mistress of the vatican.pdf - End Time Deception

Eleanor Herman
Olimpia would have found a few of her hostesses—those truly kind
women eager to welcome a newcomer—at the top of the stairs. But
later events would show that many had snubbed her badly when she
first moved to Rome, and we can assume this snub took the form of
calcified noblewomen glued to their chairs. A tax collector’s daughter
from Viterbo, these grand dames would have grumbled, who married
an old man from the minor nobility for his title. Why should they get
out of their chairs for her?
Back at her Piazza Navona palace, Olimpia must have suffered
greatly from their unkindness. Though she seemed unflappable in public,
she would never forget how these snooty women had treated her,
and she would never forgive. One day she would wreak her revenge, she
vowed, a vow that she would in time fulfill.
As a Roman nobleman’s wife, Olimpia would have employed many
more servants than she had as Paolo Nini’s wife in Viterbo. A scalco, or
meat carver, was a sign of great prestige. The scalco’s exuberant slicing
of fish, beef, poultry, and game rivaled a theatrical performance. He
was in charge of all the knives in a household and kept them sharp and
sparkling. More important, he guarded the food from the time it was
purchased until it reached his master’s table, making quite sure no one
had spiced it with a bit of arsenic. The 1668 butler’s guide to a noble
household, Il perfetto maestro di casa, declared that the scalco “has his
master’s life in his hands.” 3
The coppiero, or wine steward, was in charge of all wine and water
for the table. He worked with local wine dealers and vintners outside
Rome to purchase the finest vintages available for his master’s entertaining.
He obtained the cleanest water possible for the waiters to pour
from silver ewers over the guests’ hands at the start and end of meals,
the water running off into silver bowls. He stocked the family carriage
with a traveling bar of crystal goblets and fine wines should his master
or mistress require refreshment on a journey. And he kept the wine
under lock and key to make sure the other servants did not quaff it
down and show up drunk for work, a common occurrence in noble
households.
But according to Il perfetto maestro di casa, the coppiero had one duty
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