Who we are

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Who we are
 

We have restored the house together with the old kiln, dating back to the 1600’s and still in use in 1947, where our grandfathers kneaded and baked coppi (tiles).
Our home, situated in the little village of Porcino, is surrounded by vegetation and you can have breakfast inside or in the garden.
You can relax or have a picnic in the meadow admiring the view together with our animals: sheep and donkeys, or just go for a walk or a ride to the torrent Tasso.
In just 3 minutes you can reach Caprino Veronese, in 5 minutes the motorway in Affi, in 10-20 minutes Monte Baldo with its botanic garden, the astronomical observatory, the Sanctuary Madonna della Corona, Lake Garda, Gardaland and other amusement parks.

At your disposal:
1 double room
1  5-bed-room
1  3 bed-room
Rooms with bath
Fridge
Grill
Parking (for car/motorbike)

  
 

 

 

 

 
The Kilns
 

The ground in the area of Porcino is made of a type of clay that produces a particularly fine raw material for making tiles and bricks. In the past this encouraged the grown of little family-run factories producing such items, and the birth of some kilns in the territory.
The kiln complex generally had a large portico, used to store the wood, and a kiln. The kiln had two big arched openings, the so called “bocche”. Next to the kiln there was the “ara”, a flat grassy area where the products were placed to dry.
The working process was very long and involved the whole family.

At first people had to collect the wood during winter; then they had to extract the clay: in the ground they dug wells (4 meters wide and about 10 meters deep), the extracted material was piled up and left outside to freeze, to allow its disruption; after this the clay was smashed to pieces, soaked and finally kneaded for a long time by barefoot men, till it became malleable.
Now it was women and children’s turn. They had to shape the mixture by using metal or wooden forms in different measures: for tiles or square or rectangular bricks.
The bottomless forms were put on a sloped table covered with sand: they were filled up with the clay, modeled and smoothed by hand. Each piece, taken out the form by a single stroke, was then put on the “ara” to exsiccate some days in the sun.

  

This working phase took place during the summer because good weather was very important. In case of rain they had to put all the pieces into a protected area: these were days of great stress: a heavy shower could destroy the work of many days and compromise the earnings of a whole season.
After this first exsiccation the pieces had to be baked. Wood was crowded into the kiln openings, and once they began burning, fuel had to be added continuously for a week: from Monday to Saturday, Sunday was a holiday.
The lighting of the kiln was a great emotion and it represented the work of a whole year: if they were baked badly, the pieces could became biscotti, i.e. too cooked, attached to each other and no longer usable. Therefore the parish priest was always present to bless this special moment, and the kiln was lit by a child with a candle blessed on Candelora’s day at the Sanctuary Madonna della Corona.
Once the fire was lit, it was constantly controlled and added to, so that the heat was continuous.
After being taken out of the kiln, the pieces were cooled and then piled up under a large portico in an orderly fashion. The kiln’s owner would put them on a cart and sell them not only in the area of Caprino but also in the Adige Valley.

 

The kilns of Porcino were used up until the twenties-thirties with some exceptions. Many people remember a last cota (baking) in our kiln in 1947.

 

 

 

But this production system was bound to die, overwhelmed by mechanized tile industry.
However, with the passing of the time, we can still see those handcrafted “copi”, well-known for their excellent quality, on the roofs of many of our homes

 

  
 

 

Alice • 2009