The Heritage of Manfredonia’s Ancient Trades

He devoted himself to fishing, drawing from the sea the livelihood needed for himself and his family. 
It is a very ancient trade, handed down from father to son, which has always demanded commitment, courage and sacrifice, since the sea, while an essential resource for the town, is also unpredictable and full of dangers. He lived mostly at sea: he would set out on Sunday and return on Friday.
Fishermen also possessed craft skills: they made sails and nets, mended them when they tore, painted their own boats and rigged them, fitting them out for navigation.
The seamen who worked on the boats and at the end of the day were paid in money and with a certain quantity of fish were instead called “Skafette”.

Among the tools used: 
– the “sciabica”, a net for shore fishing, cast into the sea and hauled in by hand, with the “pastòra”, a leather band tied across the body to give strength; this is linked to a type of fishing called “u tónne”, that is, “the round”, since a small boat sets off from a point on the beach paying out a long fishing net and, after following a semicircular course, comes back in a few dozen metres from its starting point.
– the “màppele” refers to a part of the net, namely the central body with tighter meshes, connected to the selvedge, that is, the upper part, the one joined to the line with the floats, and to the bottom part, the one attached to the line with the lead weights. Joined together in this way — màppele, sóreve and chjómme (net, corks and leads) — the net is said to be arméte = armed, that is, complete, ready for fishing.

Selling took place at the fish market, where the auctioneer set the price and “u jaddechère” sold the fish retail, in small shops or on the street.

A labourer who extracted stone from a quarry. The stone was used for building houses, roads and marble slabs. It was hard, heavy work, made of dust and noise, with hammer and chisel always in hand. With a steel bar (‘a pala-möne, the mining bar) about 5 cm in diameter, by sheer strength of arm he would bore a hole in the rock at least 50 cm deep.

The embroiderer devoted herself to the art of embroidery and taught it to the girls of the town. Young women, especially those tied to the old traditions, prepared their own wedding trousseau by hand, learning from these expert craftswomen. The number of pieces in the trousseau indicated the wealth of the bride and her family. Lessons were held mainly in summer, in front of the houses, where the women worked while singing religious songs. The embroiderer wore simple, comfortable clothes, such as a petticoat and a white apron. She was a patient, hard-working and highly creative person, but her work, carried out for many hours, often ruined her eyesight. Besides embroidery, she also knew how to crochet. In 1592, Isabella de Florio opened a sewing and embroidery school in her home, where the daughters of the nobles and the wealthy of Manfredonia came to learn this art. The manual work required correct posture and a suitable working height to avoid back pain. When she found an interesting design, the embroiderer would copy it onto tissue paper and then transform it into splendid embroidery. Another prestigious school was that of the Orphanage of the Stella Maris sisters. Alongside moral and spiritual formation, girls were taught the art of handling embroidery tools and of executing appliqué embroidery, drawn-thread work, stem stitch, broderie anglaise, satin stitch, flat stitch, filling stitch, cross stitch, chain stitch, laid stitch, hemstitching, quilting, close stitch, bobbin lace and so on. There were also numerous private schools.

He carried out a variety of tasks: he sewed with patience, prepared patterns with precision, mended damaged garments and, when needed, made new clothes, mainly for men, tending to every detail with dedication and taste. It was a trade of precision and dedication, often practised in a place where home and workplace coincided (house and workshop). It was not a particularly well-paid job, so tailors often supplemented their income with secondary work.  From this condition of poverty that often characterised the tailor, similar to that of another craftsman, the cobbler, comes the saying “ U sarte cu vestite strazzéte e u scarpére chi scarpe ròtte”, that is, “The tailor with the torn suit and the cobbler with the broken shoes”. Among his tools: “U Centìmetre”, the tailor’s tape measure, a strip of waxed cloth 2 cm wide and a metre and a half long.

He repaired shoes with great skill: he fixed the stitching, replaced worn heels and carefully resewed damaged soles. The work required ability, attention and a good knowledge of materials. In most cases only the half sole was replaced — the part running from the toe to the ball of the foot — made of tough animal leather, cut and shaped by hand to fit the shape of the shoe perfectly. Each repair gave footwear new life, extending its use and keeping alive an ancient art made of precise gestures and experience handed down over time.

The “cuntadine” worked the land on behalf of others, while the farmer was the owner. The term “Caföne” is used to describe someone coarse and ignorant. It should be remembered that peasants began working at a very young age, and so had no time for schooling. He ploughed the fields with patience and strength, preparing them for the sowing that followed with gestures by now familiar and precise. He scattered the seeds with care, entrusting them to the earth and the seasons, and when harvest time came, he worked tirelessly to fill the sacks with wheat or the baskets with fruit and vegetables. His pay was not always in money: he often received a share of the harvest itself, the fruit of his effort and daily toil, or a small sum that was the tangible recognition of his work in the fields, as hard as it was essential to everyone’s life. Many families lived in the countryside around the town to work the land. Peasants rose at dawn, often around three in the morning, and during the harvest months there was always plenty to do. In May the wheat harvest began, while in summer came the gathering and cleaning of almonds, in which the women also took part. The last great labour of the year came in September, with the olive harvest.

After giving birth, most mothers in Manfredonia breastfed their children themselves. When, however, some women had little milk, they turned to the “bbalie”, also called “mamme de latte” or “nutrizze”: sturdy women with ample bosoms, able to nourish not only their own children but also those of other mothers. This form of solidarity, which lasted for months, created a deep bond between the two women, called “a cumbarizzje”, based on respect and friendship. Infants nursed by the same wet nurse were considered “fréte de latte”, that is, milk brothers, united by a special bond of affection despite not being related by blood. Among the best-known wet nurses of the last century were the sisters Siponta and Antonietta Miucci, nicknamed “i stangùne” for their imposing build.

He worked iron with skill and strength, transforming the raw metal into useful and often beautiful objects: railings, gates, handrails or work tools. In his workshop, he heated the iron until it glowed, then shaped it with firm, precise blows, bending it to his will and giving it the desired form. It was a hard and tiring trade, accompanied by the sound of the hammer on the anvil and by a shower of bright sparks that lit up the workshop. But it was also an art, made of experience, patience and great mastery, capable of uniting the force of fire with human creativity.

With patience and skill he wove straw or reeds, which were first carefully soaked to make them flexible and then left to dry in the sun. With these he made the so-called “canistre”, baskets of various shapes and sizes, each designed for a specific use. Some were small and light, ideal for gathering fruit or vegetables; others were sturdier, suited to holding the day’s catch or the frogs caught in the canals and marshes. This apparently simple work in fact required great mastery and knowledge of natural materials. The “canistre” were indispensable objects in the daily life of the wetland and rural areas, symbols of an economy built on manual skill, ingenuity and a close bond with nature.