|
An
impressive snowfall |
| calitri
tradizioni |
| In
the days before refrigerators, food could be preserved as a rule
in cool basements, but in summertime snow had to be used. Snow was
stored in large pits (neviere), usually 8 or 10 meters in diameter
and 5 or 6 meters deep. These storage pits were of masonry and had
rather small openings. |
| A
snow storage pit was located near St. Michael’s (where a home
for nuns stands now) and another one in the Gagliano area. Day laborers
were employed to pack the snow. |
| Some
used a wooden shovel (auta) to pile
the snow into the pit, while others, inside, tamped down the snow
with their feet. |
| Between
every layer of packed snow, usually 50 cm, a layer of straw was
laid in order to prevent the snow from forming a solid block, thus
making it impossible to cut and extract. |
| The
winter cold helped pack the snow, which during summer got sawed
into blocks and transported into town, where it was sold at 2 or
3 soldi per kilo. |
|
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