Philippe de Narbonne-Lara

What people wore

Valuable Inherited Traditions

Traditional clothing was considered a highly valuable heritage passed down through generations, often held as a precious treasure or heirloom. Families in each community were responsible for preserving the specific techniques and processes required to manufacture this traditional attire.

Getting around

Walking or riding donkeys for travel

Ordinary people typically traveled to work in fields on foot or by using donkeys, as there were no roads in many rural areas.

At the table

Tomatoes were a daily staple food

During the eighteenth century, tomatoes were already part of the daily diet in Sardinia and were preserved for long-term use with vinegar, a preparation known as sa pibarda.

Music

Celebrations during the religious novenas

During novenas, people gathered at small country churches for celebrations that included religious gosos (songs of praise), poetry competitions, and traditional music and dancing until late at night.

Daily life

Primitive one-room homes for the poor

For the poor, homes were primitive, one-room ground-floor dwellings built from raw bricks or stone with packed-earth or cobblestone floors and no windows. The hearth was dug into the floor in the center of the room, and the home contained only a large parents' bed and mats for the children.

What it cost

Price of butcher's meat

Butcher's meat in Nice generally sold for 3 sols per pound, though the local pound was only twelve ounces.