If somebody asked you where they make the best bread in the world, you might say France or Germany, but according to the 20th century Italian novelist, Riccardo Bacchelli, it came from Ferrara, made on the banks of the River Po. He’s understandably widely quoted in that area, although bread-making has changed enormously since his day.
Bacchelli’s celebrated novel, The Mill on the Po, offers vivid, historically accurate descriptions of what life was like for the millers of the Po Delta. He’d seen their floating water mills with his own eyes, before the last one was bombed during World War II.
The mills may have disappeared but they’ve never been forgotten by the communities whose economy is still based on cereal production.
Today, in the small village of Ro Ferrarese, many of its 4,000 inhabitants are involved in a project to recover the lost glory of their ancient bread-making tradition. With the help of EU funding, they’ve rebuilt a floating mill, using plans dating back to 1850. They now hope that the mill, which will be used in producing traditional organic bread, will help protect their environment and identity, as well as attracting visitors.
(First broadcast on Living Planet, Deutsche Welle Radio, 21st July, 2011)