Over the last year, the necessity of safeguarding the historical and cultural heritage of a community, a village and an entire region arose: it was something essential and crucial for everyone who cares for the destiny of our society and for its future perspectives. Today more than ever, we feel the urge to protect and enhance the culture and handicraft heritage of our ancestors, which runs the risk of disappearing and being let go. It is a heritage deserving to be known and appreciated, as it encompasses so many information and knowledges that can surely help us to understand our past and to reflect on our future, as well. For almost half a century, we have been experiencing a new interest and attention towards the culture of the masses, which had always been “kept out” from history: they were not able to write, so their presence over the history had always been very blurred or confined to the general folklore. Instead, today we have been witnessing the foundation of many museums focused on the rural world and the paleo-industrial world, as well as the culture of working classes.
The Coti stones
The “Museo delle Pietre Coti” - Coti Stones Museum – is a fine example of this kind of commendable initiatives and it also has a significant cultural and documentary role. In fact, over the centuries the coti stones manufacture took place in the Lower Seriana Valley. Nembro and Pratalunga were two of the main production and marketing centres of the “coti” stones, which were essential to sharpen the blades of cutting tools, especially sickles.
In particular, over the last century the village of Nembro specialized itself in manufacturing and shipping the coti stones, which were sold both in Europe and in non-European countries. Written documents show the importance of the coti industry for the economy of Nembro, Pradalunga and other villages such as Albino, Palazzago, Grone, Foresto Sparso. During the XIX Century, approximately one thousand people used to work in the stones industry: not just the men working in the mines, taking care of the transportation, selection and cutting of stones, but also women and children, who were in charge of polishing and smoothing the coti stones, mostly at home.