Margherita Massimo y Borbón

What people wore

Holy Day respect in clean clothing

On feast days, laboring men and women carefully preserved special clothes to wear, as wearing a clean, pure white shirt or jacket was considered a necessary sign of respect toward God.

Getting around

Railway challenges and social class differences

Train schedules were unreliable and inconsistent between cities, sometimes varying by over 10 minutes due to different local time standards. Trains also had distinct social classes, with third-class passengers often enduring crowded, basic, and sometimes unroofed carriages.

What it cost

Bread price spikes in Milan

The price of prime-quality bread in Milan rose from 30 centesimi per libra in April 1897 to 38 centesimi by January 1898.

Music

Tarantella instruments and triccheballacche

The tarantella was commonly accompanied by instruments such as tambourines, castanets, and the triccheballacche, which is a device made of wooden hammers joined together to mark the dance's rhythm.

Daily life

Rural homes and the shared stable lifestyle

In rural areas, many homes were small, unhealthy buildings often with only two rooms: a ground floor kitchen with dirt floors and an upstairs sleeping area. Families frequently spent winters in stables to use animal heat for warmth to save on firewood.