9758 Pietro's Book: The Story of a Tuscan Peasant

Pietro's Book: The Story of a Tuscan Peasant
by Pietro Pinti and Jenny Bawtree

[url=http://www.amazon.co.uk/Pietros-Book-Story-Tuscan-Peasant/dp/1559707097/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1213013844&sr=1-1]Amazon.co.uk: Pietro's Book: The Story of a Tuscan Peasant: Pietro Pinti, Jenny Bawtree: Books[/url]

This is a very interesting account of the incredibly hard life of a peasant and his family living under the mezzadria system. It is recorded as verbal history and in some places is almost stream of consciousness which can be a bit tiring.

Pietro relates his life from his birth in 1927 to his “escape” from mezzadria in 1969 including life under fascism and the Germans.

Mezzadria was an ancient system whereby landowners allowed tenant farmers to farm the land in exchange for 50% of their crops. Many landowners exploited their tenants terribly and cheated them out of their due sometimes with the help of the church. Incredibly the last mezadri contracts only ended in the 1980s. Sharecroppers lived in the unheated stone homes that have been bought up by so many foreigners. Landowners had no incentive to upgrade the homes and consequently they were terrible to live in. So after a day of working your guts out in the fields you return to a freezing stone home without running water or toilets.

The mezzadria system clearly indicates to me the cause of many Italians attitude to the state and authority and IMHO was partly responsible for many of the societal problems that are proving so hard to eradicate.

For me the saddest passage of the book is on the last page where Pietro relates how happy he was to escape and become a builder’s mate !! because it gave him the luxury of being able to stay in bed for an extra hour, something he had never been able to do in 30 years as a peasant.

So the next time you are frustrated by something in Italy like a slow moving ape or an Intransigent man who won't do what you want him to, think about where the person may have come from in his life. Pietro’s story may give you a reason to rethink your reaction.

A thoroughly worthwhile book.

Category
Book Reviews

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Mon, 06/09/2008 - 11:20

Thanks patch, I'm always interested in antidotes to the "Frances Mayes syndrome"

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Mon, 06/09/2008 - 15:07

Well then annec you'd better not read There's a lady in the palazzo, by Marlena de Blase. I am sure that she's hoping to do to Orvieto, (which I love just as it is), what Mayes has done to Cortona!

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Mon, 06/09/2008 - 15:22

The title gives it away really, doesn't it. Still, I'd pay 50p at a car boot sale and be grateful for an airport read.....

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 06/10/2008 - 02:20

Hi Patch

Thanks for that. While researching the history of our house, which was part of the mezzadria system until 1968 I discovered a fantastic little museum just to the north of Arezzo, in the Casentino. It is a private collection but now part of the Arezzo museum group but still run by the same enthusiast who started it.

It is dedicated to the life of the contadini - one of the images is of a family of 8-10 sitting around the 'dinner' table with a centre piece of one small cooked fish hanging from the oil lamp.

Apparently , you took your bread, in turn, rubbed in down the fish to get the flavour etc... this way 1 fish fed 10!

The 'official' mezzadria system stopped in the late 60's but we had some dutch friends to lunch last week and they told us about their italian neighbours who are still living the old system.
The landlord, allegedly with 40 houses in and around Arezzo, takes half of all the 'neighbour' produces, yes he does pay for seed and fertiliser but the neighbour often has to wait YEARS for the money to reimburse him.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 06/10/2008 - 04:23

There are a number of very good Italian films which take as their 'theme' the mezzadria, one of is The Tree of The Wooden Clogs (l'Albero degli Zoccoli) directed by Ermanno Olmi. Set in Tuscany in 1890 or so, it won the Palme d'Or for best picture in 1978. Available on DVD from [url=http://www.nouveauxpictures.co.uk]Buy Nouveaux Pictures DVDs & Videos[/url] or through Amazon

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 06/11/2008 - 07:10

HI Anne, I agree, anything to get the taste of that book gone.

Thanks everyone for all the iinteresting info. I will definately be visiting th museum and getting the movie.

Amazing that it is still carrying on though.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sat, 07/12/2008 - 13:06

After patch's post bought and read Pietro's book. The blurb tries to make it sound like a nostalgic view of a way of life that has disappeared but that's a bit like the slave museum I visited in S Carolina many years ago. The items were on display without any analysis at all as to the system!
Anyway, I thoroughly recommend the book. I particularly liked the breakdown month by month of the work that had to be performed

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 07/15/2008 - 08:44

That film Tree of wooden clogs, is out of print in UK so does anyone know where to obtain it here in Italy with English subtitles of course please?

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 07/15/2008 - 09:22

[quote=Noble;92972]That film Tree of wooden clogs, is out of print in UK so does anyone know where to obtain it here in Italy with English subtitles of course please?[/quote]

[url=http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_ss_w_h_/202-5437694-6335869?url=search-alias%3Ddvd&field-keywords=tree+of+wooden+clogs&x=13&y=14]Amazon.co.uk: tree of wooden clogs: DVD[/url]

Amazon will ship it to Italy.

STOP PRESS!!!!!!!!!!!

It is also available from play.com at a lower price and with no P&P!
[url=http://www.play.com/DVD/DVD/4-/98945/The-Tree-Of-Wooden-Clogs/Product.html]Play.com (UK) : The Tree Of Wooden Clogs : DVD - Free Delivery[/url]

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Thu, 07/17/2008 - 06:03

Speaking of films about Italy in the past...The National Gallery London is showing various films of this type as part of the Radical Light Exhibition (Italy's Divisionist Painters 1891- 1910. On the 19 July Le Mani sulla citta' 26 July Rocco e i suoi fratelli. 2 August Accattone, 9 August I Pugni in tasca and more...see wwwnationalgallery.org.uk