Anna de' Medici

At the table

Mandatory salt consumption in the Duchy

To support salt production and preservation of meats, cheeses, and fish, residents were required to consume about 11.4 kg of salt per person annually, which cost 25 sous.

What people wore

Everyday village clothing for women

In the sixteenth-century villages of the Duchy of Parma and Piacenza, women's daily attire consistently included a shirt (camicia), a dress (veste), a veil, a cap (scuffia), and an apron (scossale).

Getting around

Carriages required extensive resources

Wealthy travelers used carriages, but these required significant support, including horses, specialized personnel, and frequent maintenance on poor roads.

What it cost

State-controlled prices for food staples

Municipal authorities fixed political prices for bread and meat to guarantee constant supplies to the population and prevent food-related riots.

Music

Public Wind Performances in Parma

Municipal wind bands, consisting of trumpeters and shawm players, performed concerts from the balcony of the town hall or in the public square.

Daily life

New schools and limited formal education

Duke Pier Luigi Farnese initiated the opening of numerous schools in the Duchy to teach medicine, law, and classical Greek and Latin literature. However, formal schooling remained primarily accessible to the wealthy, while peasant children were typically trained at home or through labor.