Monday 30 June 2014

Preliminary archive survey

New summer campaign of the EthWAL project. Preliminar work preceded the proper fieldwork, that will be carried out in July and August.
Historical documents and maps have been collected in different archives of the Piedmont (Italy).  17th, 18th and 19th century documents found in the archives of Magliano Alpi and Mondovi' (Cuneo province) provided interesting information about the management of the upland pastures of Val Maudagna. Old publications found in the Biblioteca Storica del Piemonte (Piedmont Historical Library) of Turin were also very useful for reconstructing the recent evolution of society and rural economy in the Alps of Piedmont.
Gianni Comino (veterinary and former mayor of Frabosa Sottana) provided some old photos of the seasonal pastoral sites ("gias") of Val Maudagna; Giovanni Rovere (technical office of the Magliano Alpi Municipality) gave significant information about the recent history of upland landscapes around Brignola and Raschera lakes (high Val Maudagna and Val Corsaglia).
As already mentioned, the fieldwork will start in July. Further updates in one month time!

Modovi' (Cuneo province): the historical center