It is one of the most beautiful and fragrant plants that exist. A flower so delicate that picking it up is really a feat. Jasmine is a plant that blooms in the evening and with its unmistakable scent inebriates the hot summer nights. In Sicily, in particular, it has a remarkable flowering, so much so that it is considered one of the fiori more delicate, precious and loved. Due to its delicacy, therefore, it is not easy to pick it up. But if today jasmine is more an ornamental plant, once upon a time its collection and production were highly sought after. Fragrances were obtained which were then put on sale at a high price. But do you know who was in charge of their collection? We want to tell you the story of the Sicilian jasmine harvesters, in particular of the Piana di Milazzo. Collectors of this splendid flower, but exploited and poorly paid for a long time.
The jasmine pickers, hard work
This plant has a very delicate flower. It must be collected with care and delicacy to avoid damaging it. For years to deal with it, therefore, they were women and especially girls. Jasmine was highly sought after because it was used in the cosmetic industry since the XNUMXs. But when did the collection of these small flowers take place? In the expanses of the fields the jasmine pickers worked at night. Shifts started at 3 am and ended in the morning. Many of them were young mothers and carried their young with them, which they often held in their arms or in baskets.
They were always bent over to pick the flowers, but the pay, according to testimonies collected over the years, was around 25 lire for every kilo of flowers. It was therefore necessary to collect lots of flowers in order to earn something. The women, barefoot so as not to damage the plants, wore aprons with a large pocket on the front to hold the collected flowers. The baskets then, after harvesting, emorning transported to factories for processing. The flowers were then pounded, ground and processed. A yellowish and fragrant paste was obtained, ready to be resold. An ancient profession, now lost, but it was poorly paid and women were exploited.
In Sicily, women's protest
In Southern Italy and in Sicily above all there were many fields used for the collection of jasmine. In particular in the Messina area, in the plain of Milazzo. In these areas there were many distilleries for the primary processing of jasmine and other essences. The product was then shipped to the French perfume industries. Precious was the product that was obtained from it, then sold as perfume or essences for the home.
But one of the first revolts of these workers is also linked to the city of Milazzo. Exploited, poorly paid, tired, they organized themselves to ask for more rights. After so many days of protests they managed to get something. The strikes also involved other municipalities in the Messina area such as Barcellona Pozzo di Gotto, Santo Stefano di Camastra, Mazzarrà Sant'Andrea. Bitter stories, therefore, of poor people who have struggled for your own rights.
Over the years this work has changed. Jasmine was no longer harvested because the same smells were produced but on an industrial level. The factories in the Milazzo area were abandoned. But what had happened remained in history. So much so that to remember the courage of these women, a street in Milazzo was recently entitled "Via Delle Gelsominaie".
Photo cover image pinterest - The #GelsominaiediMilazzo between the Thirties and Forties
