The enchanting Journey through the talc of mine Paola

Every yard was assigned two miners: one with greater experience, called first rank and one with less experience, called second rank. Miners' tasks were not only the loading of the material and the preparation of the explosion but also the setup of the reinforcements to ensure safety in the gallery. Such reinforcements were built in wood: the main support, called "square" (because of its shape, was composed by two side vertical rods, the "legs" (in dialect «the chambo»), on which a beam was fastened with tooth joints, the" hat («lou chapel»).

Cases of high instability were handled by a beam at the base, called "sole" («the semello»). Finally to protect the miners from the falling rocks, some planks were wedged between the hat of the last square and the front to be demolished, the "marciavanti" («them marchou»).

The reinforcement was built in wood for two reasons: the relatively low cost due to the valley wealth of woods and above all the fact that it warned the miners, with creakings and yeldings, when the pressures became too high, thus allowing them to replace the timbering or to escape outside. The timber was primarily chestnut or acacia. To carry out this kind of job axes, sledgehammers and hammer drills were used.