La Preta Tonna (pietra dello scandalo)

La Preta Tonna, or “Stone of Scandal,” is a hollowed stone near the old mill of Pacentro. Municipal accounts describe it as a measure for grain and preserve a local story of public humiliation associated with insolvent debtors.

Why it matters

The municipality records the stone as an old local measure for grain, the tomolo, and gives its capacity as fifty-six litres. The name pietra dello scandalo refers to a tradition that debtors were made to sit on the stone in public. The municipal account presents this as a story, not as a documented legal practice. The stone therefore links the practical history of measurement with Pacentro's memory of community justice.

What to notice

The hollow in the stone's upper surface is its defining feature and the basis for its association with grain measurement. Its setting near the former mill connects it to the agricultural life of the settlement. The nearby tradition of stone-working is also part of Pacentro's craft history.

Context and history

Before standardised measures, local communities used their own units for grain. The municipality's account gives the Pacentro tomolo as fifty-six litres. The public-humiliation story belongs to local tradition and should not be read as a verified account of routine practice. The stone's inclusion in heritage descriptions reflects its place in the village's collective memory.