The poor Luigio of Rimagna (hamlet of Monchio delle Corti), and so all the old people of the village, told how in the past the chestnut was present “in all sauces” in daily meals; “all sauces” is an exaggeration, because in the end the ways were always the same: roasted (Bruzädi), boiled (Barlingòt) and in the form of flour, as polenta, pattona or as pancakes.
Think that today we find them (roast chestnuts) only in the few kiosks scattered throughout the city.
In the past, the chestnut groves were kept and cleaned and in October, when they were picked, there were more people in the woods than in the village squares. The chestnuts, once harvested, were dried in the “metati”: small buildings in the woods, divided in half by a grid on which the chestnuts were spread; underneath lit a fire that burned slowly for days.
From many elderly mountain dwellers I have heard stories about the “food of the past”: few, honestly, today, willingly eat chestnuts: “we ate enough in our youth,” they respond. Perhaps due to chestnuts, perhaps not, but until he was ninety-two years old Luigio went around the woods taking home small trees that he loaded on his back to make firewood.
Given the theme, if you want to immerse yourself in the environment suitable for chestnuts, we recommend visiting the mountain churches and join a visit to the Park of Mount Fuso, the Reserve of Mount Prinzera or the oasis of Ghirardi.