Menu :

Histoire

Personnages

Nature

Itinéraires par région

U mulinu di a Ghjargala has a technical specificity compared to the other mills in the village. It has two transmission systems. One with a horizontal driving wheel and the other, more rare, with a vertical driving wheel. These are the two main families of water mills. A vertical wheel mill This transmission system is more complex than for the horizontal wheel mills. The water was supplied from above, driving the large wheel (u rutoni). The rotation of the wheel was transmitted by a system of gears that drove the grinding wheel. More modern, this type of mill required more maintenance but allowed for greater driving power. The condition of the mulinu di a Ghjargala no longer allows the function of the vertical wheel mechanism to be determined. However, it is possible that the presence of this mechanism is linked to a fulling mill. The wheel of the mill drove two wooden hammers which crushed the sheets. In fact, in a letter from the Prefect of Liamone in 1809, he states that vertical wheels are only used in mills intended to give consistency to woollen sheets, by means of two fulling hammers, driven alternately by the wheel. It is also known that the weavers of Curtichjatu were renowned for the fineness of their cloth. The second mechanism, with a horizontal wheel, drove a flour mill. The water route The waters of the Funtanaccia torrent were used to set in motion the turbines of most of the mills in Cutuli è Curtichjatu. A diversion canal was built upstream of the buildings and led the water over several hundred metres to the mills. This canal, built on the ground, was carefully maintained to prevent it from filling up. The downstream end of the canal was usually made of wood with hollowed-out tree trunks placed on pillars. This is the case for the mulinu di a Ghjargala, where one can still see the pillar that supported the wooden structure above the building. The water, arriving from above, fell on the vertical wheel and its weight drove the rotation. It could also be redirected to the horizontal wheel by a winnowing system.

Cuttoli-Corticchiato

GRITACCESS:

Contact :