With a gesture full of habit, the cigar-maker draws a handful of tobacco from the apron she holds on her legs. Her hands act as a compass and she balances: they know exactly where to go and how much to take. Her fingers are rolling pins and combs: they smooth the leaves, undo the knots so that the air, one puff after another, can travel through them without obstacles. She will run inside, fast and free. The movements that the cigar maker repeats are fast, precise, hypnotic: the veil of glue brushed on the band, the outer part of the cigar; the filling placed in the center, rolled up, then cut to the right size. With firm grace, at least 500 times a day: “It’s difficult, but it’s nice to know that something done well comes from you” smiles Daniela, 41. «It is a gift that requires dedication.
It’s a job I would never change, my great-grandmother did too, ”recalls Monica, 43. “I like it, I chose it, because it makes me an artist,” adds Maila, 48, seriously. There are three of the 40 women (“this job is not for men, it takes too much patience” they repeat jokingly) who work in Lucca to pass on the ritual of the Toscano cigar, not condemn it to extinction for obsolescence. The fruit has been the luxury of a pleasure made by hand, for more than two centuries.
A product born by chance, or rather by clouds: it was 1815 when an unexpected summer storm wet a batch of tobacco left to dry in the sun. Instead of throwing it away (“tobacco is like pork, nothing is thrown away” goes a popular saying), he made a cheap cigar out of it, which, however, was very popular and sold out with the speed of an Augustan disturbance. The water had triggered a fermentation process, capable of giving it an unmistakable character. From exception, it became standard. The same one handed down to this day, like the physical, analogical liturgy, which still orchestrates it.
Without improvising rain dances, rather by immersing the tobacco in tubs, then letting it drain and leaving it in the cells where it rests to ferment. Returning, between corridors and warehouses, a perennial living smell: of earth, leather, nature. We are in the headquarters of Manifatture Sigaro Toscano, which has a territoriality and a propensity for craftsmanship in its name. «It seems to be out of time» says the managing director Stefano Mariotti: «We continue to pass on a legacy of 200 years. An escape, a cuddle that facilitates a reflection among oneself, facilitates a sociality “. It contains the privilege of preserving the pride of a diversity: «We are unique in the world. Nobody has our forms and our tobacco ».
The raw material is the Kentucky variety, a niche excellence, the basis of every recipe: the company purchases about 95 percent of Italian production. “It comes from 200 growers who are part of our family. We have made available to them a series of concessions and subsidies that encourage them to continue in this adventure, so that their profession has a future as well. ” It is tradition that is combined with innovation, or perhaps just with common sense: the Tuscan atelier is covered with photovoltaic panels, which cover 70 percent of its energy needs. In addition to roofing and keeping the parking lots in the shade, they protect against the constant increases in the bill: «We have been far-sighted» comments Mariotti «because we care a lot about the values of sustainability. The packages we use are made of recycled paper, the cellophane we use is almost entirely. As the cigar should be used responsibly, we want to be responsible in our impact ».
“For two centuries we have seen our work go up in smoke, yet we resist” says a joke Terry Nesti, head of customer training and guide of Panorama in the journey inside the Lucca office. Divided into the area dedicated to the preparation of raw materials, that of the actual processing, the area dedicated to drying and maturation: «Like wine, the cigar needs time before being smoked. At least one year of aging is needed ». Which takes place in ad hoc cells, some kept in a vault, a casket dedicated to the most precious pieces of the collection. Those in which craftsmanship dominates, extended, at times, even to the filling of the packages. Yet another accent of care.
Inaugurated in 2004, the factory is located just outside the city: it has taken the place of the historic one, located inside the walls and now obsolete by contemporary production standards. However, the new one is full of splendid historical traces: a barrel in which the tobacco was transported (today it travels in more comfortable cartons); “The impartial”, a timer that rang at regular intervals, imposing “the search”: the search of the workers at the exit, to make sure they did not take away products that had to, and must, be taxed by the state. Today there is a garrison of the Guardia di Finanza, which uses less creative methods to monitor the regularity of transactions.
In a corner, surprisingly, there is a wooden walker: «The factory» says Nesti “It was the first company in Italy to have a nursery school”. This is thanks to the claims of the cigar makers, «among the most important figures in the history of women in our country. They were the first to leave the fields and their family and bring home a salary. They fought for their rights, obtaining wage equality with men ». It is perhaps for this reason, for the strength of their history, that they are still here, making about 2.5 million pieces a year, the most precious of the vast Tuscan catalog, sold in 60 countries. Aware that there is no room for improvising: the training is intense, long. It lasts 18 months: «And every day is a small challenge. No cigar will be alike, it is a one-of-a-kind, ”remembers Valentina, 37 years old. Silencing perplexities and prejudices, solving the question of where is the charm of maintaining the concreteness, the persistence of memory, in the evanescent digital age.
www.panorama.it
