He lived through 5 decades. Pick one to hear and see what it was like around Massa.
General history, not a record about the family: each item says where it comes from.
The 1690s · Alderano I is born in Massa
In the news1690–1699
Famine during 1690s war occupation
Due to war-related requisitions and bad harvests starting in 1690, families in the mountainous Tarentaise and Maurienne provinces were reduced to eating ground shells and nuts mixed with small amounts of oats or barley.
Getting around
Horse relay postal systems
Organized postal routes allowed authorized travelers or couriers to use relay stations to swap tired horses for fresh ones, significantly increasing their travel speed.
In the news1695
Hospice for the Poor established in 1695
In 1695, Duke Rinaldo I established the Hospice for the Poor to manage the large influx of beggars and unemployed people in the city of Modena.
Daily life
Forced lodging of soldiers
Ordinary families often had to provide their own heating, bedding, salt, and cooking materials for quartered soldiers. Soldiers could forcefully enter these homes, sometimes destroying doors with muskets.
What people wore
Feast day attire
For feast days and Sundays, people increasingly wore finer, brightly colored fabrics that were imported rather than produced in the village.
Music
Hunting horns in religious and public life
Hunting horns were used for communication and public celebration, with performances traditionally occurring during mass on Saint Hubert's Feast Day. This ancient sound helped connect the congregation and audience to nature during these open-air events.
At the table
Survival Diet During War and Famine
During times of war and famine around the 1690s, the rural poor in mountainous provinces were sometimes forced to survive on ground shells and nuts mixed with small amounts of oats or barley.