Old Mill Cammarata
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🎧 STAGE 5 – THE OLD CAMMARATA MILL AND THE AGRICULTURAL RITES OF MEMORY
We are located in the lower part of the town, near the first vegetable garden, between Augello Street, G. Petrosino Street and Camerano Street. Here still stands, imposing and silent, the Old Cammarata Mill. Visible already from the beginning of Via Camerano, coming from the church of St. Anthony, the mill is distinguished by its large wall interspersed with stone arches with visible faces, an expression of the skill of local craftsmen.
This place tells much more than it appears. It is a symbol of an agricultural economy that for centuries marked the rhythm of bisacquinese life. Around the mill unfolded a world of grain, water, toil and prayer. It is no coincidence that Giuseppe Pitrè, in his corpus of studies devoted to Sicilian folk customs and traditions, describes the propitiatory rites that accompanied sowing and harvesting: collective moments in which the blessing of the earth and the heavens was invoked.
Formulas such as “fa crisciri lu graneddu” accompanied symbolic gestures, such as dipping hands in holy water and scattering aromatic herbs such as sage and rosemary in the fields, symbols of purification.
Not far from the mill, a large tree was said to rise, around which ceremonies related to the fertility of the fields were held. The tree was considered a natural guardian, a guardian of crops, whose voice could be heard in the rustling of its leaves.
This image of the landscape as a “living” element is a constant in the folk tales collected by Pitrè and is echoed in the landscape of Bisacquino, where nature and tradition merge inextricably.
Today the Cammarata Mill, though no longer active, remains a living testimony to an ancient world. To observe it is to listen to the voices of the past, the prayers of the farmers, the rhythmic sound of the millstones, the stories whispered at nightfall. It is a stage that speaks to us of work, the sacredness of the land and an agricultural culture that has shaped the territory and identity of Bisacquino.
