Life was very different in Benevento in the 1820s.

HERE’S HOW THEY LIVED.

Could kids read? No way! Not many of them, anyway. Their parents couldn’t read either. Reading was considered weird.

Eyeglasses were rare. Since folks couldn’t read anyway, there wasn’t much point.

Shoes were only for fancy people.

Forks were considered fancy, too. Why use utensils when you can use your fingers? Especially for pasta! (Which was then called maccheroni.)

Most people spent a lot of time hungry, especially in winter. All food was local, so you could only eat what was in season, or preserved somehow. There was no canned food, no refrigerators or freezer. Come February, people ate a lot of dried beans and figs.

Stairs were on the outside of houses, even if the same family lived on two floors.

Most people never lived anywhere but the home they were born in. Some never left the town they were born in. Not even once.

There was no electricity. For light, you used a candle or an oil lamp.

Houses didn’t have water, either. To get some, you needed to take a bucket to a well or fountain. To wash clothes, you went to the river. Oh, and if you needed to use a toilet, you had to go outside for that, too!

If you want to learn MORE, please visit www.witchesofbenevento.com.