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The Malghe |
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The Sauris malghe
The ridge which acts as watershed between the Lumiei basin and the Val Pesarina is a chain
of rounded verdant mountains: the Festons, Oberkofel, Morgenlait, Pieltinis, Torondon, Novarza,
Losa and Forchia and to the east the crosswise group of the Col Gentile.
The peaks are of soft arenaceous rock which has been heavily scored by the action of glaciers.
This explains the morphology of the area, in sharp contrast with the parallel chain rising
majestically to the north with its great walls and keeps of dolomite rock, and also the fertility
of the substratum, particularly suitable for agriculture and breeding livestock.
On the two north and south facing mountainsides, an almost uninterrupted string of temporary
dwellings has been built over the centuries, dating from when extensive use was made of Alpine
summer pastures. Alpine pastures were the main resource for the subsistence of the local population
and its inevitable dependence on economic self-sufficiency.
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Up until the 18th century, the Sauris basin was to all intents and purposes quite isolated,
communicating with the outside world only via mule tracks and pathways.
And even though this century has finally seen the construction of a road infrastructure which
has overcome the previously extremely treacherous conditions (but which helped to maintain cultural
traditions, such as the German dialect, and the use of outstanding materials such as those
used for the wonderful typical wooden dwellings) difficulties in communications continue
today towards the area of Belluno as a result of recurrent landslides at the
head of the Lumiei valley
In this subregion, where exploitation of the mountain has always followed classical models,
high altitude pastures have constantly attracted communities from the outside.
This is apparent where municipal boundaries have penetrated from adjacent valleys, insinuating
themselves into the basin to take over farmhouses and their outbuildings.
This is what happened at Socchieve which, from the Tagliamento Vlley, extends a spit of land,
in some parts no more than 400 m. wide, northwestwards to take in the malghe of Monterił and Valuta
whose pasture-lands share the administrative boundaries. A similar situation is found at the malghe
of Forchia and Losa which fall within the Ovaro municipality.
Today the road network linking the settlements with valley communities makes it easy to get
to all the malghe of Sauris and to travel between the various business enterprises.
It is possible to travel from one end to the other of the part of the mountain range of Monte
Pieltinis-Col Gentile overlooking the basin.
From Lateis and Sauris di Sotto the more productive malghe of the area can be reached
by handy mule tracks and from here it is possible to pass the watershed and reach the
farmhouses and pastures of the Val Pesarina below.
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Life in a malga
The word malga is usually used to mean the pastures which lie beyond the tree line, from about 1500 m.
upwards, and the attendant buildings necessary for pastoral farming: the casera where the products are
worked and preserved and where the workers lodge and the sheds or enclosures which provide shelter for
the animals.
Alpine grazing and the use of summer pastures is a highly sophisticated farming technique,
the result of centuries of experience, and is practiced not only in all Mediterranean mountainous
areas but also in Asia Minor, America and in the Himalayas.
The exploitation of natural resources, in this case the pasturelands which extend beyond the tree line,
whether they are private property or, as in most cases, publicly owned, permits the highlander
to increase the number of head reared by 25%.
The amount of hay economised on over the three months when the livestock is in the malga is
estimated at around one thousand kilos per head. The annual consumption of forage for cattle in
sheds is four thousand kilos.
In the past, high altitude alpine pastures were the final phase in a process of exploitation of
foraging resources which followed a vertical altimetric progression.
In the spring and autumn privately owned lower mountain pastures were used (pre and post summer pastures),
located just beyond the outskirts of permanent settlements, where privately run stavoli and barns
(stąipes) were set up.
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These were sufficient for families to live in and for the shelter of livestock.
There were also facilities for milk processing and the storage of hay during the winter months.
They were used when the herds were on their way up to or down from the summer pastures or returning
from a period spent at higher pastures.
Beyond this strip there still exist today extensive alpine pastures which are used at the
beginning of the summer, most of which are public property and, together with the buildings
distributed in conformity with the morphology of the place and the nature of the land,
are available for use by the community.
Temporary agricultural companies which operate as fully fledged productive units are set up
to organise exploitation of alpine pastures over the summer months.
These units increasingly make use of the pastures belonging to two or more malghe,
consequently there are always fewer companies than there are working malghe.
The main figure in the world of mountain pastures is the malgaro.
More often than not he rents the malga but is rarely owner. He is usually a cattle-breeder
who drives his own livestock and that belonging to other small breeders from nearby villages
to the summer alpine pastures. Some malghe are run directly by cooperatives and breeders associations.
It is the malgaro who hires staff, including the cheese-maker, who is in charge of processing
the milk and of the kitchen, and the shepherds who look after the animals
and clean the sheds and enclosures. |
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