founded a boarding school for noble boys in 1601, where students learned French, dancing, horsemanship, and fortification design. High fees were charged for this exclusive education that attracted pupils from across Europe.