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Where did the Italians of the Renaissance rest their weary heads? Cook up a family meal? Toss back a few cups of local wine? At home, of course. But much like today, things at home were different for the rich versus the poor, the urban versus the rural.

Rural Homes

Peasant homes were no-nonsense. Everything in them contributed to agricultural production. Houses were made of some combination of wood, mud or clay and straw. Day laborers lived simply with a few tools and if they were lucky, a few animals. Prosperous plowmen expanded their houses to make space for several plows, harnesses, horses or oxen, and storage areas for grain and straw. Still more well-to-do farmers had a pig sty, a sheep pen and a threshing ground. The floors were of packed earth or wood. Peasants slept on straw mattresses on the floor or on planks, and protected themselves from the cold with thin, patchwork blankets. Shepherds and servants slept in the barn with no light or heat. They also had to keep an eye on the stables in case a thief tried to come for the horses. Prominent villagers may have had a large baking oven, a mill, or an olive press that other peasants also used. Of course, most villages had to deal with fleas, mice, rats and lice in or near their homes.

Urban Homes

More Italians during the Renaissance lived in towns or cities than the average family in other European countries. Some historians agree that the fast rise of urbanism in Italy contributed to the country's amazing advances in culture, economics and learning. But how did the urban Italian live? Poorer families had to pay rent to live in their ramshackle wooden apartments, and they secured annual leases for the privilege. Wealthier artisans or the nobility probably owned their stone or brick homes, which may have had courtyards, mezzanines, great halls or loggias. The nobility and bourgeoisie decorated their homes in such a way that no one could mistake their wealth. Even Renaissance Italians kept up with the Joneses. Here are some common elements of their homes --

Windows and doors: A hole cut into the wall was all the window some people had. More fortunate families covered the hole with oiled linen which kept out the wind but welcomed sunlight into dark corners. After 1400, the wealthy had fixed or movable glass panels in their windows, with or without shutters. Lead framed the glass. Wealthy Italian families were constantly fighting, and that meant a need for household security. The windows often had bars or iron grates, especially ground floor windows. Doors were made of stone or wood, and for greater security, had iron bars embedded into them, with bolts, locks and studs.

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