Prince Francis, Count of Trapani

At the table

Common drinks and food prices

Drinking coffee became a general habit even among the lowest laborers, who consumed it in the morning as a digestive aid. By 1816, a liter of wine cost 3 grana, while a roll of bread weighing nearly a kilogram cost 6 grana.

What people wore

Cost of wedding attire

A wedding dress for an ordinary person usually cost up to 30 ducats, though wealthy families could spend up to 300 ducats on garments with gold and silver fabrics.

Getting around

Travel by mule and lettiga in Sicily

In Sicily, travel was often done by mule or in a lettiga, a carriage-like box without wheels carried by two mules that moved at about three miles per hour. This unconventional vehicle was notoriously noisy due to bells and prone to swaying on uneven ground.

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

The expressive tarantella dance

The tarantella was a beloved dance characterized by expressive, flirtatious movements between partners, often performed during festivals and social gatherings. It was considered a deeply emotional, poetic performance that captivated spectators with its dramatic gestures.

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.