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What people wore

Traditional women's accessories

Women often wore lace-trimmed aprons and high-heeled pointed shoes, typically in pink or light blue, fastened with silver buckles. Their hair was usually braided and collected at the nape of the neck, often decorated with ribbons and pins.

Daily life

Gender-restricted education controlled by the Church

There was no compulsory schooling, and education was heavily influenced by the Church, with 30 articles regulating male education versus only 22 for females. While boys could study reading, writing, and arithmetic, girls' education was largely restricted to domestic arts, catechism, and religious duties.

Daily life

Peasant homes shared space with livestock

In small villages like Fardella, peasant houses often consisted of a single room where families cooked, ate, and slept, sometimes sharing the space with livestock like pigs or donkeys. Light entered through small windows designed to keep out the cold, and many homes lacked both electricity and running water.

Music

Music during religious festival processions

Religious processions often featured musicians, including porters who danced while carrying heavy barrels of wine on their shoulders to the sound of a distant orchestra.

At the table

Street foods costing one soldo

For a single soldo, the poor in Naples could purchase various street foods, such as slices of pizza, portions of fried fish known as fragaglia, or nine boiled chestnuts to eat with bread.

Getting around

The Lettiga: A Mule-Drawn Carriage

The lettiga, a national carriage suspended between two mules, was a common way to travel through regions lacking roads suitable for wheeled vehicles. It was notoriously fatiguing and slow, moving at an average speed of about three miles per hour.

Work

Common Jobs: Farming and Crafts

The most common occupations in the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies were agricultural laborers, followed by mechanics and craftsmen. In 1826, agricultural workers, including husbandmen and shepherds, accounted for over 1.5 million of the male population.