Tabià de Ronce

Unlike in the valley floor, haymaking in the high mountains began around July and ended in late August. Since the meadows were far from the village and spread across different elevations, families would leave their homes in the valley to move into the mountain tabià for extended periods, where they would mow the meadows, gradually moving from the lower ones to the higher ones.

The mountain tabià generally lacked actual living quarters: the older ones often consisted of a masonry base—housing the stable and sometimes a small kitchen—and an upper wooden floor, while the newer ones were built entirely of stone.

The organization of work and the layout of the tabià varied depending on the layout of the meadows: if the pastures were distant from one another, multiple haylofts—equipped to accommodate people—were built on the pastures, whereas if they were close together, a single main hayloft serving as a shelter was sufficient, flanked by smaller tabià for storage.

All family members contributed to the haymaking, regardless of gender or age. Haymaking often involved several households as well. This occurred both when the meadows still belonged to a single elderly head of household who gathered his children and grandchildren for the summer work, and when the labor force of a single family was insufficient to complete the work. In the latter case, a reciprocal exchange of labor was arranged: families helped one another on each other’s meadows during different periods of haymaking. For this reason, up to a dozen people—adults and children alike—could live together in a single tabià.

Despite the difficulties, summer life in the tabià was marked by the rhythms of nature. As in the valley below, traditional haymaking required at least 2–3 consecutive days of good weather; if it rained, the wet hay was gathered into piles to sit overnight and then spread out again on the meadow the following morning.

Once ready, the hay was wrapped in special tarps to be carried by hand to the barns. For the subsequent transport down to the valley floor, many families waited until winter to make the descent on sleds over the snow. However, since the trails leading to this area are mostly dirt roads, transport from the Tabià di Ronce likely took place in the fall using two- or four-wheeled carts.