Reforming the table. Tableware and cooking pots of the 15th and 16th centuries from the excavations of the nunnery of San Paolo in Modena, Italy

This paper underlines the role of food preparation and mealtimes in social dynamics within a female religious community. The case study is of the nunnery of San Paolo in Modena, where two different pottery deposits containing table and cooking sets used by the religious community have been dated to the late 15th century and the late 16th century respectively: before and after the Tridentine Council. Analyses of shapes, typologies, capacity, decorations and customized items demonstrate a basic change in community dynamics at mealtime which had taken place.