Among the aspects and peculiarities that often express the most unusual spirit and customs of a country, there are its doors. The doors, in the daily life, represent a point of transition and contact: you enter and exit through the doors, you open them to the world and jealously close them to guard the secrets of the house, you stop there to welcome or greet those who come in visit, by consuming, just on the doorstep, the latest chats ... if only the doors could speak, they would have things to tell!
Like the door of the Sor Ottorino Falugi's palace, in Piazza della Compagnia, where, in the past, there was written:
“A chi porta, porta aperta.
Porta chiusa a chi non porta.
Ma durante l'ora dei pasti,
porta chiusa anche a chi porta."
("To one who brings, the door is open. The door is closed to whom does not bring. But during mealtimes, the door is closed even to those who bring.")
that attested the generous hospitality of Sor Ottorino but, in the mean time, it spelled out to not be disturbed during meal from the many comings and goings animating his house.
Even the cellar door of the Cortesi family has witnessed to dramatic days during the bombing of World War II, by becoming a place of passage of rivaltini and displaced persons of neighboring cities in search of a safe refuge.
Not to mention the church doors of Rivalto, who accompanied the local history, from the strife between dioceses in the Middle Ages to the measures against the church property made by the Governments of the XVIII and XIX century and that so many souls, more or less faithfuls, have seen passing by their thresholds.
In Rivalto, as indeed in the whole Tuscany, the door becomes l'uscio di 'asa (uscio is the tuscan translation of door, while house in italian is casa but in tuscan dialect is said 'asa, without the "c"). Most of the doors of Rivalto is in wood: as those made by the historic craftsmen of the village (it is said that many of the rivaltine doors are the work of Cecchetti, a skilled master of wood), or those adapted from the portals of the old cellars, or at last the ones never treated of the old funds, with that neglected aspect revealing a decadent charm.
In Rivalto, until some time ago, it was common to leave the 'hiave all'uscio (key at the door): there was a great confidence among the small community of Rivalto and a great sense of hospitality.
The Dino and Dina Gotti's home was a "sea port", always ready to welcome those seeking hospitality, a glass of wine, a hot meal (a rosted rabbit, a chicken or a pasta plate), or those who wish to extend a greeting. Not to mention when over there it was housed the Post Office and there was a constant coming and going of people.
The use of the key at the door is also a behavior that is reflected in the Tuscan saying "porta aperta bada 'asa" (the opened door protects the house) because the thief, finding a door open or accessible, thinks that there is nothing to steal or the house owner is close around. Now times are a bit changed and, although in the alleys of the village you can still find some sporadic keys in the door during the daytime hours, it is now widespread scruple to give up the tradition.
And what about the proverb “meglio un morto ‘n 'asa che un pisano all’uscio” ("better a dead in home than a Pisan at the door")? Often used by people from Livorno, with a provocative tone for the historic conflict between the two cities (from the times of the Florentine domain which marked the decline of the Maritime Republic of Pisa and the development of the harbour of Livorno), it would seem to have originated in Lucca, in the Middle Ages when the Republic of Pisa, to collect tax, used to attack and loot Lucca -known for its parsimoniousness-, for which they feared the presence of a Pisan at the door.
In truth, the "usci" (doorways) are usually referenced in Italian literature:
from "I Promessi Sposi" ("The Betrothed"), in the episode focused on the sense of motherhood of the mother of Cecilia, daughter died of plague, rewritten by the Italian writer Alessandro Manzoni during his "rinsing of the clothes in the Arno" an expression used to mean "give the novel the purity of the cultured language spoken in Florence at those times".
The Italian poet Giosuè Carducci wrote in "San Martino" describing the autumnal atmosphere of a medieval village in Tuscan Maremma on the feast of 11 November that marks the end of field work and the start of drawing off wine.
Below a photo collection of doors, gates and portals of Rivalto, each with its history and its secrets.
The use of the key at the door is also a behavior that is reflected in the Tuscan saying "porta aperta bada 'asa" (the opened door protects the house) because the thief, finding a door open or accessible, thinks that there is nothing to steal or the house owner is close around. Now times are a bit changed and, although in the alleys of the village you can still find some sporadic keys in the door during the daytime hours, it is now widespread scruple to give up the tradition.
And what about the proverb “meglio un morto ‘n 'asa che un pisano all’uscio” ("better a dead in home than a Pisan at the door")? Often used by people from Livorno, with a provocative tone for the historic conflict between the two cities (from the times of the Florentine domain which marked the decline of the Maritime Republic of Pisa and the development of the harbour of Livorno), it would seem to have originated in Lucca, in the Middle Ages when the Republic of Pisa, to collect tax, used to attack and loot Lucca -known for its parsimoniousness-, for which they feared the presence of a Pisan at the door.
In truth, the "usci" (doorways) are usually referenced in Italian literature:
"Scendeva dalla soglia d'uno di quegli usci, e veniva verso il convoglio, una donna, il cui aspetto annunciava una giovinezza avanzata, ma non trascorsa..."
from "I Promessi Sposi" ("The Betrothed"), in the episode focused on the sense of motherhood of the mother of Cecilia, daughter died of plague, rewritten by the Italian writer Alessandro Manzoni during his "rinsing of the clothes in the Arno" an expression used to mean "give the novel the purity of the cultured language spoken in Florence at those times".
"...sta il Cacciator fischiando
sull'uscio a rimirar
tra le rossastre nubi
stormi d'uccelli neri
com'esuli pensieri
nel vespero migrar"
sull'uscio a rimirar
tra le rossastre nubi
stormi d'uccelli neri
com'esuli pensieri
nel vespero migrar"
The Italian poet Giosuè Carducci wrote in "San Martino" describing the autumnal atmosphere of a medieval village in Tuscan Maremma on the feast of 11 November that marks the end of field work and the start of drawing off wine.
Below a photo collection of doors, gates and portals of Rivalto, each with its history and its secrets.