Principessa Maria Cristina di Savoia-Carignano (?)

At the table

Spicy parsnip spiritosa dish

A common, spicy tavern dish called spiritosa consisted of boiled yellow parsnips in a sauce made of vinegar, pepper, oregano, garlic, and chili peppers.

What people wore

Sorrento women's feast day attire

On feast days, peasant women in Sorrento wore bodices of damask with braided trim, styled their hair in a Chinese fashion, and wore a special pin called a spadella with a ribbon hanging down their necks.

Getting around

Traveling the Difficult Southern Roads

In regions like Calabria, carriages were often impractical due to poor road conditions, forcing travelers to rely on mules or simple calessos for transport. A journey of roughly 500 km from southern Calabria to Naples was considered a major undertaking with no clear travel times advised.

What it cost

Food prices for daily necessities

Bread cost 6 grana per rotolo (approx. 890 grams), while beef cost 16 grana and a liter of wine was 3 grana. Pasta was a staple, with machine-made pasta costing 7 grana and finer varieties reaching 8 grana per rotolo.

Music

Instruments of home and street music

Guitars and violins were common in Neapolitan homes and were used by street musicians for serenades, especially after midnight. Musicians also sold small instruments like tambourines, guitars, and crotali at festivals.

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.