Carcara
The Latin etymology says that the "calcareous Fornax is the furnace of the lime: the calcified stone and cooked just the" carcara "was later used in the construction of the houses after was dissolved in a suitable ditch with water. The "carcara" is so real that still exists in Sambiase of Lamezia Terme.
By extension they are also called carcare furnaces, quite common in the countries, for baking bricks and "argagni" Grasta, baking, salting, tiasti and the like.
Dasa also had his carcara, belonged to the family of Ciccio Glaser, my grandfather bought. His daughter Marianna Glass, my mother-in-law, worked many years at carcara father and explained to me that ...
was first excavated the clay (white tiles, red bricks) with hoes and picks, is carried on the heads of women with their baskets and then left calìjare few days. When you ntostava ammojava 'nt mitraru (a square pit filled with water until the clay is not s'mbbonava well).
'nt mitraru manija the clay with a shovel, s'mpaticava like grapes in the winery to make a smooth paste and ready for processing.
The workbench is scattered rina fine clay that is not sticky (like the flour in the cupboard when schiana bread). The clay had to be clear: there is gross u mattuni crash. On special muadula (forms) is laden with the clay with his hands and went to a cordèja spagu torciuito around the same module to remove the clay from its shape (a window to the bricks).
We had then let it dry the bricks so worked (up to a thousand a day) making calìjare the sun for a few days. Were arranged on the floor in orderly rows like an army of child soldiers, placed in a horizontal wall, a roof without walls. When the bricks were dry means you gabbittavanu: s'incastèjavanu because they occupy less space and are more easily architraves in case of threat of rain: there were no plastic sheeting to repair and had to cover them with visuals 1000 1000 ceramìji.
Days of precipitation were holidays imposed by nature, you could not work. If the water scorcciava bricks not yet cooked, these were made tignusi, parianu du vajìualu and had to melt back, come back all over again
Finally, when the number of bricks was sufficient for a batch is coming to carcara, the furnace up to five meters high and two meters wide. Below were the mattuni, three, four sual; ceràmiji in the middle of the four other five sual; over large visuals (for foculari and furni) and Stritt for the floors of houses and pignati drilled for the fifth and the gable houses.
Continued ...
Continue the work of this small industry of human effort alone (arms, legs, heads, sweat) mixed with earth, the sun, fire.
In carcara are also cooked pignati pa 'suriaca, Grasta, Cortaro, gouaches in the zone, that is outside of our production cycle concetrato on bricks.
We also did brìasti taju of which were not cooked in carcara: earth, water, sun and, occasionally, the straw to aggregate more about this natural brick, heavy, compact, but very good to insulate our homes from the heat of the sun and the rigors of the cold.
carcara to Sambiase The fire of the furnace of the lime, he knew of Dante's Inferno: it had to be very strong and last several days to get to cook the lime. The bricks of our carcara needed a longer cooking light: only twenty-four hours of constant fire. So much so that there is roasted potatoes, peppers and 'i cu na vijiozza Sula fusca.
A vucca by furnace was closed timpagnu nu cu 'i CRITA; its base, however, was made by a structure of nu sualu taju full of holes for passing the heat: such as pan of roasted chestnuts. The fire was appicciatu civatu and taking care not to make a lot of smoke to the non annigricare mattuna. To control the firing was necessary to addunarsi quadriatti, the visuals made up: they were finally were red when cooked.
The bricks were left to cool for three or four days, unless there was an urgent job for which you came to remove from the oven still warm with the help of squares.
came the reward of hard work: 100, 1,000, 10,000 pounds depending on the ages and number of units sold. In time of war is not circulated pounds. 1000 bricks were worth nu tumanu Ranu, 100 ciaramìji stuppìaju nu 'i suriaca, 50 visuals quartu nu' i migghju.
carcara From Ciccio Glaser has left the bricks and roof tiles of many houses Dasa, neighboring countries and even further away: we were also committed by Miletus, Francica.
Today carcara not smoke more its human labor, no longer produces its bricks that survive roofs and walls of our homes. A forgotten carcara lies further down the cemetery, hidden by rubble and tangled Sipala. Progress has exceeded even erased from memory, only the name of the place survives.
I ceramìji all'eternit have given way: the natural products have been replaced by industrial products, cold winter, hot summer and carcinogens throughout the year.
The setback in our progress.
Mimmo Catania
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