A century ago, in 1921, the population was almost ten times today’s 3,115, while today there are about four hundred residents. They lived off a flourishing agro-sylvo-pastoral economy, which included animal husbandry and forest management. Walnut, beech and maple trees provided timber for the traditional footwear called dalmine and numerous tools. In summer, the animals were taken to the mountain pastures: partly on Monte Pala, partly on Taîet but most of them, after three days of walking, went as far as Val Pesarina, in Carnia.
Religion was of great importance in the life of the community. There was no real separation between church and secular authorities: in Clauzetto, as throughout Friuli, bells rang not only for liturgical purposes, but also to signal the arrival of a storm, a fire or to communicate political events. To understand what life was like in Clauzetto in the first half of the 20th century, the testimony of Luigi Zannier, known as Gjigjuti di “Ongaro”, collected in the book Vita a Clauzetto (Life in Clauzetto), published by the Municipality in 2016, is precious.
Embroidery and weaving were practised by the women: they made the famous footwear in black fabric, embroidered by hand for festive days: the scarpez. With the project Ancient knowledge for new masters, the Municipality and the Lis Aganis Ecomuseum have launched a workshop to recover and keep alive this important cultural heritage, creating the traditional costumes of Pieve d’Asio, now on display at the Municipio.
