Beata Vergine della Neve

The parish church of the Beata Vergine della Neve (Blessed Virgin of Snow) is the building with the most artistic vestiges. Built in the sixteenth century with a rectangular plan with three naves, the interior preserves frescoes. The simple façade is composed of a portal surrounded by pilasters. Inside the church there is a wooden tabernacle of the seventeenth century attributed to Giovanni Angelo Puxeddu.

San Giovanni Battista

San Giovanni Battista (Saint John the Baptist) is the oldest of the churches of Pabillonis, dating from the twelfth century and was part of the old cemetery.^[8]

In Romanesque style, with a rectangular plan, a single nave and barrel vault, it has a bell tower with a double bell.

Festivities

• 16 January: Saint Anthony Abbot, also called Saint Antoni 'e su fogu. It is a night party, based on the lighting of a large bonfire (in Sardinian Su fogadoni);
• 13 May: Madonna di Fátima;
• 24 June: Saint John the Baptist, the nativity of Saint John the Baptist is celebrated;
• 5 August: Blessed Virgin of the Snow, patronal feast;
• 18 August: San Lussorio, takes place in the homonymous country church;
• 29 August: Saint John the Baptist remembers the death of Saint John the Baptist with the preparation of Is carrus de s'àlinu (àbiu), ox-drawn chariots and tractors decorated with alder branches;
• 31 December: Su trigu cotu (cooked wheat), an ancient custom: you pass through the houses distributing cooked wheat as a wish for a good omen for the new year.

Tiles makers

The tile makers were the craftsmen who produced terracotta tiles for covering the roofs of houses. The origin of this activity, much older than existing documents, was probably handed down from father to son. In 1837 there were 20 craftsmen working there plus helpers, usually boys or women with the task of extracting and preparing the clay. Already in 1850 this production was in decline, 17 craftsmen were active, 13 of which were manufacturers of pottery and 4 of bricks and tiles. It is not known whether the decrease in the production of terracotta and bricks is due to the decrease in market demand or whether various problems have arisen.

It is known for certain that the local administrators were forced to regulate these activities because the amount of wood needed to cook the pottery and tiles was greater than the availability. The potters and tile makers consumed more wood in their respective professions than the entire municipality throughout the year for their own use.^[14]

In 1853, the workers in the field of cooked earth and the municipal administration signed a contract to regulate these activities.^[15] The administration granted land for the construction of a kiln, and placed various clauses on the trade in tiles and bricks.

This contract provided for the land to be transferred to the roofers for ten years and guaranteed to those who eventually abandoned the business to claim the part of the furnace he had built. In addition, producers were given priority for the purchase of bricks and tiles by the inhabitants of Pabillonis. In fact, nothing could be sold in the other countries before four days after firing. By giving priority to the Pabillonians, speculation on the price of manufactured goods at the expense of the community was prevented.

For these rules to be respected, there were strict controls. Since the only raw material not available in the country was wood, it was purchased from neighbouring countries under strict regulations. Tiles were required to buy wood with an amount of tiles and bricks equivalent to the value of the wood itself. This meant that tiles and bricks could not be sold elsewhere during the supply of wood without waiting for the four-day marketing period. The municipality employees checked that the quantity of tiles and bricks loaded into the wagons corresponded, when they returned, to the value of the wood bought. In the event of irregularities, a fine of one lira for every hundred bricks and tiles over and above the recorded quantity was set.

The restrictions applied to the trade in tiles and bricks succeeded in protecting the interests of the population but in part stifled the growth of this sector. There were not only regulations for trade, but some also concerned the use of land granted for the extraction of clay. It happened at a certain point that in the land used for the extraction of clay that these began to be cultivated, the municipality intervened by deciding: "since they keep sown some seed, they use it in this year only, without ever being able to seed by fate".^[16]

This resolution aimed to avoid that little by little these lands ended up in private hands and that the contained resources remained public. Even the tile makers, however, could count on the services of protection dedicated to them. In the case of unsold material, it was possible to contact the mayor to sell the surplus material through a public tender. Finally, the price for 100 tiles was set at 2.88 lire for tiles, 2.40 for bricks. From these sets of standards, which covered every aspect from production to marketing, one can understand the importance of this activity.

The potters

The potters in Pabillonis played a leading role, in fact the goods produced were mostly of daily use and consisted of pots, pans, cups and bowls in terracotta.

The secrets of the trade were handed down from father to son, the quality of the products was guaranteed both by the wisdom of the figoli (lathes), both by the quality of raw materials, these were the reasons why the terracottas produced in Pabillonis were sold throughout Sardinia. The clay, called "sa terra de stréxu" was already available in the lands of the country, the land was entrusted by the municipality to the craftsmen, and were in the locality "domu de campu" or where the ancient village of Pabillonis stood. This suggests how old the link between Pabillonis and cooked earth is.

Sa terra de stréxu

The clay was extracted mainly in July, after the harvesting of the fields because there were fewer agricultural commitments and the fields were clear. It was easy to recognize a clay strand because the earth above it, burnt by the sun, generated showy cracks. Once the brushwood had been removed, it was dug to a depth of about 60 cm, after which it was extracted. Once extracted, the clay was left to dry on the spot, once dried it was transported by women with typical baskets with 2 handles on the head or by workers through carts. This, however, was only one of the necessary raw materials, the clay that was baked was composed of "sa terra de orbetzu" and "sa terra de pistai".

Sa terra de pistai

It was obtained from sandy soils, it was yellowish in colour, it was not malleable, but it was used to make the dough refractory, thus giving the pots and pans an excellent resistance to fire, making them suitable for daily use. This land was taken along the banks of frummi bellu (or even Riu bellu), in an area called "arrùbiu margins" (margin, red shore). Once collected it had to be filtered to remove impurities.

Sa terra de orbetzu

It was left immersed in water the day before its use, to make it easy to work, while the "terra de pistai" was beaten with a wooden sledgehammer to obtain a very fine powder, after which it was sieved by removing impurities and larger granules. Once the "terra de orbetzu" was softened and the powder obtained from the "terra de pistai", they were mixed. For this purpose, balls were prepared from the first one, placed on the floor to be crushed with the feet, at this point the "terra de pistai" was gradually added, thus obtaining a homogeneous mixture. This mixture was used to make a large roll of clay and to work on a table with the hands (si ciuexiat) both to soften the mixture again and to remove any residual impurities. At this point, the clay thus mixed was placed on the lathe and worked.

15–20 kg of clay were worked at a time, and it was possible to form 18–20 large pots (sa manna). In one day it was possible to produce 18–20 series (cabiddadas), that is 160 pieces. The lathe was paid not according to the number of "cabiddadas" produced.

Usually the clay prepared to avoid hardening was consumed during the day, or it was wrapped in wet bags so that it could be used the next day. The pans, compared to other manufactures, were made by mouth down, after the processing was cut with a thin thread of wool and placed on a board. This technique allowed the construction of rather thin pans. A few hours after processing on the lathe, when the clay began to dry, you could beat the bottom. This operation was called "amonai". The next day, the handles (prepared separately) were attached and the mouth was hemmed. This operation was called "cundrexi".

The oven and the first cooking

Until 1920–1930, the oven was cylindrical and uncovered, during the rains it was not possible to cook. If it was starting to rain, it was necessary to protect the oven with shards (tistivillus) and try to cover everything with cloths. To avoid the oven temperature decreasing, it was necessary to throw wood continuously over the fire and hope to save at least part of the cooking time. Afterwards, the ovens began to be made with raw and refractory brick roofs. The capacity of the ovens was 30/40 series of pots or 200 pieces. The oven consisted of a combustion chamber covered by a grid that separated it from the cooking chamber. The pots were baked in series of five, upside down and one inside the other, this method was called "unu pei". (one foot), between each series was positioned "sa Sicilia".

The first cooking lasted one day inside, the staff continuously fed the fire so as to maintain high enough and constant, for each cooking was necessary a large amount of wood. The woods usually used were lentisk (sa ciorroscia) or the flower of the "su erbuzu" called "cadriloi".

Enamelling and second firing

The enamelling (stangiadura) of the terracotta was made up of a mixture of fourteen minium pots, extracted from the Monteponi mine, and seven of silica (sa perda de fogu). The silica was located in the riverbed of the village itself. Silicon powder was obtained by pounding it in a stone mortar with an iron club. The minium and silica were mixed with bran juice previously filtered in a bag of flax. The mixture was poured on the object to be enamelled and then it was cooked again. The second firing lasted two days and myrtus wood (sa murta) was used. The baking was done in the same way as the first except for the interposition of fragments between the pots to prevent them from sticking to each other when the melting point was reached.

The production of bricks in "làrdini"

This type of brick is the result of an ancient tradition quite widespread throughout the plain of Campidano. They are unfired earth bricks, raw in fact, obtained from a mix of clay, sand, water and other binding material such as hay.

Terracotta

• "tèulas" tiles
• "tianus" pans
• "pingiadas" pots, pans
• "sciveddas" basins in terracotta smoothed and polished internally

Raw earth

• "matoni in làrdini" bricks in unfired earth

Cestiary

• "scarteddus" baskets
• "cibirus" sieves
• "crobis" corbe