During a walk along the streets of the historic centre of a Salentine small villagge or town, it is quite usual to meet with small shops where some craftsmen work the different materials (cartapesta, terracotta and the Lecce sandstone) with an unbelievable enthusiasm and dexterity. The Salentine craftsmaen express themselves in many different ways, so that some materials rough as the iron or poor as the twisted rushes find here their hightest artistic expression. Wrought Iron
Talking about Lecce and its ancient and noble traditions we have also to consider the noble art of the wrought iron, renowned countrywide from the 16th and 17th centuries for the decorations of all the palazzi and churches portals. Even today the work tools are the same: the anvil and the forge that make the iron more malleable, hammers of different shapes and sizes that grace the iron and model it in many different ways. Through the assembly of many parts, the craftsmen create headboards, lamps, firedogs, railings or banisters. All these parts are then joined together and painted. In the last years some of these craftsmen produce some useful and artistically very beautiful artifacts, which have a distinctive and refined design, so they distinguished themselves from those who make use of machineries for the iron manufactoring.
Cartapesta (papier- mâché) The origins of these old crafts trace back to some centuries ago. According to few the origin of the cartapesta dates back to the 15th century, in the back shop of a barber’ , who was not always busy to cut hair or to shave off beards. On the contrary some people explain the creation of the cartapesta as an answer of the humble people, who model together straw and rags covering them with paper, so they realised the famous statues and holy shapes, we can find them in many churches of the Salento. It was an answer to the luckier stonecutters (who decorated the wonderful Baroque churches and palazzi, sculpting the noble Lecce sandstone). In spite of everything, the “poor masters” found many clients among the clergy. In fact during the Lutheran heresy the clergy needed to reconcile with the believers, offering to them statues of the Madonna, Christ or Saints, in order to persuade them. But they found also many clients among the nobles, they believed that with these commissions they assured themselves a place in heaven. Today most of the production is mass-produced: it is very hard to find the craftsman who works the clay by hand, as craftsmen used to do once. In fact, as all the old crafts, this one is disappearing too. This form of art was oft handed down from mother to daughter, in ancient times these creations were conceived for domestic use only, as they were part of the marrying daughter’s trousseau. Nowadays the new market demands have brought to the birth of many small textile factories, which produce household linen, carpets and fittings, without omitting the originality and the elegance. Terracotta There is oft a connection between the production of a mufactured product and the environment that provides the raw materials. In fact the working of the cartapesta is limited in the area of Lecce. Different is the situation for the working of terracotta, which is typical product of the villages situated in the areas where the clay is dug out. The origin of the art of working this extraordinary material provided by the nature lost itself in the mists of times. Suffice it to think to all the finds dating back to the prehistory, populating the Salentine museums. The working of terracotta was spread in the almost the wide Salento: plates, bowls, pignate (crocks), vases were produced from Nardò to Gallipoli, from Cutrofiano to Ruffano, these last villages are still very important centres of production. Renowned was S. Pietro in Lama because of the production of the “imbreci”(tiles). The working of terracotta is not limited to the production of the house utensils, but also some child’s plays, like whistles, little bells and the “pupi” (statuettes for the crib) are produced. Intrecciati (basketworks) In the most southern area, precisely in Acquarica, marsh areas and cane thickets provide the raw materials for the working of the rushes or of the wicker. Few old craftsmen still twist them in order to create baskets, hampers and bags. In the summer on the beaches and on the sea-coasts you can find improvised points of sale selling these special items, as well as you can find also peculiar basketworks, done with the olive-tree twisted reeds, which require a particular craftsmanship. Their quality if different and better than the new reproductions of similar objects in plastic. The old professions we talked about made the history of the Salento. Besides these, maybe less renowned, we have to mention the cabinet-makers, the goldsmiths, the chisellers, the throwers, the chair menders, etc. The survival of all these small worlds require a particular care, delicacy and a touch of sacrifice and need interventions of promotion in order to render more appreciable the appeal of this extraordinary heritage. Copper The same happened with the working of copper,in old times it was used to realise quatare and quatarotti( copper pots and cauldrons), braziers, and scarfalietti (old holders with a long handle containing the burning embers, its aim was to warm the beds in winter) Today all these utensils are replaced by the new steel pots and by the more advanced heaters. We can find them reproduced with a decorative aim in some shops in the Southern part of the Salento. Weaving The south of Salento is full of the most various handicrafts, also historically not belonging to this territory. Our ties are very famous, they are hand sewn in small tailors’. The production of clothes, embroderies, laces of exquisite workmanship is very widespread.
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