Hi there! Are you OK?
Today we are in the tiny village named Tribulet, upstream the Gianavella (we’ve already been there, d’you remember?), the house which belonged to Giosuè Gianavello and which he used to live in.
In these houses, located on the mount known as “The Outlaw’s mount”, Giosuè Gianavello and his mates sometimes used to take refuge, bringing there the booty and the prisoners caught in their “joyrides”.
Since they were interdicted by the Duke of Savoy, they were not allowed to come back to their homes, they had to stay hidden in the woods and the only way they had to get something to eat and some clothes to protect themselves from the cold was to go stealing it.
We know for sure that something like that happened on 1663, June 11th, and we can read about that in a book written by Domenico Garola in 1832. In his book, this historian from Luserna quotes a document which exactly describes what happened that day.
In this document we read that the Outlaws, after plundering Luserna and the convent of the Mary’s Servants priests, turned back to Tribulet and they arranged all of the things they had stolen on the field round there.
At dawn of June 11th, the Outlaws reached the walls of the convent, they climed them and got into the convent, just while the religious prayed them to keep them alive.
The priests were arrested and taken in the presence of Gianavello, who was waiting for them at St. Mark’s Gate, where the two districts of Luserna and Rorata (known today as Rorà) bordered on eah other at that time.
In that paper we can read (in a very ancient Italian, much different from the one we’re used to today) that the outlaws were more than 500, each one of them armed with arquebus, guns, many of them also had knives as well, and we can read that most of them came from the Valleys round there, but some others were foreigners.
Gianavello then ordered to release the priests, who got back to the convent, but they found it empty, ’cause the bandits had stolen everything. The paper tells that the bandits plundered Luserna and turned back to the Outlaw’s Mount, where they poured what they had robbed on a field; among all of the things they had stolen, there were also the bell of Lusernetta, the bells belonging to the priests of St. Francis convent of Luserna, some tunics, a goblet (which they used to drink) with the name of Mr. Matteo Ferrero from Luserna written on it, and some other stuff like underwears, hardware, branches, iron hoops, lamps etc.
So, not only had the bandits stolen various objects, such as tools to cultivate field and clothes… they also took away the bells from the church!
How to get here:
reach the center of Luserna San Giovanni, in Pellice Valley. Starting from here, follow the traffic signs to Rorà and go straight on, passing beyond the Pellice stream and the hamlet of Luserna Alta. Immediately after, on your right, you’ll find a yellow sign showing the way yo the Gianavella: well, follow the sign and get to it.
Once you got there, park your car and take the path which is behind the house. Go beyond the building called “Gianavella Superiore” and continue on the path through the woods.
After a twenty minutes’ walk uphill, you’ll find a crossroads: the Tribulet os just on your right, after a little climb.
Do you want to read the tale in Italian ?