Prince Vittorio Emanuele, Count of Turin

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

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

Street pizza for a soldo

In late 19th-century Naples, poor families often bought ready-to-eat slices of pizza from street vendors for one soldo, a small coin, frequently topping them with garlic, tomato, or salted anchovies.

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

Rural homes and the shared stable lifestyle

In rural areas, many homes were small, unhealthy buildings often with only two rooms: a ground floor kitchen with dirt floors and an upstairs sleeping area. Families frequently spent winters in stables to use animal heat for warmth to save on firewood.