Madame de Pompadour in a film. The intimate problems she was suffering from cost the Marchesa slander and mockery Once she has achieved the main purpose of her life, that of becoming the kings official lover, Madame de Pompadour she attracted around her person the implacable hatred of courtier
The girl with chocolate (from an 18th century painting). Marie Antoinette of Austria, shortly before being guillotined on October 16, 1793, asked for and received one last cup of hot chocolate Marie Antoinette of Austria , which in truth always showed rather sober tastes at the table, allowed it
Napoleon Bonaparte at Longwood House. The last supper of the former French Emperor was prepared, as always, by his cook What the last consisted of dinner of Napoleon Bonaparte before he died on May 5, 1821 ? In the total solitude of Longwood House, the residence of Sant’Elena , the
Face of Cecilia Gallerani, famous Lady with an Ermine painted by Leonardo at the end of the 1400s Cecilia Gallerani , the beautiful girl immortalized by Leonardo da Vinci perhaps in 1489 (the date is uncertain), known in the History of Art as The Lady with the ermine , sports a refine
An 18th century lady. Some French ladies, after July 14, 1789, had jewels made with fragments of the Bastille We consider the storming of the Bastille , dating back to 14 July 1789 , the episode that officially marked the beginning of the French Revolution, an epochal and complex event that
A portrait of Rose Bertin, creator of the “flea color” For a certain period of time, at the palace of Versailles , Marie Antoinette dictated the law in terms of fashion. In practice, everything the queen wore was duly imitated by the ladies of the court. For a long time Marie Antoinette
Marie Antoinette (from the film “Marie Antoinette”). Even the smallpox vaccine gave the idea for a new hairstyle During the reign of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette everything was tending to Versailles, even the most serious things, and any excuse was good to invent new fashions to follow ,
Portrait of Lorenza Feliciani, wife of Cagliostro The Count of Cagliostro is one of the most controversial characters in history:despite the many words spoken and written about him, much of his life and his figure still remain a mystery not too easy to solve, so much so that historians are undec
A woman of the seventeenth century. In the manuals of the time there were also tips for returning virgins Some ancient manuals of female beauty reserve curious surprises in terms of tips and advice:not only creams and concoctions to be more attractive, but even remedies to regain lost virginity
Portrait of a 17th century lady (Rubens). To become blond (or red), the ladies of the time also used urine Women take care of their hair since ancient times, even with methods that may appear bizarre today, but which were the only ones available or the most effective in their time. There have
Chicken ambrogino with dried fruit The Christmas is upon us and like every year I start looking for ancient Christmas recipes, just like the one to make chicken ambrogino with dried fruit that I present to you in this post. It is a typical holiday dish from the medieval era. I faithf
The plague doctor Right now all of us Italians are experiencing firsthand what quarantine. is We have been indoors for days, and we will have to do the same in the days to come, to win our war against Coronavirus. We owe it to ourselves and to others. Surely many of you will have wonde
Women in the Middle Ages The following article, Living in the High Middle Ages:a survival manual, was sent to Pills of History by Mauro Napoliello , a history and writing enthusiast. In thanking him for his cooperation, I warmly invite you to read the post, which is basically a short
John XII meets the Emperor The following article concerns the controversial figure of John XII , one of the most dissolute popes in the history of the Church. It was sent to Pills of History by Mauro Napoliello , former author of this article:https://www.pilloledistoria.it/13029/medioevo
Anonymous portrait of Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy. He was a cultured man, intelligent and full of virtue, but also exaggeratedly vain The anecdote what I tell in this post it is quite significant in rendering the idea of the vanity of Philip the Good (1396-1467) and what a person of
Middle Ages:two children learn to play What was the elementary school in Florence like in Dantes time ? What structure did it have and what were its main characteristics? First of all, lets say that yes, even the Florentine children of the Middle Ages went to school, although the high-rankin
To follow the mens fashion of the time, Sweyn I of Denmark went down in history as a Beard Sweyn I of Denmark (C. 969 - 1014), Viking leader, son of Harald Blue Tooth and father of Canute the Great, king of Denmark, England and parts of Norway, he went down in history as the Beard. Do
Treatment of hemorrhoids in antiquity. In the seventh century. A.D. the monk Fiacro proposed a soft treatment compared to those generally in use In this post, which refers to the Middle Ages, I wrote about how much and why to suffer from hemorrhoids at the time it was not a walk at all:https
Medieval cuisine How about trying the Spiced Pan at Christmas? It is close to the holidays and, like every year, in this period I will be back to post Christmas recipes from the past (see also https://www.pilloledistoria.it/9382/medioevo/ricette-natalizie-medievali-nucato) The following is
Medieval cuisine. The croutons of bread and leeks were Christmas but not only From the sguardosulmedioevo.org site, I report a medieval Christmas recipe which can easily find space on the table even today. To make toasted bread with leeks: Take the white of the leeks and cut it finely, boil i
He went down in history as a conqueror of the Swedes, the great victory of the Battle of Kircholm in 1605. More than once he managed to defeat a much stronger enemy. What was the secret of his successes? Charisma and war experience are not enough to achieve brilliant successes. When at the end o
The well-known and beneficial meltemias have their own linguistic history over the centuries. Is the origin of the word meltemi Turkish or French? Every summer, usually towards the end of June, Western Europe begins to be baked by an intense heat wave, while on the contrary in South-Eastern Europe
In 1981 - when Wojciech Jaruzelski decided to introduce martial law - no one conducted any credible surveys or polls. However, all the data at our disposal leads to a clear conclusion on this matter. A freshly published book by Michał Ogorek - a well-known columnist, satirist, but also an expert
When in 1941 the Germans failed to take Leningrad by storm, the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht decided to force the city to capitulate by starving it. The Germans did not expect the Leningrades to survive the siege after all. Only at what cost? Anthropophagy, or cannibalism, is one of the greatest t