Giuseppe Brusasca Caterina Bo
La Pollenzo di ieri e di oggi
Caterina Bo was born in 1934 inside of the Agenzia of Pollenzo, the architectural complex designed by Carlo Alberto between 1838 and 1843. Catherine's father was the driver of the Director of the Agenzia in Pollenzo.
Bo allows you to know, from the voice of a witness, the organization of the Agenzia and the life of the community Pollenzo before the great transformations that have marked the the twentieth century.
Caterina Bo tells how life was in Pollenzo until the Second World War. It was intimately linked to the Agenzia: the parish, the asylum, the pharmacy saying they were placed under the direct control of the Agenzia.
Caterina tells the entire story of the Agenzia and other local landmarks of the village: Cascina Albertina, the bridge over the Tanaro.
The quiet life of the village had a turning point after the armistice of the 8th September 1943. After it the castle and the Agenzia were occupied by a German command: "One fine day - Caterina Bo tells - the Germans arrived, we were all thrown out. The Agency was made a garrison, and so we were off, (...) in two hours we had to go out from the house",
Caterina tells the story of the war period when three people, including the assistant priest of Roddi were killed.
Caterina Bo tells of the forms and practices of popular religiosity, from Rogation processions to the churches of St. Mark, St. Sebastian and the Madonnina.
Caterina in the course of his tale tells of the excitement when, after half a century of decay, she has seen the Agency back to a new life thanks to the University of Gastronomic Sciences: "The first time I saw the lights had a strong effect on me (...) I looked back to see my window".
The testimony of Caterina Bo was collected during the "Granaries of Memory" training course organized by UNISG together with the Municipality of Bra in the framework of the European Project Enhance Traditions to Improve Young Skills and Abilities. The project was supported by the European Commission in the context of its Youth in Action Programme.
The cultural association "Il Ponte" of Pollenzo, in particular Professor Daniela Brussino, collaborated in order to identify the "witness of tradition". The students Alessio Abrate, Paolo Arlenghi, Lorenzo De Rose, Alexander Fiorina, Maria Mazzotta, Vakantie Cisse have collaborated with the conduction the interview.
Video table of contents
- The birth in the Agenzia of Pollenzo
- Pollenzo and the Agenzia before the Second World War
- The coming of the King: hunting and fishing
- Wheat, corn and pheasants
- The occupation of the German soldiers and the eviction from the Agenzia
- The priest of Roddi killed by German soldiers
- Partisans and the Germans: the shot down airplane and retaliation
- The butler of the king and the keys to the castle
- The flour donated in the Day of the Dead
- Don Gallino, a parish priest with the mantle
- The rogations
- The wheat harvest and the mill
- The river, the fish pond, gravel and snacks
- The
- The irons for wool recovered from the demolished bridge
- Wedding, the Fiat and the return to Pollenzo
- The agronomist of the Agenzia of Pollenzo
- The Agenzia at the time of her parents and the rebirth with the University
- The husband working at the Fiat and her work as a housewife
Interview information
Country: IT
Region: Piemonte
City: Bra
District: CN
Suburb: Pollenzo
Altitude: 198m s.l.m.
Caterina Bo
Date of birth: 12-29-1934
City: Bra
Profession: Housewife
Languages: Italiano, dialetto piemontese
Bibliography:
Brussino Daniela, Molino Baldassarre (2003), Pollenzo. Da contea a frazione lungo un millennio, Savigliano, Artistica.
Carità Giuseppe (a cura di) (2004), Pollenzo. Una città romana per una real villeggiatura romantica, Savigliano, L’artistica.
Grassi Luigi (1946), La tortura di Alba e dell'albese (settembre 1943-aprile 1945). Ricordi personali, Alba, San Paolo.
Prandino Maria Grazia (1991-1992), Il Ponte "Carlo Alberto" di Pollenzo. Una presenza nel territorio, Politecnico di Torino, Facoltà di Architettura, tesi di laurea, relatore prof. Luciano Re.
Prandino Maria Grazia (2005), Il ponte sospeso di Pollenzo, in “Bra o della felicità”, n. 1, pp. 54-59.
Riccardi Candiani Anna (2011), Louis Oudart e i vini nobili del Piemonte. Storia di un enologo francese, Bra, Slow Food.
Document by: Gianpaolo Fassino, Luca Percivalle
Video by: Luca Percivalle
Created: 23-05-2014
Questo video fa parte del seguente archivio
Memories of Piedmont
Memories of Piedmont
The archive contains of testimonials from the memories of Piedmont. The life stories told emphasize aspects of the cultural, social and economical history of the region. Specific attention was paid to the testimonies of the Resistance movement in order to give splendour to the memory of this integral moment of national identity. Research promoted by the Piedmont Region, Institute for the History of Resistance and Contemporary Society (Asti, Alessandria, Cuneo, Novara e Verbano-Cusio-Ossola, Biella e Vercelli) and by the ‘Nuto Revelli' Foundation.
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