GENTE DI CALOSSO

 

"

Before starting the long journey between history and the people of my country, I would like to tell you why I embarked on a rather long and difficult adventure.

 

Actually, when I went to school, I could not do very well in any subject. But history fascinated me, especially that of ordinary people. If for example I found an ancient coin in a vineyard, I was not interested in its value, almost always insignificant, but I liked, through the era in which it was coined, to imagine who had lost it, the anger and then the resignation proved in having lost it.

 

I had always been fascinated by the stories of the old people of my village, especially those handed down by my grandfather and my grandmother. The years have passed and the passion has grown to make me want to deepen the roots of my roots.

Texts that spoke in detail of the history of Calosso were not there, apart from someone in a very vague; the few direct news could only be found on parish bulletins, drawn from a research of our unique Calossian historian Vittorio Boido. Then nine years ago I met Mr. Fermo Cerruti and by chance I discovered that he had written a book about the story of Castiglion Tinella, "Castion".

I bought it immediately and found many references on Calosso. Keeping in touch with him, I spoke to him of my passion further heightened by the fact that in those years the local history books of Asti were born like mushrooms. He calmly said to me: "Why do not you write the story of Calosso?" I replied: "How do I do it?". And he "It's very simple, go to the municipal archive and consult the documents."

With this fact, you land in common. I had already asked permission from the mayor of that time, Demichelis Gualtiero, who had given it to me willingly. But as I discovered later, perhaps the municipal secretary Dr. Ancona was not too much in agreement. With the complicity of the clerk Carlo Torielli, I managed to finally open the doors of the old wardrobe, where the precious folders were kept.

From what I was told, the Historical Archive was "very poor" and there was nothing interesting. To the face! There were almost complete resolutions from 1617 to the present day, not counting some documents dating back to 1577, plus some even older parchment.

In short, a historical archive of all respect, unfortunately a bit 'in disarray and I did not even know where to start. I became patient and started the search.

Because of my work as a farmer, I only went in common when it rained, very rarely then, and my daughter Anna went so far as to say: "When dad goes in common, it rains".

So I spent a long time, but I still remember when I closed in that room, in the dark days of rain, alone, bent over the folders that emanated that characteristic smell, for me intoxicating .. what a feeling!

I felt like living in a time machine. Who knows those secretaries bent on deliberations, intent on recording, I know, a list of young people approaching the war, or the list of the genders provided to the troops passing through after the last house, with the faint light of a candle and maybe gnawing a piece of bread with some walnuts and a bunch of Moscato.

I will regret those feelings, or I will start again with some other adventure.

In any case I have achieved the aim: the discovery of my roots through the history of the people of Calosso. Patient readers will judge the result.

Certainly the Piedmontese language, the traditions, the history of our land so proud, deserve great attention and must not be lost

"

                                                                                                                       2000, Piero Bussi