NELLA CUTLERY

Food and Beverage > Food Equipment

In the midst of a tremendous chain of mountains, part of the Brenta Dolomites, lies a valley dotted with small, picturesque villages, surrounded by majestic peaks and savage mountains. In winter it is blanketed with abundant snow. This Valley called Val Rendena, unknown to most of the world, was the birthplace of a vast and far-reaching trade guide known as knife grinders (arrotini or moletas).

Pioneers from this valley left families and homes behind to find a better life in different parts of the world. When we, who are in America, think about pioneers, we often picture a covered wagon heading west. Yet the pioneers who left Val Rendena bring to mind a completely different picture.

To understand what made them leave their valley, one must first realize the economic and geographic limitations existing there in the late 1800's. Although, it was even in those times a beautiful place, it was not very fortunate economically. Because the land was hilly and rocky, farming did not flourish to any great extent; nor did industry. For the people living there, the mountains acted as tremendous natural barriers to the rest of the world. In those days, there was no tourism, no ski lifts or winter vacations. Life was a struggle, an unending battle that was fought each day. How different many of us, three and four generations later feel toward our valley.

When the first trickle of adventures left Val Rendena they migrated to other parts of Italy, England, Germany, Austria, Holland and Switzerland. Eventually, others set sail for more distant parts of the world, including Africa, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, United States and Canada.

In 1893, the first knife grinders came to America. They came to find a better life, leaving their families behind until a way could be found to send for them.

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