La Lizzatura
When you visit Florence and admire a
statue like Michelangelo's Davide, you may think about the effort the Master
made to carve the stone, painstakingly chipping away the excess with his hammer
and an assortment of chisels to reveal the treasure hidden within the original
block. Or, when you wander over to Santa Maria Novella, you may wonder at the
care of the stonemasons who carefully cut slabs of colored marble according to
Alberti's plans to assemble the façade. Breathtaking and beautiful as
these artworks may be, if one looks at them from a different standpoint they
become monuments to the men who extracted the stone from the quarries high up
in the Apuans. There was no mechanization until well into this century, and
though animals did provide some assistance in the quarries, most of the work
was performed by the men under the orders of the quarry master, who had to read
the face of the quarry and then place the charges, using just enough to break
the blocks away cleanly. Too little powder and the blocks would stay put while
the quarry face became dangerously unstable; too much and the face would
shatter, producing worthless rubble, and in either case months of work would be
lost.
Nor was breaking the blocks free the end of it; the quarrymen would turn
them over to the lizzatori,
the sled-men whose job it was to guide the tons of
marble down slopes far too steep for an animal to navigate, to the stations on
the valley floors where the blocks would be transferred to wagons and carried
out to the waiting ships. The job took 16 or 17 men, under the direction of the
Capolizza. The descent began with the Capolizza overseeing the construction of
the sled from wooden trunks; he would then measure the blocks that formed the
load, or carica, and set them just right so as to balance the sled. Then
the men would attach ropes to the back of the load, either two or three
depending upon its size, and wrap them around pylons called piri. The
Capolizza would take his place below the sled, the ungino (literally,
"the man who greases") would soap the wooden beams, called parati, that
the Capolizza's assistant would place ahead of the sled's runners, the
mollatori (releasers) would relax their hold on the ropes, which would begin to
pay out, and the sled would begin its decent, with the workmen gathering the
beams as they emerged from under the runners and passing them forward to the
ungino, who would resoap them for the Capolizza's assistant.
It was a tricky, dangerous ballet on steep slopes with uncertain
footing, which depended upon timing and teamwork;
the Capolizza decided the path and guided the
sled, but the actual steering was the job of the mollatori who would increase
the slack on one of the ropes that kept the sled from careening down the hill,
thus allowing the runners to turn in the other direction. And every now and
then, they'd hurry to move the ropes to new sets of pylons further down slope.
Speed was of the essence because the first team to reach the docking station at
the valley floor was also the first team to head home for the day. Or, if they
had been really quick, they could hike back up to the quarry and bring down
another load; they were paid by the trip, and therefore a fast team could earn
much more than a slower team that spent hours waiting for its spot at the
docking station.
In the 1960s most of the sleds gave way to trucks, and by the early 70s
even the most-difficult-to-reach quarries had roads. Commercially, the
lizzatura was a thing of the past. However, it lived on in the memories of the
lizzatori, and in 1989 they decided to bring down a carica the old way lest
people forget how it was done. The squad was led by Livio Bertuccelli, a man
referred to by his colleagues as Il Diavolo because of the speed with
which he brought the sleds down ("though the merchants loved me," he says), and
the reenactment was a huge success.
So it became a yearly event, and as the
older members of the squad finally retired (Mr. Bertuccelli, who is still
Capolizza, is in his mid-70s) new people have begun to step in.
Filiberto, who rode the sleds his father guided when he was a boy, is now a mollatore. "The mollatori had to be sharp, and if they weren't in synch with the Capolizza it wouldn't work. Turns, in particular, had to be on the dime, and if they were off by as little as a foot they'd get hung up. Pa was quarrymaster, and they always called him for help if they got stuck on their way down." It's easier, though more dangerous, he says, to guide the sled though the steep sections because it will keep moving; where the trail flattens out it is more likely to get stuck.
The reenactment is held above the town of Resceto, inland of Massa. It
takes place on the first Sunday of August, unless the first Sunday is August
first or second, at which point it takes place on the second Sunday of August.
In either case it begins at 9:30 or so in the morning.
You will need a car, and
should plan to get there early, because you'll likely have to park along the
road and take the shuttle bus up to town; you then follow the old road to
Modena(1) up through pretty
countryside to the slope with the sled. Select a spot that offers a good view,
keeping in mind that once the sled begins to move you'll be asked to keep
still, and enjoy the show. It will take about 2 hours, and after it's over
there's a stand that offers freshly sliced lardo di Colonnata sandwiches and
Candia delle Apuane, Massa's distinctive slightly sweet white wine, which is a
perfect match. You'll also find people selling herbs, in particular the oregano
that perfumes the hillsides, and other souvenirs. And after it's all over, the
trattoria down in Resceto offers lunch (stop on your way up to make
reservations).
THIS YEAR'S MENU FOR THE LIZZATORI INCLUDED:
- A mixed antipasto with prosciutto, coppa (cured shoulder butt), salame, lardo di colonnata, pickled eggplant, grilled zucchini, and grilled peppers.
Penne with a mushroom sauce - Tordelli with a meat sauce
- Roast Veal (this recipe has a lemony addition we didn't have)
- Stewed wild boar
- Profiteroles
And lots of wine, both red and white, to wash it all down.
MORE ON THE APUANS:
Esplorazioni Lunigiane:
A perfect itinerary for the summer months, to a wild and relatively unknown
part of Tuscany with some fine wines.
Getting out of Town: An Overview of
Tuscany's Beaches
Where to seek relief when you've come to
Florence and the asphalt starts to melt.
Il Museo Etnografico della
Lunigiana
A fascinating museum in Villafranca in
Lunigiana.
1) The road was built in the 1700s at the behest of the Duchess of Modena, who wanted a carriage route to reach Massa, which was also under her dominion. They did manage to send one carriage over the route, but the ride was so perilous that the duchess had the architect who laid out the road executed. Back up
Got more sites / recipes to suggest? Let me know.
A Presto,
Kyle Phillips
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