Barretina

A barretina (Catalan pronunciation: [bərəˈtinə]; plural: barretines, diminutive of barret “cap”) is a traditional hat that was frequently worn by men in parts of the Christian cultures of the Mediterranean Sea such as Catalonia, the Valencian Community, the Balearic Islands, Provence, Corsica, Sicily, Malta, Sardinia, part of Naples, part of the Balkans and parts of Portugal.

History

In Catalonia and Ibiza, men wore barretinas until the 19th century, especially in rural areas. Even in the 1940s and the 1950s, children in rural areas still commonly wore it. It took the form of a bag, made of wool, usually red, or sometimes purple.

Today, the barretina is no longer commonly worn in everyday life, but is still used in traditional dances, or as a symbol of Catalan identity. A watercolor image dated 1885 of a seller of newspapers (private collection) is perhaps one of the most iconic Catalan images, as it portrays a weathered man standing resolute, new independent newspapers falling from his portable wooden box, a look of tolerance and endurance in his face, while all the while wearing his barretina proudly. Painter Salvador Dalí sometimes wore the barretina in the 20th century. Some Catalan folkloric characters also wear a barretina, as: the Catalan Christmas figurine caganer, the Christmas log or tió, as well as the fictional characters Patufet, first drawn on the En Patufet magazine by Antoni Muntanyola, and “The Catalan” drawn by Gaietà Cornet i Palau.

• Source of Article