Diet and Religious Practices: The example of two monastic orders in Rome between the XVIth and XVIIIth centuries

In two ecclesiastical buildings of Rome, the Certosa “Santa Maria degli Angeli” and The Convent of “Minimi di San Francesco di Paola” in Trinità dei Monti, animal remains have been rescued which are referable to some levels of life in the above monasteries. The “Rule” of the Monastic Communities involved has influenced the quality of the sample in a substantial manner. The excavation made in the two contexts, dated between XVI and the XVIII century AD, have revealed a large quantity of fish remains, each one with peculiar characteristics. In the Certosa of Santa Maria degli Angeli a big lot of otter bones with visible butchering marks are recovered. On the other side, the bookkeeping of the Certosa, preserved in the Archivio di Stato at Rome, allowed us to obtain a detailed analysis of consumed food and of system of food-supply. Furthermore in the sample discovered in the Convent of Trinità dei Monti we found turtles used in alternatives to fish.