Val dei Carboner as told by Dario
He is one of the few remaining carboner, or charcoal burners, in the village. Until the mid-1970s, charcoal burning was the main occupation among the inhabitants of Bondone. Dario is proud of this, and it is a source of great pride for him to carry on the family tradition. He does this for love and not for profit, “because you do not make much money being a charcoal burner”.
Who is Dario?Dario Scalmazzi has always lived in the village of Bondone, one of I Borghi Più Belli d’Italia (Italy’s Most Beautiful Villages), on the border with the province of Brescia: on one side is Lake Idro, on the other the Val dei Carboner and Monte Alpo, under the Valle del Chiese heading north.
Dario is one of the few remaining charcoal burners in the village. Until the mid-1970s, charcoal burning was the main occupation among the inhabitants of Bondone. There were 800 people at that time, and they were all charcoal burners. It was the only resource available. All family members went there, and they were large families, of up to 8-10 people: “We would all go together, even young boys and girls, to the mountains to collect wood, fir or beech”.
“I am proud to still carry on the family tradition, it is a great passion that I inherited. For love and not for profit, you do not make much money being a charcoal burner”. It is a craft that is centuries, perhaps millennia old, handed down from generation to generation. The hardship and difficulties of that work and that way of life, and the dignity with which they were faced, is evident in the pride that Dario, alongside Bondone’s last charcoal burners, take in continuing to light the poiòt (the charcoal pile).
I am proud to be a charcoal burner, because all my ancestors were charcoal burners. I do it for passion, not for profit, because I earn little or nothing.
Why Val dei Carboner?
“The village of Bondone is beautiful, it is officially one of Italy’s Most Beautiful Villages, it has a castle, Castello San Giovanni, and a beautiful church. Then we have Lake Idro, a Blue Flag holder, one of the most beautiful lakes in Italy”. Dario is a man of few words, he uses them sparingly as he recounts his valley and his places. Few, but meaningful. Beautiful words, because “here it is beautiful and you feel well”.
Val dei Carboner opens up just above the village of Baitoni, and has a history that no one wants to forget. Especially Dario. Between the end of March and the beginning of April, when the highest mountains were still covered in snow, the families of the Bondone charcoal burners would set off to collect wood, prepare the stacks and finally turn the wood into charcoal.
The places dedicated to collecting wood and making charcoal were in the mountains, at an altitude of 1,500-2,000 metres. This is where Dario’s memories soar, as he still has a piece of firewood in his hands, a few fragments of charcoal from last season. His gaze, however, is always alert and attentive, set on his mountains, his valley, his history as a charcoal burner.
“I like going to the mountains. Only 5 kilometres away are the alpine pastures, the landscapes are wonderful. I feel well, because the air is good here. Walking is good and you sleep at night because there is no noise”.
