Room 8: Handicraft

The ample saloon at the first floor is entirely devoted to the artisan jobs, essential benefits not only for the work in the fields, but in general for the rusticity of the daily life. Nearby to a suggestive reconstruction of the shop of the smith, which an ampler space is reserved, you can be observed the angles devoted to the tinsmith, to the cobbler, to the "casaro" (cheese-worker) and the characteristic "acconciapiatti".

The "acconciapiatti"

It was the artisan that dealt him with the reparation of the broken earthenware, assembling the crocks after having practised, where necessary, holes through which it made to pass a thin thread in metal to tie for holding together the pieces of the earthenwares. Tool typical of the "acconciapiatti" was a handicraft drill, of simple manufacture, necessary to practise the holes. Often the "acconciapiatti" stirred for the town and effected home the reparations.

The smith

Typical work of the civilization country and transversal because tied up to the different human activities, both that you deal with the manufacture of the necessary tools in the job of the fields, both of the realization of utensils for the house, till to reach the forging of building elements. In the years the activity of the blacksmith tends to specialize and according to the destinations of use of the manufactured articles we find again blacksmiths, stone-cutters, tinkers, wheelwrights. The smith is a fatiguing job, especially if manually develops, without the aid of machine tools. Beating the red-hot iron, to operate the powerful hood, asked for strength physics, patience and devotion. The work of precision of the blacksmith needed a well furnished shop of job objects, too.

The tinsmith

The tinsmith was the artisan that produced objects of can or that it effected the reparations on the utensils in copper settling them, where necessary, with the pond.
It gathered in itself different competences: real tinker, "lattoniere" (who maked the works in can), coppersmith (who realized boilers or other containers in copper).
As the smith, the tinsmith created the most different objects destined to the domestic use, especially those presents in the environments of the kitchen. For the country, he built pumps hand sprayers and sulfur sprayers.
Also the tinsmith as the acconciapiatti, erred often for the town and effected the reparations in the street or in the courtyards.

The cobbler

Few spacious, but well equipped was the shop of the cobbler, artisan that in the country civilization dealt him with the realization and the manufacture of a precious property: the footwears. The manufacture of a pair of shoes asked for specific competences and a minimum of study of the anatomy of the foot.

The "casaro"

Job connected more tightly with the sheep farming, because the "casaro" was who made alimentary products derived of the milk. After the milking, milk was submitted to different processes of manufacture until to get the typical cheeses that enriched the poor table of the country families.
In the corner devoted to the casaro, the visitor can observe some cowbells for the cows and for the sheep, the shepherd batons, the characteristic stools for the milking, a creamer, the ancient "fiscelle" for the "ricotta", the unusual wooden baton for the breakup of the curd, and all is useful to the production of the cheese.