Last week all the Italian countryside was a golden waving sea with the wind, and I wished to take a palette and brushes and being able to paint it. Many paintings come to my mind and immediately the fields of Van Gogh.
Like every year, many varieties of wheat and spelled have contributed to embellishing our magnificent hills and plains.
We too, as a farm born just over a year ago, have been protagonists of the harvest and then of the threshing.
But what does this word mean? What is the hidden meaning?
Threshing means separating the grain of wheat and other cereals from the straw and chaff. It is performed after the harvest and is the final activity of the harvest.
This year in particular we have planted and then threshed the spelled and the Senatore Cappelli wheat, two perfectly successful experiments in our country of Paliano (even if reduced by the wild boars who apparently appreciated these varieties) and today ready for the production of beer and pasta.
In the past, the harvesting and threshing of wheat were certainly the most anticipated and challenging events of the year in the rural calendar and usually took place in the summer period between the end of June and mid-July.
The whole community and all the families participated in the harvest, and each had a specific task.
In the past, sickles were used and after the wheat was harvested, it was then trampled by oxen who separated the wheat from the ear with their hooves. Finally, the men beat it with jointed poles.
Today everything is more simplified. It is no longer a team effort like it used to be, but this does not mean that threshing does not unite people, especially in those small farms like ours where it is a family matter.
It is no coincidence that threshing is the most important moment of the year, where after a lot of work the precious raw material is finally collected and then transformed into flour in the mill.
A raw material that, even in such difficult years as 2022 with its very strong drought, is capable of joining people and giving hope for the future. Reaping your fruits and securing a livelihood always turns on a light even in the darkest darkness.
And after that, you can't miss a party in the farmyard to celebrate the harvest. These are holidays that have been celebrated for millennia and in some towns they are still an important moment in the life of the city. I am reminded of the festivals of Castiglione in Teverina, in Rosà, in Tricarico, in Mottola, in Condofuri, in Jesolo or right here in Paliano.
I am personally happy to be able to share shots of our work with you, waiting to be able to create products that can be a pride for our beautiful town and for our country.
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