Magasa - Photo ©
Rob Campion
Magasa
Tales of the people, traditions, trades and products of the area inland of the lake. The interweaving of these elements is self-evident to those visiting the Magasa area, pausing in the town and then reaching the characteristic barns with their thatched roofs and the extensive pastures of Cima Rest, where typical cheeses are produced.
The aroma of milk is accompanied by the color of flowers. For centuries the slopes of Monte Tombea and Monte Caplone have indeed been a place of refuge for very rare and much admired species of plants and numerous examples of alpine fauna.
Magasa Barns
The territory of the village of Magasa is characterized by a strong presence of barns, small, old, rural buildings used to preserve the hay and to breed cattle. The barns are mostly placed in the pasture of Denai and Cima Rest.
Until some decades ago the breeder lived here during all year round. In summer, from June to September, the shepherd made the hay, while the livestock was in public pasture land of Corna, Casina, Bait e Tombea. From Autumn to spring the shepherd took care of his livestock and dedicated himself to the production of cheese and butter. He worked also in order to maintain the building, and especially the hay-roof in good condition. He chopped the wood and made the work-instruments.
Magasa Barns - Photo ©
RoCam
The architecture of these barns is the only one of its kind and, except some resemblance to some barns in other part of northern Italy (Monte Valpiana, in the Village of Bosco Chiesanuova, in the district of Verona and on the mountains between Asiago and Belluno), no exemplar exists in Italy.
The building, a masterpiece of efficiency and thrift, is made up of a ground floor closed by strong and thick walls of rocks. In the ground floor there are three rooms, the cowshed, to protect the livestock from the cold winter, the shepherd’s room, where the shepherd can produce and preserve the cheese and the butter and the warehouse (rolt).
The first floor has a floor made of wood boards leaned on strong beams. Here the hay was kept dry during all the winter round. The floor has very steep slope and it is covered with bundles of wheat hay, that are a meter and 20 centimeters long. The bundles are placed side by side and are put one on top of the other, to make them water-repellent.
How to get there
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