Princess Luisa Cristina of Savoy

What people wore

Passing Down Heirloom Clothing and Textiles

Clothing and accessories were historically valued as tools for social integration and communication, and they were commonly passed down from one generation to the next. Items were analyzed in archives through inventories, jewelry lists, and fabric samples that documented how people dressed.

Daily life

Cooking with a swivel arm and alcoves

In the rural Apennines, families cooked using a swivel arm called a cadnil to hold pots over an open fire, often inside a large wooden hood. Wealthier families built alcoves into the wall beside the hearth where they could rest in the warmth.

Work

Daily rhythms of city life

In many Savoyard towns, people typically rose early, with city gates opening at 4 a.m., and went to bed around 8 p.m. Daily life for many ordinary people often included a combination of trade work and small-scale agricultural activities on small plots of land near towns.

Music

The wandering hurdy-gurdy player

In popular tradition, wandering musicians, often children, were known for traveling across Europe and performing to the sound of the hurdy-gurdy.

At the table

The humble paniccio dish

In the Novara countryside during the 17th century, ordinary families relied on paniccio, a dish made with beans, as a staple food.

Getting around

Daily Travel Distance for Alpine Travelers

Travel times were highly variable due to terrain and weather, but Alpine travelers generally covered between 20 and 40 kilometers per day on average.

What it cost

Soaring wheat prices in Parma

The controlled price of wheat in Parma's public market rose sharply from 117 soldi in 1588 to a peak of 402 soldi in 1592 during a major subsistence crisis.