The presence, in the outskirts of the city of Genoa, of a dolomite outcrop near Sestri Ponente (Mount Gazzo) combined with the abundance and excellent quality of lime stone which can be extracted, has led to the continuous exploitation of this resource from the twelfth century until today. The first known evidence of local production goes back, in fact, to 1158 and is linked to presence in the area of the masters Antelami, but this of course does not exclude exploitation of resources even earlier. Such an intense production activity has changed over the centuries the territory, altering the look and scattering traces and artifacts that testify to the rotation of the quarry sites, the evolution of the types of furnace and the cultivation of “coppice for furnace.” Are still visible on the sides of the mountain some historical quarries although the most recent extractions have partially erased the oldest ones, preventing the recognizing of shapes and marks left by the quarrymen. The historical-archaeological study of the site was conducted through the analysis and the comparison between the indirect sources: written (documents, chronicles, …), figurative (maps, photographs, …) or oral. These sources have always been interpreted in the light of direct sources, those ‘involuntary’ witnesses of the past that Marc Bloch already considered the most reliable. Therefore, the cultivation of abandoned quarry, lime kilns, waste processing, in addition to finished products, mortars, have become the object of analysis for the reconstruction of a complex economic system involving different figures at various levels: quarrymen, “calcinaroli”, “masters of the furnace”, boatmen, traders of timber, “fascinieri”, “gabellotti”, etc
La presenza, nei dintorni della città di Genova, di un rilievo di formazione dolomitica a Sestri Ponente (Monte Gazzo) unita all’abbondanza e all’ottima qualità della pietra da calce ivi cavata, ha determinato lo sfruttamento ininterrotto di tale risorsa dal XII secolo fino ad oggi. La prima testimonianza nota di produzione in loco risale, infatti, al 1158 ed è legata alla presenza in zona dei maestri antelami, ma questo ovviamente non esclude uno sfruttamento delle risorse anche precedente. Una così intensa attività produttiva ha modificato nei secoli il territorio, alterandone l’aspetto e disseminandolo di tracce e manufatti che testimoniano l’avvicendamento dei siti di cava, l’evoluzione dei tipi di fornace e la coltivazione dei “boschi cedui da fornace”. Ancora oggi sono visibili sui fianchi del monte alcune cave storiche anche se le coltivazioni più recenti hanno in parte cancellato le più antiche impedendo di riconoscere geometrie e segni lasciati dai cavatori. Lo studio storico-archeologico del sito è stato condotto attraverso l’analisi e il confronto tra le fonti indirette: scritte (documenti, cronache, …), figurate (carte, fotografie, …) o orali. Tali fonti sono sempre state interpretare alla luce delle fonti dirette, quelle testimonianze ‘involontarie’ del passato che già Marc Bloch considerava le più attendibili. E allora coltivazioni di cava abbandonate, fornaci da calce, scarti di lavorazione, oltre ai prodotti finiti, le malte, sono divenute oggetto di analisi per la ricostruzione di un sistema economico complesso che coinvolgeva a vario livello figure diverse: dai cavatori, ai “calcinaroli”, ai “maestri di fornace”, ai barcaioli, ai commercianti di legname, ai “fascinieri”, ai “gabellotti”, …
"Minere di calcina in abondanza & in perfettione quanto habbia qualonque altra regione in Italia": il Monte Gazzo a Genova - Sestri Ponente
VECCHIATTINI, RITA
2014-01-01
Abstract
The presence, in the outskirts of the city of Genoa, of a dolomite outcrop near Sestri Ponente (Mount Gazzo) combined with the abundance and excellent quality of lime stone which can be extracted, has led to the continuous exploitation of this resource from the twelfth century until today. The first known evidence of local production goes back, in fact, to 1158 and is linked to presence in the area of the masters Antelami, but this of course does not exclude exploitation of resources even earlier. Such an intense production activity has changed over the centuries the territory, altering the look and scattering traces and artifacts that testify to the rotation of the quarry sites, the evolution of the types of furnace and the cultivation of “coppice for furnace.” Are still visible on the sides of the mountain some historical quarries although the most recent extractions have partially erased the oldest ones, preventing the recognizing of shapes and marks left by the quarrymen. The historical-archaeological study of the site was conducted through the analysis and the comparison between the indirect sources: written (documents, chronicles, …), figurative (maps, photographs, …) or oral. These sources have always been interpreted in the light of direct sources, those ‘involuntary’ witnesses of the past that Marc Bloch already considered the most reliable. Therefore, the cultivation of abandoned quarry, lime kilns, waste processing, in addition to finished products, mortars, have become the object of analysis for the reconstruction of a complex economic system involving different figures at various levels: quarrymen, “calcinaroli”, “masters of the furnace”, boatmen, traders of timber, “fascinieri”, “gabellotti”, etc
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