The caréta

The special sled pulled by mules or donkeys, called “caréta” or “barùsola”, was entirely made of wood and was used for the transport of wood, hay, chestnuts and other products along the paved mule tracks.

The sgarbasse, the two runners of the sled, were made of Carpinus wood, very hard, resistant to friction and to bumps against the pavement.

The smèsole (mèsole), three curved wood pieces which join the runners and the ombèi (lombèi) crosswise, the latter ones being two canes joined  to the smèsole lenghtwise, were made of Oak or Ash tree, elastic wood able to bear the weight of the load and bumps.

The caùce, the rungs which attach the smèsole to the runners, were made of Oak wood or Cornus mas wood, in order to bear the bumps against the pavement.

The silét, a long log of Oak wood with two pieces of iron embed in the sides, connected the foreparts of the runners and permitted the articulation.

The stanghéte, made of elastic wood of Oak or Ash tree, were two thin bars of the sled to which the animal used for the transport was tied.

The tragolét (sanchéta), a really curved piece of wood which connects the bars to the silét, was usually made of Celtis australis wood because of its flexibility; in order to obtain the curved shape required, the wood was heated, curved, tied and kept in shape while drying.

The silét, the tragolét and the stanghéte together formed the timonàra (timonèra), the drawbar of the sled.

Dialectal words taken from: “Parole e fatti. Vocabolario dei dialetti.” – Giorgio Vedovelli – CIERRE publishing