Fishing, which for years has been the main activity of the people of Civitanova, full of sacrifices and dangers and closely linked to the sea.
The profession of the fisherman – which Dante Cecchi wanted to define as “the farmer of the sea” – primarily refers to the seafaring tool that has characterized the Marchigiana coast for centuries: the lancetta, the boat used before the technological revolution, which brought significant improvements in working and living conditions for many people.
This boat – in relation to the specifically Marchigiana territory – was used by fishermen not only from Civitanova, but also by those from Porto Potenza Picena, Porto Recanati, and those immediately to the north beyond Conero and to the south up to Porto San Giorgio and San Benedetto del Tronto. In use at least since the mid-1800s until around the 1970s, the lancetta was called “bragozzo” in Chioggia and “paranza” in Abruzzo, and it seems that these boats all had the same origin: from a Venetian boat called “rascona.” The lancetta originally had a more slender and pointed bow, but it seems to have undergone significant changes both due to the specific type of fishing it was intended for and also considering the particular shape of the seabeds and coastlines of our areas.
Sailors almost always had a nickname, as is common in our countryside, and this is perhaps the meaning of the term “peasant of the sea.” Strangely, the custom had also spread to the world of seafaring, so much so that even the essential onboard tools were identified with easily memorable names, such as the “palommella,” which referred to a rooster if drawn on the sail, and the “rota de lo carro” was the boat’s rudder, as if it were a countryside cart wheel… after all, in our countryside, there is no “lu timò” of the cart? “Lu tirassegno” referred to the striking concentric circles that often appeared on the sail, and the seagulls became “li picciù.”
Just as with the sails, the names given to the small boats had different origins and meanings. Some were connected to the family background of the owners, and so we have Mamma Maria – Antonio son – Ulderico father… or, when the merits of the vessel were being praised, we find: Indomito, Invincibile, Trionfo, Sciccheria; after the First World War, reference was made to great values: Peace, Freedom, Hope or – more generally – names of historical figures from all times were adopted: Dante Alighieri, Nazario Sauro, Annibal Caro, Andrea Doria; there were also playfully suggestive phrases: And yet it moves, I will tell you, God provides, Always forward, and so on. When one small boat was replaced by a newer one, it was not uncommon to find: the New Maria, Clemente renewed, Third New Mario, etc.
www.larucola.org/2020/04/24/storia-e-storie-dei-pescatori-del-mare-adriatico/
