Granai della Memoria

Interviewed in 2007, Angela Fantuzzi, born in 1930, and Angela Gritta, born in 1927, tells their experience as rice-weeders in Vercelli province. Angela Fantutti, of Abruzzo origins, worked in the rice field from 1964. She has lived in Casalbeltrame for over 40 years. She describes the harsh life of a rice weederer: to have to leave the native village, to cope with a hard work, to understand a foreign dialect, and live in a different town.  Angela Gritta, born in Brescia, calls herself the last rice weeder. She began the job in 1959 when her husband and her decided to move to Casalbeltrame in order to find a new job. She spent her life in the rice fields, from 1959 to 2000, when, 77 years old, she "abandoned" the rice fields. She keep memories of the first year of job when she moved back and forth from the rice fields to the cradle of her new-born baby.