The Old Oven of Perinera

Site overview

As in all the hamlets of Usseglio, the oven in Perinera was communally owned by its inhabitants. The date of construction, like that of the local mill, is unknown, but the year “1892” is carved into the stone beside the entrance door, confirming that the oven was in use at that time.

What makes the Perinera oven unique is the material used for its dome, made of local green stone shingles, and the hearth floor, also in local green stone. The oven was lit twice a year, with firewood supplied by all the hamlet’s residents, who then took turns baking enough bread for their own families. At the end of each turn, each family left the next the alvà (sourdough starter) needed for baking.

Lighting the oven was a long and laborious process, taking between two and five days, depending on the season. The bread was then stored for the months ahead in houses and attics, placed on racks to dry rather than go mouldy. The large loaves preserved in this way dried and hardened so much that they had to be cut with the special knife used for making clogs. The dried bread was softened in milk before being eaten.

Only rye flour was used for baking in Perinera. On the plain of Usseglio, potatoes were sometimes added to the flour; in Viù, chestnut flour was also used. Maize flour was tried in Perinera as well, but the experiment does not seem to have been a success. Rye was cultivated throughout the town of Usseglio, as far as Malciaussia, at an altitude of 1,800 m.

The Perinera oven remained in use until the early 1950s, after which it fell into disuse and disrepair, eventually partially collapsing. In 2001, the Associazione Parineri Onlus 2000 fully restored the oven.