FILO.PRIMIERO_STEPS Template 4.dat 1/4/2016 8:13 PM Page 1 FILÒFILÒ AA JournalJournal forfor TyroleanTyrolean AmericansAmericans Fall/WinterFall/Winter 20152015 FILO.PRIMIERO_STEPS Template 4.dat 1/4/2016 8:13 PM Page 2 2 FILO.PRIMIERO_STEPS Template 4.dat 1/4/2016 8:13 PM Page 3 AnAn IntroductionIntroduction .. .. .. The Filò is to be published and distributed on a quarterly basis and is targeted to the chil- dren of our immigrant parents. The Filò (pronounced fee-lò) was the daily gathering in the stables of the Trentino where the villagers met and socialized. The intent is to provide a summary of our culture, history, and customs in plain English to inform and provide you with the background of your roots and ancestry.. If you wish to contact us, call Lou Brunelli at 914-402-5248. Attention: Your help is needed to expand our outreach to fellow Tyrolean Americans. Help us identify them, be they your children, relatives or acquaintanc- es. Go to filo.tiroles.com and register on line to receive the magazine free of charge. You may also send your data to Filò Magazine, PO Box 90, Crompond, NY 10517 or fax them to 914-734-9644 or submit them by email to [email protected]. Front Cover: Agritur-Malga Canali 3 FILO.PRIMIERO_STEPS Template 4.dat 1/4/2016 8:13 PM Page 4 IntroductionIntroduction toto PrimieroPrimiero he Primiero, also Under the dynasty of the Welsperg`s, Fiera of Primiero known as the Valle enjoyed a remarkable economic and demographic devel- del Cismon, is a val- opment. Becoming the administrative and commercial ley in the eastern center of the valley, the economy took off thanks to the part of Trentino, Italy. See map mining of copper, iron and silver. Around the middle of TonT page 7. The valley includes the fifteenth century, about 3000 miners worked in the municipalities of Fiera di Primero, mostly German. Most of the miners were Primiero, Imèr, Mezzano, Siròr, imported from the Northern Tyrol and Voralberg of Tonadico and Transacqua and Austria. Primiero became the the second largest mining nestles in the southern center of the Empire. There existed a dual Dolomites, bordering the province of Belluno. Three big jurisdiction..one for the indigenous Primierotti and the mountain ranges surround the valley: the Lagorai moun- other for the German speaking miners.(hence the pres- tains in the west, the Feltrine peaks in the south and the ence of German names in the Primiero population). Pale di San Martino mountain group in the north. The With the discovery of the Americas, silver was derived latter hides a large high-altitude plateau in between its from the Incas of Peru` while iron became ever less more than 9842 ft high mountains. It consists of eight profitable to mine so the valley people turned to their municipalities (comuni): Canal San Bovo, Fiera di vast forests. There developed a commerce of harvesting Primiero, Imèr, Mezzano, Sagron, Mis, Siròr, Tonadico their forests which created a joint venture between the and Transacqua. It also includes Canal San Bovo, situated Venetian financeers and the Primiero businesses who in the nearby Vanoi and Sagron-Mis, a small community combined to provide wood for the Venetian navies and beyond Passo Cereda in the Mis Valley. The Primiero the very pilings of the city as did the people of the Val proper, is specifically the central and upper Cismón val- di Fiemme. The local people used their skills and created ley. The important resort of San Martino di Castrozza teams dedicated to the harvesting of the timbers and (4738 ft) belongs to this group as well; it is situated not transportation of them via rivers, streams and canals. far from the important Passo Rolle (6509 ft), in view of Primiero timber was marketed throughout the the majestic group of the Pale di San Martino. As of Mediterranean basin. In the second half of nineteenth 2016, there have combined San Martino with Primiero so century Primiero was affected by two very different phe- that it is now referred to as Primiero San Martino di nomena: a massive stream of emigration due to decom- Castrozza. missioned mines (in 1875 had been closed the last iron mines) and the arrival of the first hikers and travelers, The valley was inhabited by the hunters of the Neolithic mostly British. In the valley and San Martino di period. There is evidence of this in various places of the Castrozza, they began building the first hotel, although Primiero. In the High Middle Ages, c. 1001–1300 the the main activities for Primiero continued to be the agri- Lombards gave Primiero to the city of Feltre which was culture, cattle breeding and the industry of wood . The part of the Venetian domain. Specifically, the Primiero valley’s exquiste beauty with its magnificient Dolomities, became the religious responsibility of the Bishop of extraordinary landscapes, quaint villages became a mag- Feltre. In the 1349, Charles I, the Holy Roman Emperor, net for tourists, hikers, climbers and vacationers. The val- conquered Feltre and Belluno and erected Primiero as his ley embraced its natural resources by creating recreation- jurisdiction removing it from Venice and transferring it al areas, cultivating trails, building hotels, restaurants and to the Counts of the Tyrol. There ensued a long period thus accomodating its visitors. San Martino di Castrozza of Austrian rule. In 1784, the Emperor Josef removed became a singular resort area in the shadow of the the Primiero from the Prince Bishop of Feltre and gave Dolomitic peaks while the town of Mezzano embraced Primiero and the Valsugana to the Prince Bishop of its past organizing folk customs, costumes, and dances Trento where they remained until Napoleon’s invasion. and becoming the center for the arts and music attracting The Duke of Austria gave to George of Welsperg of the artists and musicians from around the world. Primiero’s Val di Pusteria, the jurisdiction of the valley thus begin- many attractions has become truly a paradise that attracts ning four centuries of domination of the Primiero by the thousands of tourists. Written by Paolo Simion of Counts of Wellsberg. Primiero, cousin of Cardinal Joseph Bernardin. 4 FILO.PRIMIERO_STEPS Template 4.dat 1/4/2016 8:14 PM Page 5 5 FILO.PRIMIERO_STEPS Template 4.dat 1/4/2016 8:15 PM Page 6 Our Cuisine: Torta di Mele Our hatCuisine: to do with apples in the valleys…????Torta There weredi many Mele apple trees and they mature almost at once…Along with the strudel, la torta di mele…apple cake is a favorite in all the valleys. Simple inge- dients and a simple recipe are the stuff of this paesant’s delight. I remember eating such a torta in my nona’s kitchen as well as in my aunt’s...neither were exactly the same in form but the same in their ingredients. The apples were on top, inside, all around. There was no exact formula…so that here is my improvisa- WtionW from my kitchen Ingredients 8 tablespoons(1 stick) of unsalted butter ½ cup of sugar Pinch of salt 3 large eggs 1 ½ cups of all purpose flour 4 large, tart apples 1 tablespoon for the top (try raw sugar) ½ teaspoon or more cinnamon Preparation Peel and core apple with a apple…..Use a spring form pan or a pop out pan. My nona used a traditional round pan. Cut the slices in half removing the core. Arrange the wedges on their sides slightly overlapping the wedges fanning them around the perimeter…do yet another and another circle of apple wedges…placeing one wedge in the mid- dle….Sprinkle the raw sugar or regular sugar on top…Do the same with the cinnamom. Bake the torta in the middle level of a pre-heated 350-degree oven for about 40 minutes. 6 FILO.PRIMIERO_STEPS Template 4.dat 1/4/2016 8:15 PM Page 7 ManyWhereWhere of our readers have WeWe asked us to WerelocateWere the Tyrol, now .. the .. Trentino, .. within Europe…within Italy and the valleys within all of that. Whereas our Tyrol extended from the Baveria down through Austria down to Rovereto, the Province of today is composed of two parts: the Trentino and the Alto Adige. We had been known as the Sud-Tirol as well Welch Tirol (German) as well as the Italian Tirol. Now, the Alto Adige is referred to as the Sud-Tirol on account of relatively recent questionable politics while the southern part is the Trentino. Its full identification is the Autonomous Province of the Trentino-Alto Adige. Its main cities are Bolzano and Trento. Look carefully at the map. On the left, there is a small image of Italy and the red section is us. Then within Europe, we have Austria to the north and Switzerland to the North West. Within Italy, there is Lombardy to the west with Milan as the principal city. To the east and south is the Veneto that includes Friuli with Venice as its main city. Below are the valleys of the Trentino. There is the need of some explanations. The Val Giudicarie historically includ- ed three valleys. Whereas they were once the Giudicarie Inferiori, Interiori and Esteriori, they are now the Val Rendena, Val del Chiese and the Val Giudicarie Esteriori. In the Valsugana area, there is Val di Cembra and Val di Pine`. Alta Garda rests on the Lake of Garda while Val di Ledro is to west. Valle dell`Adige includes the city of Trento and Val dei Laghi. Vallagarina is the Province’s southern border, the southern border of historic Tyrol and has Rovereto as its main city.