Louis of Parma, king of Etruria

At the table

Bread as the daily foundation

For ordinary families, bread was the central pillar of daily nutrition, often complemented by cheese, legumes, seasonal fruits, and occasionally pork from home-raised pigs.

What people wore

Everyday dress for peasant men

Peasant men typically dressed in coarse-fabric jackets, knee-length breeches, and waistcoats. While these garments were not refined in cut, there was a noticeable attention to detail and a sense of good taste in the pairing of colors.

Getting around

Hours spent walking to fields

Commuting to distant fields often took several hours of walking, because agricultural lands were generally far from the villages.

What it cost

Self-Sufficiency and Rural Debt

Many rural families produced their own food and clothing instead of buying them, often paying artisans like cobblers or tailors with their own farm products rather than using money. In some areas, sharecropping families were frequently deeply indebted to their landlords, with average debts reaching 82 scudi.

Music

Handel's music in Florence

Grand Duke Pietro Leopoldo supported Handel's vocal music, and his collection included manuscript scores of works like Alexander's Feast and Judas Maccabaeus.

Daily life

Peasant Cooking and Meals

Peasant families frequently cooked large pots of vegetable soup, especially on Fridays when meat was avoided. Leftovers were repurposed by reboiling the soup in a pan with bread on subsequent days.