Era percorso da zattere e burchi e animato dalla presenza dei numerosi mulini.
La più antica testimonianza dell'esistenza di mulini sull'Adige a Verona ci riporta al Medioevo: nel 905, Berengario I concesse al diacono Giovanni tre poste da mulino. Un graffito sulla chiesa di Santo Stefano informa che, nel 1239, erano 50. In epoca comunale, i mulini si concentravano lungo le rive di alcune contrade: il gruppo collocato in corrispondenza di Sottoriva apparteneva al potente monastero di San Leonardo in Monte, sulle Torricelle, oggi scomparso.
Quanti erano i mulini sull'Adige? Lo si viene a sapere indirettamente, in epoca veneta, con la tassa della «màsena», che, in un primo tempo, colpiva i cereali, quando erano condotti dal mugnaio; successivamente si trasformò in una imposta di consumo applicata in misura fissa ad ogni persona fra i 5 e i 70 anni. Attorno al 1570, a Verona e sobborghi, funzionavano 87 mulini: a Sottoriva, c'era la maggior concentrazione, ben 22.
Il loro numero aumentò nel corso dei secoli fino ad essere più di 400, nell'Ottocento. Poi la crisi, negli ultimi decenni del secolo, con la prima industrializzazione veronese. Il molinaro era un artigiano assai considerato e, visto che l'arte si trasmetteva di padre in figlio ed era familiare, erano preferiti i matrimoni tra persone appartenenti alla categoria: una vera e propria casta. I molinari si occupavano non solo della macina dei cereali, ma trituravano terre coloranti, zolfo, calcina e corteccia di quercia per la concia delle pelli.
A corner of Verona full of history
This cache has been placed in occasion of "Voria cantar Verona...per un GC Event!", on 7th December 2013
Bra' dei Molinari is located inside the loop of Adige river, from Ponte Pietra to Sottoriva street, just behind the apse of Santa Anastasia church. The parapet of Bra' dei Molinari on Adige riverside is one of the most amazing point of view of Verona: what can be admired? in front, the Roman theater, between the churches of Santo Stefano and the desecrated Redentore church, the houses perched on the hill of Castel San Pietro and the hilly profile with the Scaliger walls. But this square also has a very important historical significance . First of all , the name Bra' (with the apostrophe ) of Molinari refers to braida (cultivated field with grass ): Bra' here had the meaning of the large square on river-side, because, at this point , the Adige, before the construction of the embankments, reached its maximum width . The boats unloaded the various foodstuffs intended for grinding in many mills . In fact, just beyond the Bra' of Molinari begins Sottoriva street, where there were the ariali (ie the positions of the mills ) with trading posts and millers houses. From the shore, there were Peagne arranged in a comb, ie walkways, connected to the mills, located in the current, one in front of the other on diagonal line. Bra' of Molinari therefore refers to the tradition of the mills in the Adige and the craft of millers, deleted by the construction of the embankments after the terrible flood of 1882 . In this area, the Adige river was accessible from the ' vo', the fords at the bottom of the lanes . It was crossed by rafts and barges and animated by the presence of numerous mills . The oldest evidence of the existence of mills on the Adige in Verona brings us back to the Middle Ages: in 905 , Berengario I granted to the deacon John three mills. A graffiti on the church of Santo Stefano informs that, in 1239, they were 50 mills. In Ages, the mills were concentrated along the banks of some districts: the group placed at Sottoriva belonged to the powerful monastery of San Leonardo in Monte Torricelle , now disappeared. How many mills were present in Adige ? Around 1570, in Verona suburbs, worked 87 mills and in Sottoriva there was the greatest concentration , as many as 22 . Their number increased over the centuries up to be more than 400, in the nineteenth century. Then the crisis, in the last decades of the century, with the first industrialization of Verona. The miller was a craftsman and highly regarded, because the art was transmitted from father to son and was familiar, were preferred marriages between persons belonging to the category: a veritable caste. The millers were concerned not only grinds the grain, but grinded earth colors, sulfur, lime and oak bark for tanning leather.