Buttero

The buttero is the shepherd, always on a horse, in Maremma, in Tuscany and in the bordering zones of the Northern Latium.

The buttero habitually rides the horse typical of the Maremma, a Maremmano, and tends livestock, especially cattle and a flock of sheep. The saddle it is characteristic and it is said bardella.

The attire of the pockmark is constituted by pants of fustagna, cosciali, jacket of velvet, black hat. He protects himself from the rain with a mantle of great dimensions, the "pastràno". He holds in his hand the "mazzarella", a baton employed for stimulating oxen and horses.

They are still present in the memory of the elderly ones and in the folcloristic events. In the day of Sant'Antonio Abate (January 17) for the benediction of the animals, they parade in the centers of Tarquinia, Tuscania , Marta and Valentano.

Protagonists of the various fetes of the merca in Blera, Mountain Romano , Tarquinia and Tuscania : on the merca held in April at the Roccaccia, not too far from Tarquinia, after having branded to fire inside the enclosure the young calves born in the year, the butteri compete in games of ability.

The solemn participation in various celebrations of the Jesus Christ's Passion assumes a particular coloration and vivacity in the procession of the Resurrected Christ held in Tarquinia in the late afternoon of Easter. The butteri precede the statue among the crowd in saddle to their horse firing salvoes with their maremmana shotgun.

The life of the buttero of other times was not certain to be envied from a qualitative point of view: the hard job in the marshes of the Maremma began before the dawn with the assembly of the herds that was effected in saddle to the inseparable horse. Unique meal before midday: «we made loaf with bread and chicory accompanied (but not always) from a piece of ventresca or budellone. We picked up tomatoes, chicory, potatoes and ferlenghi for the acquacotta. At dusk, after the return in the stall, the only comfort was the rapazzola , a rudimentary bed, close to the beasts. The town was sometimes reached for the inn, to warm up themselves with the wine of wine cellar, to discuss of livestock and to tune up a song "a braccio".»