Page 33 - Hrobat Virloget, Katja, et al., eds. (2015). Stone narratives: heritage, mobility, performance. University of Primorska Press, Koper.
P. 33
fireplaces in the vipava valley
of the house; consequently, these fireplaces did not receive that much attention. The stone
edge of the fireplace could be profiled. Pillars or voussoirs were decorated with geometric or
plant motifs in relief. Carved in the keystone were the year of the construction of the fire-
place, the initials of the owner or Holy Mary’s monogram (Bizjak, 1958; f. 294; Šarf, 1958b,
p. 17; 1964, p. 366).
Some fireplaces in the Lower Vipava Valley, built in the 20th century, featured a deep
recess called fornel (a hob grate) in the corner.3 The recess was covered with a metal grate on
top; it could be open on the side of the fireplace and, if possible, covered with a metal door.
The hob grate was created because of the tendency of closing the fireplace, which led to
closed fire chambers and, finally, to stoves everywhere in Europe and America. Lack of fire-
wood due to population growth and industrialization made people in some west-European
areas look for a way to reduce the use of firewood already in the mid-16th century, but defi-
nitely from the 18th and 19th century onwards (Tränkle, 1992, p. 42; Weiss, 1959, p. 119). The
fire chamber used less firewood for cooking, because the heat was centralized; besides, it re-
duced sparks and danger of fire. In the Vipava Valley and its neighbouring areas, the ten-
dency of closing fire into a fire chamber was closely connected with the advantages of open
fireplaces with a relatively good smoke exhaust through the chimney. The hob grate (for-
nel) is well documented in the archival and oral sources of the Lower Vipava Valley, Friuli,
Brda (Reja & Sirk, 1997, p. 49), the Karst around the city of Trieste/Trst (Guštin Grilanc,
2002, p. 38) and the Soča Valley, especially in the cases of suburbs and inns (Scheuermai-
er, 1956, p. 67). Some hob grates from early 20th century even had a cast-iron hotplate incor-
porated over the fire opening and a metal door, and as such resembled simple stoves. How-
ever, unlike stoves, there was no regulated direct smoke exhaust from the fireplace in hob
grates; instead, the smoke was conducted into the chimney through the hood. The fact that
wealthy dwellings had hob grates as well as stoves proves that the hob grate was not a pre-
liminary stage in the development of the open fireplace into the stove, but rather an act of
separating the fire intended for quick and efficient food preparation from the fire intend-
ed for heating of rooms.
On the hearth, there was often a small hole where glowing embers were kept under
ashes in order to start a fire next day. Under the fireplace, or more often in the wall under
the oven or next to it, there was an ash pit. There could also be a bread oven or a coop for
keeping chicken under the fireplace, but most frequently the space was used for drying and
storing firewood, large kitchenware or baskets. If the fireplace was high, there were one or
more stone or wooden stairs leading to it (Bizjak, 1958, f. 241, 279; Budal, 1993, p. 120; Šarf
1958a, p. 32, 35, 42).
If the fireplace took up the entire width of a room, or in the case of spahnjenica, where
smoke gathered in a vault which narrowed into a chimney, a wooden plank would divide
the fireplace from the rest of the room. However, a more frequent and newer solution was
to attach a so-called hood, a funnel-shaped construction, plastered with earth, clay or lime-
stone mortar, over the chimney opening at approximately one to one and a half meter above
the fireplace. The documented hoods from the Vipava Valley were square or rectangular
and made of wood. Round and bell-shaped hoods were common in Friuli, Brda and the
3 The word fornel comes from Italian fornello, a diminutive of forno, which means ‘furnace’, ‘oven’ or ‘fireplace’
(Scheuermaier, 1956, p. 66).
31
of the house; consequently, these fireplaces did not receive that much attention. The stone
edge of the fireplace could be profiled. Pillars or voussoirs were decorated with geometric or
plant motifs in relief. Carved in the keystone were the year of the construction of the fire-
place, the initials of the owner or Holy Mary’s monogram (Bizjak, 1958; f. 294; Šarf, 1958b,
p. 17; 1964, p. 366).
Some fireplaces in the Lower Vipava Valley, built in the 20th century, featured a deep
recess called fornel (a hob grate) in the corner.3 The recess was covered with a metal grate on
top; it could be open on the side of the fireplace and, if possible, covered with a metal door.
The hob grate was created because of the tendency of closing the fireplace, which led to
closed fire chambers and, finally, to stoves everywhere in Europe and America. Lack of fire-
wood due to population growth and industrialization made people in some west-European
areas look for a way to reduce the use of firewood already in the mid-16th century, but defi-
nitely from the 18th and 19th century onwards (Tränkle, 1992, p. 42; Weiss, 1959, p. 119). The
fire chamber used less firewood for cooking, because the heat was centralized; besides, it re-
duced sparks and danger of fire. In the Vipava Valley and its neighbouring areas, the ten-
dency of closing fire into a fire chamber was closely connected with the advantages of open
fireplaces with a relatively good smoke exhaust through the chimney. The hob grate (for-
nel) is well documented in the archival and oral sources of the Lower Vipava Valley, Friuli,
Brda (Reja & Sirk, 1997, p. 49), the Karst around the city of Trieste/Trst (Guštin Grilanc,
2002, p. 38) and the Soča Valley, especially in the cases of suburbs and inns (Scheuermai-
er, 1956, p. 67). Some hob grates from early 20th century even had a cast-iron hotplate incor-
porated over the fire opening and a metal door, and as such resembled simple stoves. How-
ever, unlike stoves, there was no regulated direct smoke exhaust from the fireplace in hob
grates; instead, the smoke was conducted into the chimney through the hood. The fact that
wealthy dwellings had hob grates as well as stoves proves that the hob grate was not a pre-
liminary stage in the development of the open fireplace into the stove, but rather an act of
separating the fire intended for quick and efficient food preparation from the fire intend-
ed for heating of rooms.
On the hearth, there was often a small hole where glowing embers were kept under
ashes in order to start a fire next day. Under the fireplace, or more often in the wall under
the oven or next to it, there was an ash pit. There could also be a bread oven or a coop for
keeping chicken under the fireplace, but most frequently the space was used for drying and
storing firewood, large kitchenware or baskets. If the fireplace was high, there were one or
more stone or wooden stairs leading to it (Bizjak, 1958, f. 241, 279; Budal, 1993, p. 120; Šarf
1958a, p. 32, 35, 42).
If the fireplace took up the entire width of a room, or in the case of spahnjenica, where
smoke gathered in a vault which narrowed into a chimney, a wooden plank would divide
the fireplace from the rest of the room. However, a more frequent and newer solution was
to attach a so-called hood, a funnel-shaped construction, plastered with earth, clay or lime-
stone mortar, over the chimney opening at approximately one to one and a half meter above
the fireplace. The documented hoods from the Vipava Valley were square or rectangular
and made of wood. Round and bell-shaped hoods were common in Friuli, Brda and the
3 The word fornel comes from Italian fornello, a diminutive of forno, which means ‘furnace’, ‘oven’ or ‘fireplace’
(Scheuermaier, 1956, p. 66).
31
