Carlo Emanuele III of Sardinia

Charles Emmanuel III was Duke of Savoy, King of Sardinia and ruler of the Savoyard states from his father's abdication on 3 September 1730 until his death in 1773. He was the paternal grandfather of the last three mainline kings of Sardinia. In the War of the Polish Succession, he initially gained Lombardy but later ceded it for smaller territorial gains.

Functional button decor

Men's coat sleeves were decorated with three vertical buttons, a feature originally intended to prevent lower-class soldiers from wiping their noses or faces on their sleeves.

Soldiers' burial jewelry

Soldiers in the Savoyard infantry frequently bought a gold ring-shaped earring with their first wages to pay for their burial if they were killed in battle.

The Baroque Hunting Horn in Savoy

The natural Orléans horn in D was a key instrument for royal hunts and court festivals, acting as a symbol of power and prestige.

The Zapato Gift Festival

The zapato was a specialized court festival held around Saint Nicholas Day, centered on the tradition of exchanging gifts.

Changing transport for mountain crossings

Traveling through the Alps meant changing modes of transport, as carriages could not cross the mountain passes; travelers often had to switch to mules or litters.

Most common travel was on foot

For most people in the Duchy of Savoy, the most common way to travel between towns was on foot.

Forced lodging of soldiers

Ordinary families often had to provide their own heating, bedding, salt, and cooking materials for quartered soldiers. Soldiers could forcefully enter these homes, sometimes destroying doors with muskets.

Community-funded schooling for youth

Towns and private donors funded small colleges to educate local youth, and Thursday was officially designated as a day off for school children. Wealthy individuals often bequeathed property to support the education of youth in these communal institutions.

Survival Diet During War and Famine

During times of war and famine around the 1690s, the rural poor in mountainous provinces were sometimes forced to survive on ground shells and nuts mixed with small amounts of oats or barley.

Drinking frugal wine substitutes

To save money, families often drank low-alcohol beverages like acquerello or mezzone instead of pure wine, which was largely sold for profit.

Controlled bread prices and production

City authorities in Turin strictly regulated the bread market, setting prices based on the cost of wheat and using official baking tests to determine production costs.

Worker daily wages in Turin

In the early 1700s, an experienced master mason in Turin earned approximately 24 soldi per day, while a general laborer or apprentice earned significantly less, often around 11 to 16 soldi.

Common Jobs and Unstable Daily Work

Many ordinary people in early 18th-century Turin worked as servants, day laborers, porters, or in the burgeoning textile industry. Manual laborers often had unstable employment, as they were frequently hired for single days or specific tasks rather than steady monthly wages.

Low Wages and High Food Costs

Wages in the early 1700s were often paid in small amounts of coins, such as a construction laborer receiving 16 soldi per day in 1720. A significant portion of a worker's daily pay was required just to buy enough grain for survival, making them highly vulnerable to price spikes.