On a drive along the Italian countryside during summer, you’ll come across large round bales of hay or wheat, set willy-nilly in the fields as if they were simply thrown there from way on high; but this wasn’t always the case.
For centuries before the hay-baler and combine-harvester dropped bales in hayfields and wheat-fields, contadini hayed themselves with scythes and pitchforks.
Originally cut from green grass with a scythe, shafts of grano, which we know as wheat, were then laid in rows on the ground. After several days or more of sunshine, they were dried and turned with hand-held rakes or horse-drawn sleds into head-high stacks in the field to dry further. Only then were they carted to the farmyard or barn.
(Keep an eye out for part II coming soon…)
-- Written by Evanne Brandon Diner (see bio), chronicler of local village life in Northern Lazio, and central Italy property restoration and purchasing consultant (www.lavventuraitalia.com)
September 8th, 2009 at 2:16 pm
I wish to thank you again for sending your very interesting and informative articles with lovely photos.I often forward them to friends.
Complimeti!!!
C. Kost
September 8th, 2009 at 3:01 pm
I am so glad to be recieving your e-mails again after the summer vacation. I have seen the baled hay along the roads in Italy and think it is so very picturesque. I just love driving the smaller roads and coming across the lovely little towns. Wish I was there right now.
Marie
September 8th, 2009 at 3:31 pm
bella storia……….
September 8th, 2009 at 6:54 pm
Hello
Glad to see you and the gang back with us. And that you had an enjoyable rest before getting back to the “grind”. Looking forward to another season of your “treasurers”. :)
Lenore
September 10th, 2009 at 11:34 pm
I’m so glad you’re back. Because of life’s constraints I have very little time for reading, travel, eating out, etc. Your notebook is currently my only connection to the country where I was born. I left when I was only 9 but my memories are vivid & still with me 40 years later. Your pictures and texts bring them all back. I often end up with a lump in my throat. Thanks for sharing!
October 3rd, 2009 at 7:38 pm
Ms. Diner should talk to a contadino about the difference between straw and wheat. Wheat never sits around in a field. It is winnowed to be milled.