Men of red flour in Raffaelli's latest book

From autobiographical author to a sincere memorialist of a material culture today extinct or irretrievably in danger of extinction, Odino Raffaelli, more than half of the Life of a citizen of Lucca, delivers us his third effort of anthropological implantation -sentimental. After Wheat from the grain to the bread and Pastoralism and transhumance of the herds in the high Appennino Reggiano two valuable publications for anyone who wants to rebuild the daily life of the people of the mountain between Tuscany and Italy Emilie, the attention of the memorialist Vaglia di Ligonchio is noted on another aspect of mountain civilization: the culture – and culture – of the chestnut.

Since ancient times, an unexpected gift of these terrible lands and, precisely for this reason, well protected in every act of the relationship that the inhabitants of the mountain, for centuries, were able to establish with chestnuts, chestnuts and its fruits. In a quick and comprehensive review, Raffaelli examines and participates in the reader's history of this plant and emphasizes its importance in the history of European man. The author highlights the multiple uses of chestnut and the need to continually maintain this natural richness: from an accurate partition of properties to the creation of simple but ingenious work tools; cleaning the undergrowth, collecting leaves, restoring rust and muricce … All previous works, accompanying, follow the collection of chestnuts, usually made for organized family groups. Then follows the following harvest: taken in the metato, the chestnuts are placed on the reeds and dried. Peeled and cleaned, they are ready to be crushed and processed into edible red flour which, reworked in an extraordinary variety of sweet or salty foods, has fed generations and generations of mountain women and men releasing families and communities. hunger. When, for one reason or another, this resource was lacking, then the generalized suffering was painful: we ate below what was necessary with all the consequences that could result from it. And then emigrants: the families were divided and in life, already hard, more motives of affliction entered.
From this modest epic mountain, which lasted at least until the middle of the last century, became memorialist and narrator Odino Raffaelli, attentive as always also convey the color, flavors, warmth of his memories. And the names of activities and tools for use, places and foods. If then his words do not seem sufficient and the story does not seem quite cantabile to the author, then Odin uses the naive but expressive verses, popular poets of the region. The acute sensitivity of hyphenation – cultural, value, anthropological – accompanies more or less sixty years with the advent of the consumer society and all its subsequent and worse declensions. To defend this mountain world that no longer exists, Odin stands guard. To signify that in any case there were and also left indelible traces in our consciousness. And so avoid the curse for which "the curse of men is that they forget."

Luciano Luciani

Odino Raffaelli, The chestnut: the ancient bread of the poor Nodino series / The memoria of things 3
Editions La Grafica Pisana – Bientina (Pisa), 2018 , 140 pages, 10 euros