This short history was prepared by ARCOOS, a historical, archaeological and architectural research group in Lunigiana. With grateful acknowledgement of the invaluable help of the late Signor Alderico Alderici, the last miller of Posara. Illustrations by Karsten Müller.
Il Mulino di Posara (also known as Il Grande Mulino) stands beside the River Rosaro in the village of Posara, some two kilometres from the walled medieval town of Fivizzano in the district known as Lunigiana, in the province of Massa-Carrara, part of Tuscany.
There are two watermills within the complex, one built around the 17th. century and the other in the 19th. The ruins of a third, even earlier, mill stand beside the millrace, a hundred metres or so upstream.
Within the complex there is also a three-story Tuscan house (divided into two apartments), two other apartments above the old mill, mule stalls and other outbuildings, all set in extensive grounds, laid out in semi-formal gardens and in tree-filled walled fields running for about 400 metres beside the millstream.
The Rosaro, (a torrente rather than a fiume, that is a torrent rather than a river) sweeps round the property and the adjoining vegetable and flower plots of the villagers, and is crossed downstream from the mill by an ancient packhorse bridge. The low hills of this part of the valley are covered in European oak and chestnut, while the in fields which border the mill on the village side, vines, vegetables and sunflowers are cultivated. The villagers also keep cows, horses, rabbits, chickens and turkeys.
The mill courtyard is entered down a short drive through the village from the via provinciale.
The Old Mill is the lower, downstream part of the complex and is of the type having a horizontal water wheel, known as 'Greek', 'Scandinavian' or a ritrecine (like a Roman sweep-net). No precise date has yet been put on its construction, but it is believed to originate from the 17th Century (seicento).
The millstream divides into four small channels made of oak. (All wooden parts of the mill in contact with water are made of oak.) These wooden channels, or mill-races, carry the water to a space beneath the Old Mill which is divided into four vaulted galleries, one for each of the mill races.The gallery nearest the river merges with the one next to it, so that there are just three arched openings through which the water falls into the arched exit that takes it back to the river.
The lower parts of the second and third millstones still retain their wooden shafts and horizontal water wheels, but the shafts and paddle wheels corresponding to the first and fourth millstones are not to be found and the channel for the first millstone has been blocked off.
How it works:
The water from the small oak channel falls directly on to the paddles (or spoons) of the horizontal water wheel. The wheel is mounted on a wooden shaft, which is reinforced with iron bands. The shaft rises through the floor above, then through the fixed lower millstone, and ends by being secured to the upper movable millstone which is thus rotated by the horizontal mill wheel. There is a mechanism by which one can raise or lower the upper millstone to regulate the grinding pressure, while with another lever it is possible to divert the flow of water away from the paddles to stop the wheel's movement.
Of the four millstones on the first floor, the first three (nearest the stairs) were for chestnuts and acorns and the fourth, for wheat. (By substituting the upper stone, it was also possible to grind maize.) The millstones for grinding chestnuts were made of sandstone from the quarry at Pognana; those for wheat were made of limestone and those for maize were made of a hard, flinty stone.
The millstones had a diameter of 1.3 metres and had four grooves passing from the centre where the flour collected and was then carried towards the outer rim of the millstone.
From time to time it was necessary to re-dress the grinding surface of the millstones, using a chisel-headed hammer. During the grinding of chestnuts encrustations tended to form, due to damp or insufficiently-dried chestnuts; to remove these deposits the upper millstones were lifted with rollers so that they could be cleaned.
Above each millstone was a hopper, a type of wooden funnel, which was filled with the corn or chestnuts to be milled. A rudimentary valve worked by a cord regulated the amount of material entering the millstone and a small bell attached to the hopper rang when it was empty. A piece of wood touching the moving millstone transmitted a small vibration to the hopper to help the grains fall better. (See Drawing 1 - coming soon.)
The hoppers were filled through holes in the floor of the room above. Access to this floor was through the present-day garage, which was connected via an arch with the area above the millstones. The area above the stones and the adjacent room (now part of apartment 4) served as a store for the chestnuts. The hole above the fourth millstone was situated in front of the present door from apartment 4 and became blocked when a new floor was laid in the mid-1970s.
The flour was put into sacks by hand as it collected in the space around the millstones and was then taken into the open space outside the working area.
Drawing 1: (coming soon)
Vertical cross-section through millstone
and related machinery in Mill 1
From the same point at the end of the millstream where it divides into the four channels, a fifth millrace used to lead back upstream (i.e. in the opposite direction to the millstream) to a hemp mill. This was located in the room which now houses the central heating boiler. It was constructed in the same way as the wheat mill, that is with a horizontal water wheel of the a ritrecine type. This wheel, however, was larger than the one for wheat, while the millstones were smaller: one of them can be seen, abandoned, in the channel that takes water to the river from the last sluice-gate before the mill. The diameter of this millstone is approximately 85cm.
This mill was used to crush hemp which was then taken home by the women of the neighbourhood for spinning and weaving into fabric on their looms. The hemp mill was in use until about 1920. Today only the wooden channel is visible, its upper part walled up: of the water wheel and its mechanism, no trace remains.
Signor Alderico Alderici, the last miller to work here (up to the late 1980s and his late 70s) believes that this part of the mill goes back about 100 years, because it was built by his father. The millstone area, which is in the upper part, is similar to that of the old mill, with four millstones placed one next to the other; but the filling of the hoppers takes place at the millstone level, since another floor was not built above this area.
Two millstones were used for grinding chestnuts: they have not been used since 1940, when the 'chestnut disease' attacked the trees in this area. At the moment one of these two is without the upper millstone, both have the gears to the drive shaft disconnected and the arm which raises and lowers the millstone is blocked.
The two other millstones are, on the contrary, complete and able to function. Millstone number three (as seen from the old mill) is for maize and was working regularly until 1989), having been used for the personal needs of the Alderici family. The present owners have undertaken some restoration work on this wheel but it is not at present fully operational.
The millstones for chestnuts ground approximately 1000 quintales (100kg) in four months work; if the chestnuts were perfectly dry it was possible to obtain around half a quintale of flour per hour, corresponding to 10 to 15 quintales a day. The maize millstone produced around one quintale of flour per hour and the same quantity was produced by that for wheat.
In a corner of the millstone area there still exists a fireplace which, as in the old mill, was used to warm the workers at night. In front of the fourth millstone there was the pesa (weighbridge) for the wheat, connected by a tube to the cylinder mill.
How it works:
The big difference between this and the old mill is in the machinery: instead of the old horizontal water wheel system, a turbine has been installed, which powers a drive shaft to move the four millstones. A system of cogged wheels transmits the revolutions of the vertical turbine shaft to the drive shaft which runs horizontally in a cellar beneath the four millstones. (See Drawings 2 and 3 - both coming soon.)
The drive shaft can be connected by cogged wheels to the four vertical shafts of the millstones. These cogged wheels of these vertical shafts are made of cast iron, while those of the drive shaft are in cast iron inlaid with wooden teeth, to reduce the friction and the noise during operation. When these teeth are worn they are replaced with fresh ones in a hard wood, such as oak, beech or acacia.
So that all four millstones do not turn at once, the gearing of the wheels of each vertical shaft can be disconnected by raising or lowering the wheel, this operation taking place when the turbine has stopped. The lower part of the vertical shaft rests on a pedestal which has to be lubricated with oil; its upper part passes through the floor above and the fixed lower millstone, turning the upper millstone. In the passage through the lower millstone it is enclosed in a wooden casing which must be lubricated with beef fat (dripping).
In front of each millstone there is a small handwheel, which is used to raise and lower the millstone itself, so as to regulate the pressure of the grinding. For the millstones to function best the vertical shaft must be perfectly upright and the millstone must be well-balanced. The vertical position of the shaft is checked by placing a specially-made device on top of it, while the millstone is balanced by distributing small weights in special holes in the upper part.
Drawing 2: (coming soon)
Vertical cross-section of turbine and principal driving mechanisms in Mill 2
Drawing 3: (coming soon)
Vertical cross-section through millstone and related machinery in Mill 2
In order to re-dress the millstone and carry out other maintenance and repair, it is possible to remove the upper millstone by using a mancina or mechanical arm. Two iron rods are inserted in two holes at the side of the millstone; these rods are then connected to a screw which, controlled by a small handle, enables the upper millstone to be raise, moved and placed on the floor. The millstone can also be turned over, so that the stone can be re-dressed.
The millstream begins some 500 metres above the mill. The first part has a natural bed, until it reaches the boccheta (little mouth), a small opening which controls the water by making it flow for a short distance under a tunnel. Just upstream from the bocchetta there is a escape channel (canaletto) which takes excess water back towards the river.
In front of the bocchetta, a protective grid has been made from saplings, to prevent the inflow of rubbish: this needs to be cleaned periodically to ensure that the water flows freely into the millstream. The ground immediately above the channel must also be kept clear to ensure that flood water moves in that direction as quickly as possible.
After the bocchetta the millstream continues in an artificial channel (the mill race or millstream) around 60cms deep and 150cm wide. About 50m down its course towards the mill one finds the first sluice-gate, made in oak. Opening the sluice (raising the gate) enables the water in the millstream to escape back towards the river down another small channel. The gate is operated by a large key which turns a bullone, effectively a large nut and bolt.
The walled millstream continues past and beneath the remains of the oldest mill (its millstream followed a slightly different and higher course), under the small bridge taking the path down to the vegetable plots and the river. Just before it reaches the mill complex, there is a slide which, in the case of exceptional flow, discharges excess water towards the river; immediately after this there is another channel (beneath the olive press area), into which the flow of water is again regulated by an oaken sluice-gate.
After this the millstream is at first partially and then completely covered: it flows under the oil press room, then under the courtyard in front of the cylinder mill and then under the passage between the house and the New Mill before dividing into the oaken channels of the Old Mill.
In order for the mill to work at full capacity, it is necessary to have the maximum amount of water, especially for the turbine. To achieve this, both sluice-gates are kept closed and all the water is channelled towards the mill. It is also necessary to keep the millstream free of any debris that might slow down the flow of water, for example, tree branches, leaves, grass, rubbish. It is therefore also necessary from time to time to clean the bottom of the millstream, cut the grass along its edges and remove any flotsam. To prevent blockages of the turbine or the channels there used to be a moving mesh grille just before the second sluice-gate, powered by an electric motor, which took anything floating out of the millstream.
When there is too much water (in the river and in the millstream) it is necessary to have both sluice-gates open, to prevent flooding and damage to the mill. This is even more necessary should there be floods. In order to protect the mill and the millstream in such emergencies, stone walls and bastions have been built along the river. Notwithstanding these regulatory and defensive systems, a severe flood can cause considerable damage to the millstream, as happened in November 1984 and Summer 1987, when a mechanical excavator was needed to repair the damage.
By Mill 2, the millstream flows over the reservoir tank for the turbine. It is covered by quite a fine grid which collects any material that might damage the turbine; when the turbine is in use this grid must be continually cleaned, especially during the period when the leaves are falling. In front of the Mill 1, the stream is divided into three wooden channels which carry the water under the mill to the horizontal paddle wheels.
At the start of these three channels it is possible to put in grids, or panels that can close them off; these channels, too, need to be regularly cleaned and at times it is also necessary to remove the debris that has accumulated in the lower part of the channels.
The tank/reservoir for the turbine has a base of approximately 160cm by 300cm, and is 3m deep. At the bottom of the tank there is an outlet controlled by a valve that is opened and closed by a fly-wheel located inside the New Mill; on the wall behind the fly-wheel are written, with indicator arrows, aprire ( to open) and chiudere (to close). When the valve is opened, the water flows from the tank through a pipe, with a diameter of 80cm, towards the turbine; the fall ( from the top of the water in the tank to the turbine) is around 5m. (See drawing on the operation of the turbine.)
The turbine was built at the same time as the New Mill, around 100 years ago, by the firm Ciolini di Firenze, which specialised in the construction of turbines and which still exists. It is made of cast iron and originally had a work capacity of 48 horsepower. It operates on the principle of the 'Francis Turbine' (a radial flow turbine). The water in the downpipe falls into the upper closed part and passes through some holes, to fall on to the horizontal wheel which produces a rotatory movement. There are 16 holes, eight on one side and eight on the opposite side; they could be opened and closed by a butterfly valve activated by a small handle placed in the millstone room near the fourth millstone.
At the moment, this valve is blocked, the handle has been dismantled, and it is therefore no longer possible to regulate the power of the turbine. With the construction of the cylinder mill (Mill 3), the power of the turbine was fixed at 25 horsepower, which was necessary for the working of the new machines; at this power, 12 holes are open. On the sides of the turbine are two inspection ports, closed by covers.
The fixed part of the turbine rests on metal girders fixed to the walls. The wheel of the turbine is hung upon the vertical shaft which is connected by cogged wheels to the horizontal drive shaft. This goes through the cellar of the mill for 21m, that is from under the first millstone in Mill 2 to half way across the oil pressing room. The drive shaft is at present disconnected before it reaches the room under the cylinder mill, so that at the moment the turbine only operates machinery in Mill 2.
In 1941, in a period when the mill was not working, the drive shaft and the vertical shafts were dismantled, made 'bigger' (by soldering on new iron pieces) and re-shaped.
The bearings of all the shafts must be oiled before and during the working of the turbine. To facilitate the oiling of the vertical shaft in the lower part of the turbine, there is a funnel connected to a pipe which takes the oil along the shaft.
While the power in the New Mill is transmitted through cogged wheels, in the cylinder mill and in the oil press transmission took place through smooth wheels attached to the drive shaft, with belts wound around them.
The cylinder mill was situated between the new mill and the oil press. To install it, it was necessary to build a special room on top to house the plant, which had to be distributed on three floors, one above the other. The installation of the plant was carried out by the firm Officine Meccaniche Berga of Treviso in 1959. The idea was to make really white flour by grinding the wheat six times and by removing the husks etc., but water power was unable to compete with commercial electrically driven mills.
The machinery from this mill was removed in 1992 and this part of the complex is to become a studio/ lecture hall for artists, musicians, photographers, dancers etc.
The press for olive oil is situated in the most upstream part of the mill complex. The press area was originally made up of two rooms, one two steps below the other. In the first, larger, one olives were worked on; in the second, the discard product from the squeezing, (la sansa), was stored. In the first room there used to be a press of the old type, a millstone for olives and a superpressa with an oil/water separator. At the moment in the oil press area there are only the old press and the stone olive breaker.
The working of the olives began with the frangitura (the breaking). The breaker consists of a circular metal basin, raised from the floor, in which there are two large cylindrical millstones, with a diameter of 135 cms, placed vertically and connected by a horizontal axle, joined to a central shaft.
This shaft, through a gearing system, is started by a transmission shaft which was connected by a belt to the main drive shaft , operated in turn by the turbine. (See Drawing 4 - coming soon.) The millstones, placed in the basin, can be lowered or raised by a special device.
The accessories in the basin are: small paddles that agitate the olive paste, pushing it under the grinding stones and speeding up the process; the scrapers that keep the grind-stones clean and prevent them from slipping and the 'expulsion paddle' for the progressive unloading of the paste. A further paddle stops the olive paste from overflowing from the basin itself.
The stone olive breaker still remaining in the olive press was installed in 1953 and processed around two quintales of produce per hour; previously there was a machine with only one stone and this one ground approximately one quintale of olives per hour.
Drawing 4 (coming soon):
Vertical and horizontal cross-sections through the olive crusher
After milling, the olive paste was removed from the basin through an opening at the side and placed under the press. The paste was put into special coconut containers called fiscoli that, wetted with boiling water, were placed one on top of the other in the press. (In all, around 15 fiscoli for a total of one quintale of olive paste.)
The press was hydraulic: a pump (which no longer exists) connected by a belt to the main motor shaft, pumped the water into the piston, approximately 120cms long. The piston, situated in the lower part of the press, pushed up as it ascended the fiscoli towards the fixed higher part of the press. The oil and water that came out of the fiscoli collected in large wooden buckets; the oil that rose to the water surface was then removed with a ladle. This process allowed one to obtain around one quintale of oil per hour.
This old-type press, still present in the oil press area, was working until 1948-49; there was also an identical press in the room which housed the cylinder mill. After 1949, a new press was installed, which worked 'cold, that is to say, without hot water and at much higher pressures. The capacity of this press was two quintales per hour. In this press, instead of fiscoli, filters were used, on which, through a dosatore (distributor ) a one centimetre layer of olive paste was placed. The piston for this press had a diameter of approximately 35 cms and it worked hydraulically. The vegetable water and the oil were collected in a steel tank and then, with a pump, the liquid was taken to the separator where the oil and vegetable water were separated centrifugally.
In the cellar under the oil press, called inferno (hell), there was a tank to recover lower quality oil for lamps (olio lampante ). Outside there is a tank which was used to decant the vegetable waters before pouring them into the river.
