Hello everyone and welcome to my blog :-)
When people talk about Amarante, I remember three things very quickly: the aquapark, the pedal boats on the Tâmega River, and the death of Princess Diana. When I was a little girl, the aquapark opened in 1994. Every year in August we would spend a full Saturday there. At lunch time we came to the city to have lunch and took the opportunity to ride a boat while we digested. One of those Saturdays, while we were having lunch, the death of Princess Diana appeared in the news.
Amarante is a city located on the banks of the Tâmega River and surrounded by the Marão Mountains. While we were making the trip it was possible to observe the snow that had fallen in the mountains in recent days and the view was spectacular. While underway, it wasn't possible to take a photo as it wouldn't be clear what we were seeing.
Once we arrived, we stopped the car at the first point we wanted to visit. The ruins of Moinhos da Feitoria right there by the river.
These mills were used in the production of linen.
One of the most noble and scarce raw materials in the production of clothing and other household items was linen.
Until the manufacture of fabric, linen followed a long journey which, in itself, made this product expensive and rare, thus being a privilege reserved for a few. Linen items, such as bedspreads, sheets, towels, were used exclusively on festive occasions or special moments, and were often part of the trousseau offered by mothers to their daughters.
After being harvested and thinned to extract the seeds or linseed, the flax was subjected to a maceration process known as tanning, which consisted of immersing it in pools of water, where it remained immersed for 8 to 10 days. This operation was crucial to separate the textile fibers from the woody elements.
After being removed from the water, the linen was left to air dry for around 15 days. Only after this drying period would it be milled or crushed.
The grinding process was driven by a vertical wheel moved by the waters of the Tâmega, diverted by a collar. It consisted of a solid rotating cylinder or drum with the peripheral surface cut by transverse flutes, where a series of rollers, also fluted, fitted. Flax was defibrated, freeing the fibers from many of their woody components. However, bathers lamented the itching caused by the edges released in the process and spreading down the river.
Grinding occurred seasonally, in the summer months, when the flax, after the maceration process and properly dried, was ready to be milled. Also during the summer, as there were no floods, these devices were placed in the river. To protect the machines, they could be dismantled and stored during the winter period.
I still have a lot more to show you about this beautiful city that gives us a little of everything. Tomorrow I am back!
I hope you enjoyed.
See you around.
Wishing you much peace and health
Those who pass by us do not go alone. They leave a bit of themselves, taking a piece of us."
Author: Antoine de Saint-Exupery, The Little Prince.
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