The table has always been the first placecelebrated for exchange and dialogue, but often the food itself tells the cultural and material history of a place. The “Miner’s Basket”, as this lunchbox was called, has a lot to reveal about the daily life of those who worked in the mines. First of all, the material with which it is made: metal, which allowed the precious contents to be protected from rodent attacks. A real “armor” that constituted a bulwark for the bond with family and loved ones, the only moment of pleasure within the belly of the earth.
Each miner brought his own Panierina from home, artfully prepared by the women of the family: a masterpiece of balance that combined nutritious foods to provide energy and sustenance, economical and at the same time good to satisfy the taste, and of balancing acts: the art of arranging the various elements in such a way as to fit everything into small spaces, without ruining anything.
The “Miner’s Basket” contained the mess tin known by the Maremma miners as “caldaino”, made up of two parts stacked one inside the other and which could be heated, usually containing a first course. Then there was a thermos for coffee and also a glass bottle and bread. Fruit only when it was there. The food was often made up of leftovers, in fact, more was often cooked the night before to have dishes ready to take away the next day. The type of cuisine was linked to that of the family tradition and the territory.
To remember this important piece of the history of the Maremma and the recent mining past of the Colline Metallifere, the dinner was organized: “Piatti di Pirite”, in memory of the mineral that was extracted from these mines, which will take place in the former Bagnetti di Gavorrano on 26 June. Seven restaurateurs from Gavorrano (Gotti and Morsi, Bellavista, Passo Carraio, Morgante, Vecchia Hosteria, Enoristorante Boccaccio, Pizza Cartoon) will offer a menu inspired by the “Panierina” with some dishes such as panzanella, tortelli Maremmani (the holiday dish), acquacotta, suckling pig andthe Caldana wafer, a typical dessert of the hamlet of the Municipality of Gavorrano, so much so that each family had its coat of arms on the instrument with which it was made. Dinner will come served in the metal cauldron, which will then remain with the diners as a souvenir.
Food, as stated in the claim of the regional Vetrina Toscana project, of which the event is part, is: “a journey within a journey” and as such leads to the exploration of new places far from the usual tourist destinations. Before dinner, diners will be able to visit the museum in the gallery of the Colline Metallifere National Park – and take a walk at the geosite of the Theater of the Rocks, once occupied by the limestone quarry. In the front of the quarry a large amphitheater was created in stone material suitable for outdoor theatrical performances. The theatre, which evokes the shape of an ancient Greek theatre, was designed to become “part of the quarry”. The steps that house the spectator seats were designed to follow the shape of the front until they merge in a unique and evocative way at the points of contact with the rock face. THEThe Colline Metallifere National Park, since 2010, has been a geopark of the UNESCO network known as “Tuscan Mining UNESCO Global Geopark”.
The dinner will open Girogustando, the food and wine event created by Cat Confesercenti Toscana, with Confesercenti Grosseto, the Maremma and Tyrrhenian Chamber of Commerce through Vetrina Toscana, the Region’s project with the support of Unioncamere Toscana which promotes food and wine tourism, directed by Toscana Promozione Turistica assisted by Fondazione Sistema Toscana.
The dinner was also made possible thanks to the patronage of the municipality of Gavorrano, the collaboration of the Gavorrano restaurateurs’ association, the Pro loco, the Maremma wine protection consortium, the Colline Metallifere national park. Thanks to Fausto Costagli who is coming out with the book “La Panierina del miner”, Ouverture editore.
