Antico Mulino dei Cueli

An old watermill, on the bank of the Astico stream, in the small village of Cùeli.
Ancient mill on the Astico stream, in the small village of Cùeli, which once also functioned as a bakery.
The bread was baked at a temperature varying between 180° and 250° Celsius. Subsequently, it was necessary to cool it in a dry place, allowing the evaporating moisture to leave the crust fragrant. So the bread was ready to be sold and tasted.

Operation

The Mulino dei Pistori had a vertical wheel on the outside: the water from the stream came from above and made it turn. The wheel, called a "box", exploited the weight of the water, which fell on the blades (shaped like a box). This type of wheel had a high efficiency as the water not only impressed its movement, but also accompanied it for part of its circumference. It did not require large amounts of water, but had to be arranged in line with the direction of flow.
Turning, the hydraulic wheel communicated the circular motion to the crankshaft placed horizontally. To transmit the movement to the mobile housing with vertical axis, a mechanism consisting of a crown with teeth or cams, placed at regular intervals, was inserted, which communicated with a rotating harness around an axis.
This mill was equipped with two grinding systems and for this reason it was equipped with two different driving wheels: the larger one was connected to the wheat – maize grinding system, while the smaller one was connected to the barley grinding system.

STRENGTH

Point of interest of the Water Trail, a thematic route that starts from Piazza di Carbonare and reaches Cùeli, accompanying the course of the Astico stream for a long distance.