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Giovanni Gherardo de Rossi

1754–1827

Born
12 Mar 1754, Rome
Country of birth
Papal States, today Italy
Died
27 Mar 1827, Rome
facts
5
sources
1
images and files
0

Facts and their sources

Tap a fact to see where it comes from.

  • Birth12 Mar 1754, RomeProbable1 source
  • Death27 Mar 1827, RomeProbable1 source

A life in time

  1. Born · Rome

    Birth, Rome

  2. Child born: Giovan Francesco de Rossi

    Birth, Rome

  3. Died · Rome

    Death, Rome

What was it like?

The world around Rome, 1754: who ruled, who else was alive, how people lived. This is general history, not a record about the family, and every item shows where it comes from.

Giovanni was born the same year as Vincenzo Monti, Andrea Appiani, and Luigi Marchesi.

Born the same year

  • Vincenzo Monti

    Italian writer (1754-1828)

  • Andrea Appiani

    Italian painter (1754-1817)

  • Luigi Marchesi

    Italian opera singer

  • Paul I of Russia

    The ninth Emperor of Russia from 1796 to 1801 (1754-1801)

  • Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord

    French diplomat (1754-1838)

  • Joseph Joubert

    French moralist and essayist

Fashion

Daily Versus Festive Attire

The clothing construction was strictly dictated by social customs, with differences between daily wear and festive attire being more pronounced in women's clothing than in men's. Elaborate decorations such as embroidery and fine ornaments were significantly more abundant on garments worn during religious festivities and celebrations.

Sardinian Costume as Cultural Identity

During the second half of the 18th century, traditional Sardinian costume became a distinct and exclusive form of cultural heritage that served as a tool for ethnic and social identification. Although garments varied by village, they were deeply rooted in the daily lives of the population.

Music

Celebrations during the religious novenas

During novenas, people gathered at small country churches for celebrations that included religious gosos (songs of praise), poetry competitions, and traditional music and dancing until late at night.

Common dances: baddu pasturinu and baddu tundu

In this period, people frequently performed two main types of dances: the baddu pasturinu (pastoral dance) for pairs and the baddu tundu (round dance) for groups holding hands in a circle.

Getting around
Around 1749–1749

Forced labor for winter road maintenance

To keep the road clear during harsh winters, local men were forbidden from leaving their homes for six months, from December to May, under penalty of imprisonment. They were assigned specific sections to clear of snow, and the work was paid for by the state.

Hours spent walking to fields

Commuting to distant fields often took several hours of walking, because agricultural lands were generally far from the villages.

Daily life

Primitive one-room homes for the poor

For the poor, homes were primitive, one-room ground-floor dwellings built from raw bricks or stone with packed-earth or cobblestone floors and no windows. The hearth was dug into the floor in the center of the room, and the home contained only a large parents' bed and mats for the children.

Around 1725–1749

Education and work for poor children

Religious institutions, such as the local poorhouse, provided basic education for children, which included lessons in reading and writing alongside rigorous work schedules and religious observance. Many children also learned trades by working in city workshops or spinning mills under the guidance of older laborers.

Food

Bread as the daily foundation

For ordinary families, bread was the central pillar of daily nutrition, often complemented by cheese, legumes, seasonal fruits, and occasionally pork from home-raised pigs.

Tomatoes were a daily staple food

During the eighteenth century, tomatoes were already part of the daily diet in Sardinia and were preserved for long-term use with vinegar, a preparation known as sa pibarda.

Prices and wages

Cost of game and poultry

In Nice, part of the Kingdom of Sardinia at the time, a capon, a brace of partridges, or a good hare cost 30 sols.

Price of butcher's meat

Butcher's meat in Nice generally sold for 3 sols per pound, though the local pound was only twelve ounces.

Work

Common jobs in 18th-century Sardinia

Most people worked in agriculture as farmers, shepherds, or seasonal day laborers, while urban areas supported artisans, merchants, and service workers. Servants were also common, with men typically working in the fields and women performing household tasks like cleaning and baking.

Demanding labor for servants

Female servants often performed physically demanding work like transporting heavy laundry loads on their heads or shoulders to distant rivers, regardless of the weather. Because of the necessity to save money to marry, many young people remained in servitude until they reached age thirty.

News and letters

International mail relied on private forwarders

Because the Kingdom of Sardinia lacked bilateral postal agreements with other nations until the 1820s, letters often traveled via private "forwarding agents" who managed international transit. These agents operated in ports like Genoa and Nice, charging fees to ensure letters reached their final destination when official postal channels failed.

Lightning-fast Sardinian express couriers

In Sardinia, the "Compagnia dei Trentuno" (Company of Thirty-One) maintained an express service between Porto Torres and Cagliari, often covering the 153 leagues in just two days while carrying 84 kilograms of mail. These couriers traveled regardless of weather, sometimes receiving additional messages "on the fly" without slowing down.

During their lifetime

  1. 1763

    Famine in Southern Italy (1763-1767)

    A devastating famine occurred in Southern Italy, killing approximately 300,000 people due to starvation and related diseases like typhus. It was caused by extreme weather, poor agricultural practices, and failed food distribution systems.

  2. 1796

    French Invasion and Republics (1796)

    French armies invaded Italy in 1796, initiating the era of the Italian Republics and ending the old order of the Settecento. This brought new political systems and constitutions that transformed the map of the peninsula.

  3. 1799

    Anti-Republican Risings (1799)

    Popular anti-republican uprisings occurred throughout Italy during the summer and autumn of 1799, reflecting the intense instability following the French invasion and the collapse of the newly formed republican systems.

Family

Children

Ancestors and children

Open the full tree

Four generations back to the right, the children to the left. The number beside a child counts the generations of descendants known after them.