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Bronte's economy

The Industries

Bronte's  economy,  together

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BRONTE'S ECONOMY  -  THE PISTACHIO  -  THE ARTISANS  -  THE INDUSTRIES  -  TYPICAL PRODUCTS  -  BRONTE'S SHOPS


The Industries

Bronte, secular center with an agricultural vocation, rejected, since a long time, any hypothesis of industrial development. A Council old project to arrange a zone for the setting up of little industries, after vain attempts and many speeches, was  wrecked for lack of incentives and solicitations, also, by the same citizens.

Better results instead had the building of the Artisans Zone. Also, the discovery in the territory of important methane fields rich  of liquid products (gasoline), did not bring any innovation and any impulse to the traditional economic activities of the country.

Precursor of these discoveries was the brontese Mario Lupo that already in 1929, solitary and unheeded researcher, was to prove the existence of oilfields in his Bronte and in Sicily (the "petroliferità" of Bronte).

The ENI built, in the Piana district (the low part of the town), a big plant to degasify and build some piping of the methane gas which would take it to the direction of Catania-Priolo.

The extractive activity continues incessantly, but the important resources found in Bronte's territory  produ­ced very little local occupation and, unfortu­nately, did not create any relative advantage to the brontese community. The only consolation is that, at least, it did not create  any further pollution in the territory.

Few are the present industrial activities on the terri­tory: a small but blooming industrial pole which counts several companies, a few wine and olive oil companies, industries for the transformation of agri­cultural and zoo technical products, factories of building materials, sawmills.

In remarkable growth and development the tourist industry. Some little industries, dedicated to the shattering and working of lava stone and to the transformation of wood in charcoal still resist (this product, traditionally made and of fine quality, is also exported abroad).

The charcoal makers of once, were men who used to live, for most of the year, among the woods of the Nebrodi and of Etna, cutting timber. Today noting much is changed. The technique is always the same: put to burn big wood piles covered with moistened soil to obtain the coal or the charcoal for domestic use.

A small brontese company, with the ways and the technique of always, keeps on developing this ancient activity, obtaining a good quality product, requested by many foreign countries.
 

The work of the charcoal maker is hard and dange­rous: in the middle of poisonous exhalations must constantly check the state of the combustion to control with clods of wet earth the side air intakes, or introduce from the high one other wood to be burned.
Only after days and days of hard work and anxiety, the charcoal maker can finally admire the fruit of his exhausting effort. The product, by now ready, is put in in big sacks and sent at the marketing center of Bronte.
These images were taken in the 1970s at the peri­phery of Bronte, in San Nicola district, where the charcoal makers, for the adverse atmospheric condi­tions, had transported their wood.

The ENI built, in the Piana district




 


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Translated by Sam Di Bella