These hairpins are called ‘spadini’ in Italian, because their flat stems resemble the blade of a sword. They would originally have formed part of a complex headdress, called ‘raggiera’, which was typical of the region around Lake Como in Lombardy. They were acquired in Menaggio, a town on the western shore of Lake Como.

The first time a young woman wore a raggiera headdress was on her wedding day. Her mother-in-law, or other female relative, dressed her hair in a complex arrangement of braids, ribbons and partings which formed a horseshoe shape at the back of the head. 15 to 45 or more hair pins were stuck into the outside edge of the horseshoe so that the decorative heads fanned out around the face. The Italian word ‘raggiera’ means rays, and is used for all headdresses of this type. Most of the pins were quite plain, but at each end there were two or three pins with decorative heads, like these. A set of at least 15 pins was a compulsory part of the bride's dowry. Over the years her husband would give her more, as a visible demonstration of affection and wealth.

Women in other parts of Lombardy and Piedmont, Ticino in Switzerland, and as far away as the Adriatic coast of Croatia, wore similar headdresses and pins. In the Brianza this headdress is also known as a ‘sperada’. Alessandro Manzoni famously described it in his book 'I promessi sposi' in 1827.