On the heads of women: the Cogornine and the Lavagnine carry the slate

Lavagnine and Cogornine women: the slate carriers

Barefoot, along the paths that descend from the mountain towards the sea, a line of women marches carrying a load as heavy as fatigue. They are the “cogornine” or “lavagnine”, the slate carriers, silent heroines of an ordinary life, hard and without stopping.

60 kilograms barefoot

Sixty kilograms was the average load that these extraordinary women carried on their spine. With the heavy stone slabs balanced above their heads, in the summer they could make up to four trips a day – back and forth – which was reduced to just one in the winter. If the plates were too large or heavy, they joined in groups of even numbers – up to six – walking with synchronized steps and holding each other’s arms, as a single entity.

A paltry compensation, as precious as bread

The work was piece work and the compensation was poor, but as precious as bread for their families. For many of them, supplementing the family budget depended on the quantity of plates they could transport. It was not uncommon to see these women loading themselves to the limits of their possibilities, carrying up to twenty plates at a time, exceeding seventy kilograms in weight.

The construction of slate streets

Recognizing the sacrifice of these tireless workers, the community mobilized to build a network of dedicated, wide and easy pedestrian streets, entirely paved and kept in order, on which we still walk today. To prevent the bearers’ bare feet from slipping on the smooth pavement, transverse incisions were made with the pickaxe, creating useful lines to let the rain drain and improve grip.

Payday

Every Saturday, the “cogornine” women went to the merchants of Lavagna to present the slate tablets on which the quarrymen had recorded their accounts. It was a ritual based on good faith: 50 sous for every 100 tiles. The traders transcribed the data and paid the women for their weekly work.

Damn beauty

Sculpted in slate like the streets they traveled, the soul of Liguria lives in their stories, the damnation of a beauty forged in toil.

Sources

Bruschi R., Lebboroni S., “Ritratto di Cogorno. L’antico feudo dei Conti Fieschi attraverso le sue memorie storiche”, Genova, De Ferrari Editore, 2000

Porcella M., “Gli uomini dell’ardesia”, in Centro di Documentazione della Civica Biblioteca di San Colombiano Certenoli (a c. di), “L’ardesia della Fontanabuona e le sculture di Pietro Burzi”, Chiavari, Grafica Piemme, 2017, collana “Quaderni del Lascito Cuneo”

Savioli L., “Tradizione e storia della lavagna”, in Mannoni T. (a c. di), “Ardesia. Materia, Cultura, Futuro”, Genova, Sagep Editrice, 1995

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