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ITALIAN SCENERY, MANNERS , A N D CUSTOMS. 67
F i L A T E X X I X .
THE QUARRYMEN OF GRISANTE.
T h i s plate represents the quarrymen of Grisante, where a very considerable quantity of
stone is raised. Some of them are sitting down at their meal, which consists of polenda and
good wine. This is their general diet, as they very seldom have any meat, except on Sundays
: they are, however, both strong and healthy. Their fire-place is composed of three sticks,
tied together at the top, and spreading triangularly at the bottom. From these sticks they
suspend the boiler, in which they dress their victuals. This boiler, and a saucepan for melting
butter, are all the kitchen utensils they require. Their table is a board placed on a heap of
stones; and their seat, a stool with one leg, which is fixed in the ground.
In the back ground two men are at work. Their method of breaking the stones is well
known : they make a hole in the block, which is broken to pieces by the explosion of gunpowder.
The place where they arc at woi'k is under cultivated land, which, as they proceed,
they secure with props.
On the surface of the earth is seen a kind of hovel, made of planks of wood, intended for a
shelter during storms, which are frequent and heavy in that country during the summer season.
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