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This is the blog of Steve Burkett of Italy, Our Italy

Transforming for Light Within

Kind of a mysterious title, isn’t it?

“Even with my iPhone, I crop the ‘keepers’ by clicking on that ‘Edit’ text”

It’s not some sort of Zen thingie, but one of my photo transformations…this one taking a daylight scene, converting it to night, but adding a bit of light spilling out into the night.

Enough said…let’s get started.

The Original Snapshot

As always, we start with the raw snapshot that I captured “in the field’…this ‘field’ being the charming Piemonte town of Barolo.

As I often do, I captured my subject as a panorama…this one being composed of these 3 shots.

And alas, the three photos combined into a panorama…but a very small panorama, I must admit.

Oh my, why did I bother?! But, I had something in mind at the time. So, trust me…and stick with me for just a couple of minutes to see where this is going.

Mailbox Removal, Please

Let’s remove that large, ugly mailbox from the door.

Done…no mailbox.

Crop It

Now I’ve cropped in to my satisfaction. I recommend cropping almost any photo one takes. It is not often that when we snap we get a desirable composition. Even with my iPhone, I crop the ‘keepers’ by clicking on that ‘Edit’ text to work on the crop of the photo. There is most always a significant improvement.

Cropped to an 8x10 format

Saturate It

Now it’s time to work on the color, contrast, and such. So, just below, you see a more colorful scene.

An increase in the color

Day to Night and Cast the Light

For the finished image, I wanted to darken the photo into an early evening timeframe. That means that I added a bit of blue to any part of the photo that would not be lit from within. And there is that mysterious light within that I mentioned earlier. And that light had to spill out in a warm way onto the brick pavers just outside the doors.

So, here you have the finished photo…going from that ugly panorama to today’s completed transformation.

The finished transformation

So that’s it for today. I took a blah scene and transformed it into the way that I would have wanted to find it in the quaint town of Barolo…and yes, that’s from whence ‘The King of Wines’ (Barolo) hails.

We’ll add this to the list of completed transformations that you saw just last week collected into one place.

Until next time…

Ciao for now,

Steve

A Plethora of Transformations

Index of Articles

Garnering a Sense of Accomplishment

Have you ever looked back at something that you had accomplished and thought, “I can’t believe I did that!”? Maybe it was preparing a particularly complicated Italian dish. Perhaps it was a feat of strength or endurance that you had thought to be beyond your abilities. Or, you painted a masterpiece that you had no idea was within you. Or, even more daring, perhaps you took a huge leap of faith, moved to Italy, and created a fabulous wine empire…right?

“I was recently looking over my transformations, and I thought, ‘Wow! I did that!’.”

Whatever it might be, there is often something that stretches you beyond your comfort zone to do that which, when accomplished, gives you a sense of pride. And with that pride, you have a sense of satisfaction and even awe that you did it.

Transformations Generated Thus Far

Today, I want to share with you my own recent sense of accomplishment. One that encourages me to keep going with my photography. You’ve seen the various transformations that I’ve performed over the past 6 years. I was recently looking over those transformations, and I thought, ‘Wow! I did that!’. And, as I looked back, I was a bit self-impressed in what I had done. So, I thought I’d just share with you a retrospective of transformations.

Below, I give you both the very raw snapshot with which I started, as well as the completed photo . And as usual, you can click on any image to get a larger view. Each subject is presented from oldest published, to the more recent publications. And, if you want to know more about the circumstance surrounding a photograph, just click on the dated title of the transformation (and you can access all of the transformations from the Index of Articles).

Enjoy.

June 16, 2015 — Serendipity, Stakeouts & Targeting - Part 2

A transformation by assembling a composite of various elements.

September 1, 2015 — Transforming the Copse

One original with three variations of transformation.

September 15, 2015 — Transforming the Pieta

Simply transforming a snapshot of a glass-encased masterpiece, complete with reflections.

October 6, 2015 — Transforming the Bee Fountain

The subject: a 17th century street-side sculpture by Bernini.

October 13, 2015 — Securing Your Haven

This door has a plethora of locking mechanisms installed.

October 27, 2015 — Transforming L’Uomo Della Pizza

Just what is that pizza man thinking?

November 3, 2015 — Transforming A Sunken Door

Seems to be an ill-conceived doorway, just welcoming high water in Venice to enter the premises.

November 30, 2015 — Transforming the Cathedral of San Andreas

What does this church in Amalfi, with its breathtaking mosaic front, have to do with Scotland?

February 9, 2016 — Transforming the Punta della Dogana

This is the point where the Grand Canal of Venice joins the Bacino San Marco (St Mark’s Basin), with Santa Maria della Salute sitting proud.

March 1, 2016 — Transforming the Pozzi

Many years ago, these water wells were Venice’s source of fresh drinking water, collected during rainfalls.

March 8, 2016 — Transforming a Blue Boat

A blue boat with modern motor and an unbalance scene due to a single balcony…all resolved.

March 29, 2016 — Iron-Bar Windows

Each of the windows along three sides of the campo-level of this building has a uniquely patterned iron-barred window. I’ve compiled them into on collage.

August 30, 2016 — Rome Tunnel Composite

I saw the car on a street and envisioned putting it into a Roman tunnel. Done!

January 24, 2017 — Transforming a Corte

Yes, the basketball hoop was there…no, the basketball wasn’t.

February 25, 2020 — Transforming an Abandoned Water Gate

I removed a gondola, and inserted a gondola.

March 17, 2020 — Transforming a Venetian Glassblower’s Door

Gas lines abound in this Murano-based glass factory.

March 31, 2020 — Transforming the Courtyard of the Blacksmith

A very small portion of the original photo is featured in this Murano canal-side scene.

August 25, 2020 — Transforming with a Flip-Flop

I envisioned symmetry…I got symmetry.

September 29, 2020 — A Transformation with Substantial Alteration

This was delicate work, as the brickwork was crumbling before my very eyes.

February 2, 2021 — A Promised Transformation

We saw this door desperately needing transformation on our quiet walk through Dorsoduro, remember?

March 9, 2021 — Head On!

Like the very first transformation above, here is a composite of separate images.

April 6, 2021 — Haiku on a Blue Door

Thanks to Connie for the Haiku, which inspired publication of this transformation.

May 11, 2021 — Lamplight on a Blue Door

A lonely, unplugged lamp just sitting/standing there, wanting to cast its light.

I hope that you enjoyed seeing the retrospective of transformations that I’ve published to date. Rest assured that more are on the way and that a future retrospective will be in the offing.

Ciao for now.

Steve

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Pasta, Pasta, Pasta

I really can’t believe that I’m attempting this expose on the many shapes/types of pasta! Egad, what a huge subject!

And, all we’re talking about is flour and eggs, and/or water…all worked into different shapes…over 175 of them!

And why so many shapes? Well, I guess I have to say, ‘Why not!’. Or maybe, ‘Because it’s fun’. Or, how about, “I don’t have any idea!’.

“The pasta-type naming issue is a morass tangled up in a muddle sinking into a quagmire.”

Then, I have mixed emotions about getting into the nitty-gritty of what clings well to each shaped pasta. Yes, like wine pairings with food, there is the ‘proper’ coating/sauce for each type of pasta…thus the different shapes…but I’ll surely get into that. And, just what coating is ‘proper’ for each shape?…that depends on with whom you are speaking, or reading, just like with food-wine pairings.

Is this an Italian subject? Yes, most definitely. Let’s dive in!

THE SHAPE OF THINGS

Here are the very basic shapes of pasta that one might encounter: long & skinny or long & wide, shell, twisted, tubular or short-cut, stretched, itsy-bitsy, and filled/stuffed pastas. You can probably put in gnocchi as a different shaped pasta altogether, as it has distinctive ingredients for its preparation, e.g. potato is often used…its more like a dumpling.

Wikipedia has a nice list of pastas with photos.

Here are some examples of each, using common terms with which you might be familiar.

Long Pastas

These are like what you think of as spaghetti, of which there are many types…just head up to your grocery store to see that for yourself. They are made either by extruding them through a die, or by rolling them out and hand cutting them.

Here is a semi-comprehensive (is there such a thing as ‘semi-comprehensive’?) list of these ‘long’ pastas…and I’ll provide just a few photos.

NOTE: I’m going to be making a point with the next few paragraphs, so please bear with me.

PASTAS IN THE LONG CATEGORY: barbine (1), bavette (3), bigoli (1), bucatini (8), busiate, capellini (7), fedelini, ferrazzuoli (1), fettuccine (4) (I’ll explain why I’ve bolded fettuccine, below), fileja (6), linguine (5), lagane (2), lasagna (8), lasagnette, lasagnotte, maccheroni alla molinara, maccheroncini di campofilone, mafaide (9), matriciani, pappardelle (3), perciatelli (4), pici (3), pillus (1), rustiche, sagne ‘ncannulate, scialatelli, spaghetti (6), spaghetti alla chitarra (2), spaghettini (1), spaghettoni (1), stringozzi, su filindau, tagliatelle (15), taglierini (3), trenette, tripoline (1), vermicelli (1), ziti (5).

REGIONAL PASTA NAMES: That’s 32 names for for long pastas. But, those are the common names for the long and skinny pastas. But, guess what? There are regional names, also…the number of which is shown in the parenthesis following each name type above. I count over 100 names for the long and skinny pastas that are used regionally. Add the two together and there are 130 names for long and skinny pasta. Do we really need that many names for long, skinny mixtures of flour and eggs and/or water?

Here’s an example of the regional-names issue. I’ll use the well known Tagliatelle, as an example (that’s it in the bottom right of the group of photos just below).

REGIONAL NAMES FOR TAGLIATELLE PASTA SHAPE: tagliarelli, reginelle, fresine, nastri, fettuccelle, fettucce romane, fiadi, tagliolin, taglatelle smalzade, lesagnetes, bardele, fettuccine (again!?), pincinelle, tagghiarini, and taddarini (you should see all of the red-underlined-spell-checker warnings I’m looking at right now!).

So, ‘fettuccine’ in the regional names for tagliatelle?!…that alone is a completely separate type of long and skinny pasta as you can see above in the list of 32 long pastas, but it’s listed here as a regional version of tagliatelle. Go figure.

I’m not going to belabor the point of the pasta names (well, not any more, at least), and I’m not going to list them for the remaining pasta shapes. In my research, it is suggested that names are often created for marketing purposes And, as there are reportedly 34 different languages or dialects spoken in Italy, that is most likely the main reason for so many regional-name equivalents.

Churchill said of Russia that “It is a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma”. You can quote me in the future as I say that, “The pasta-type naming issue is a morass tangled up in a muddle sinking into a quagmire.”


PHOTOS OF LONG & SKINNY PASTA: In the first two photos (ziti and bucatini respectively), you will see holes in the long strands that can only be imparted with extrusion through a die. Buca means ‘hole’ in Italian, so this is where bucatini gets its name (the -tini diminutive would make it a small hole), as there is a hole all the way through each strand. Other strands have a square cross-section, while some are flat. Also, note the different colors of each pasta, which is related to the type of flour used in the creation of that pasta.

Tubular/Short Cut

Here we find cheese’s famous partner, macaroni. The short tubes of pasta might be smooth, or there may be grooves. They might be straight, or they may be curved. Some are spiraled and some look like wagon wheels. There is even a cute little bow tie for your pasta salad. There are 70 types of short, tubular pastas, with over 160 regional names associated with them.

Stretched or Shelled

These are usually small disks of pasta that are stretched on a board, and it is a small category with only 5 pasta shapes. Orecchiette, those little ear-shaped pastas are in this category. There are around 17 regional variations in naming.

Itsy-Bitsy

You will find these in soups, like minestrone. I use the term itsy-bitsy, but in Italian they are called ‘pastina’ (again, the -tina is a diminutive ending), or small pasta. There are 38 pasta shapes in the pastina category, with a plethora of regional shape names. The first of the six photos below is orzo, which has 24 regional names for that diminutive shape.

Filled

Enter Chef Boyardee and his canned ravioli…I remember it well. It’s been a long time since I’ve eaten that canned delicacy, and I’m glad of it. But yes, you will find ravioli in this category, as well as cannelloni (the first photo below) and tortelloni/tortellini. And, let’s not forget cappelli, shown below in the second photo…those being hand made by none other than your writer/host. There are 21 shapes named in this category, with Cannelloni itself owning 17 regional names, like ‘tagliati di zitoni’. Now, The Godfather movie wouldn’t be the same with the line, “Leave the gun, take the tagliati di zitoni”, would it? No, it wouldn’t.

Gnocchi

It’s just ‘kinda’ in the pasta category. Yes, it is usually made with flour and eggs, but there is most likely something else involved, like cheese, potato, breadcrumbs, cornmeal, herbs, cocoa, prunes, ricotta, spinach, and of course, the kitchen sink. They are actually more like dumplings, and they are usually cooked fresh, rather than in a dried form. BTW, they are ready to remove from the pot when they float.

gnocchi-1.png

MAKING PASTA

We’ve seen pasta being made in Italy in many places. It’s fun to watch it being made and then shaped into whatever meets one’s fancy.

Hand Made at a Ristorante

Here is a woman in a viewing window of a ristorante near Campo di Fiori in Rome, who appears to be making a fileja pasta (which could also be known as filleda, filateddhi, filatelli, fusilli avellinesi, maccaruni aru ferru, ricci di donna, depending on where one is in Italy). Note the well-floured surface on which she works. In the four photos below, here is what she’s doing (from top-left to bottom-right):

  1. Cutting a rolled out and folded sheet of pasta into fettucine shaped long and skinny pasta.

  2. Separating the cut strips.

  3. Laying them out in preparation for twisty-rolling.

  4. Using a stiff wire as a form (hard to see in the fourth photo), she rolls the flat pasta around the wire in a quick and fluid motion.

Here is what her final product might look like after the wire is slid out.

1440px-Fileja.jpg

Hand Made With Our Own Hands

You may remember seeing my article titled, “Learning to Cook Italian”, where we joined my in-laws Leslie and Criag at a cooking class in Piemonte. Here are some photos from that experience, where you can see wife Ellen’s hands deftly working the pasta.

I’m inspired to produce an article soon on how to make your own pasta, with but a few of the 170 or so shapes.

Pairings by Pasta Shape

As crazy as it may seem, one is supposed to coat a particularly shaped pasta with a particular coating. I can get into elbow macaroni being coated with a few melted cheeses, but come on. But, I promised that I would work this into today’s article, so here goes.

Thin Long Noodles Like Spaghetti: You don’t want to inhibit wrapping these pastas around your fork, so keep it light…nothing heavier than a thin Bolognese. Use sauces like light cream or olive oil, add chopped fresh herbs, diced tomatoes, crumbled crisp pancetta. And light seafood works well.

Long Tube Pastas (like ziti and bucatini): Since they have a long hole through the pasta, use thinner, loose sauces, so that the sauce can run down the center for more flavor in each bite.

Flat Long Pastas: Due to the large surface area, you can use heavier, richer sauces. The wider the pasta, the heavier the sauce. Pappardelle: use a rich, meaty sauce, like ragù, Bolognese, mushrooms, or a chunky tomato sauce.. Fettuccine: use a simple cream sauce like Alfredo.

Short Tube Pasta: These are super versatile shapes that you’ll even use in casseroles . The bigger the hole, the heavier/chunkier the sauce. When the tubes have ridges, a pesto will find it easier to well-coat this pasta shape.

Twisted Pastas: The unique twisty shape encourages pesto, crumbled meat, and sauces to hang around in there.

Small Pastina/Soup Pastas: These tiny varieties are best served in soups, stews, or broth. They also go well in a pasta salad.

Filled Pastas: You went to a lot of trouble to get a tasty filling stuffed into these pastas, so lets don’t overwhelm them with the coating. Try a light butter- or oil-based sauce. We like to brown up some butter with a bit of sage…yummm.

Gnocchi: Try a nice creamy sauce, or a cheesy-creamy sauce, or a brown-butter sauce. It’s gonna be good!

OK, after spending time putting the pairings together, I guess that most of it makes some sense. However, I never ran across anything involving meatballs. I like meatballs. Now I’m stuck, not knowing what to do. Using my own judgement, I’ll be pairing them with long, skinny pastas, whichever of the 32 or so is readily available.

Closing Arguments

I know that this was a lot to digest (no pun intended). But again, it seems like much ado about just a little bit of flour and eggs, and/or water.

If you are purchasing your pasta at your local grocery, then you are limited to what is available there, and it won’t be 170 different shapes. Go with what is available and enjoy your time cooking, and then eating. Add some wine to the picture, right?

If you purchase pasta at a specialty store that has a large inventory, then use the guidelines above…or use your common sense!

If you order on-line, you will have a wealth of choices…but then, you will have plenty of time to think about the appropriate coating as you wait a couple of days for delivery. Unless of course you subscribe to Amazon-Super-Duper-Primo-Instant-Tele-Transportation, in which case you’ll have to think faster.

A Bit of Charming Fun!

But now, for a bit of charming fun! I doubt that you’ve ever heard of Pasta Grannies…but, now that you have, you’ll be hooked if you visit the You Tube site. It’s mostly octogenarians-to-centenarians making pasta as they were taught by their own grannies. They are oh, so charming. These beautiful women create pasta in all shapes and sizes in their own kitchens, all by hand.

  • See over 300 grannies busily making pasta by hand on the You Tube channel…take a look here.

  • You can get a short introduction to the types of flour used by the grannies by clicking here.

  • There are short snippets of their tireless working on Instagram here.

Try it…you’ll like it…and you will get inspiration for making your own, handmade pastas.

And speaking of that, in the not-to-distant future, I’ll be writing about making your own pasta at home, which is what we do.

And Finally…Some Pasta Drama!

From oldsters to youngsters. What kid doesn’t like pasta…right?! Well, here’s one. This bit of drama unfolded before our very eyes at the same ristorante where the woman was making hand rolled pasta, above.

So, who wonthis battle? When the bread arrived at our table, I suddenly lost interest as my own bread-and-olive-oil drama began. Sorry to leave you hanging like that.

So, there you have the many shapes of pasta…and I’m guessing that there are a good many more than shown or described, above. We’ll be making some pasta together soon. But, in the meantime…

Ciao for now,

Steve



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Lamplight on a Blue Door

Index of Articles

Today I have a transformation for you…but it is a bit different than my usual transformations.

“ I could have taken that mail out of the mail slot early on in the process, but I’m not sure of the legal ramifications”
— Quote Source

I came across a rather blah door whilst strolling Venice. And there, sitting right there in front of that door, sat a lamp…but, actually I think it was standing, rather than sitting. And, the cord was draped on the wall, unplugged.

Rather than leave it there in that state, I decided to digitally turn on the light and make it a nighttime scene. See how I did that.

The Original Snapshot

I know, I know. It looks horrible, doesn’t it. So, let’s get going.

Cropping the Original

As is nearly always the case, cropping is necessary. Not only to work down to a 4:5 aspect ratio, but to focus in on the subject. With the modern image resolution of professional cameras, one can zoom in a good bit without losing detail.

And the vertical lines of the doorway seem to drift a bit, so I’ll fix that.

There is still more cropping needed to get to that 4:5 ratio, which is perfect for an 8x10 or 16x20 print, but wait...

What is that Relief Carving Above the Door?

I think ancient superstition has been upheld here. You’ve heard that folks years ago, when hearing thunder, thought that the god’s were bowling in Heaven. I think this just might prove that old-time notion. Note that the angel is holding what appears to be a bowling ball. This large, plaque-like carving is obviously a bowling-trophy-of-old that one would place over their doorway.

Crop It Down

Here I crop it down to the finished size.

Let’s Add Some Color

I am now going to blue-up the door a bit. As the lamp will be emitting a yellowish glow, the contrast of the blue should work well.

Make it Night

There’s too much ambient light…and I want it to be night time so the lamp can do it’s thing.

Turn On the Light

Yes, I was able to find a place to plug in that lamp cord. So, now we have a lonely light, just sitting (or standing) around not doing much of anything, it seems.

And that distracting bowling trophy above the door has been removed.

Did you notice the mail in the mail slot?

Dealing with the Mail

I’ve been putting off this part. I could have taken that mail out of the mail slot early on in the process, but I’m not sure of the legal ramifications, being Italy and all. After examining it closer, I see that it’s just a circular of some sort, complete with a helpful map. Since it’s late at night and they haven’t yet claimed their mail, maybe they just aren’t interested. I’m going to take it out of the slot and throw it away.

Oops, it’s not actually night, is it? I took the photo in the morning…just after mail delivery. So, I’ll slipped it under the door…after all, it could be notice of an upcoming sale at a small, gem-of-a-store called Prosciutto e Parmigiano, which cuts the prosciutto by hand, right in front of you. You can learn more about prosciutto here.

 

So, here is the finished product. And oh, I also removed the lock on the door…just a little too modern for my taste. And, you can see that the mail has been slipped under the door…I have no interest in being sent to the Italian mail-theft prison.

That’s it for today folks. A lonely, abandoned lamp has been given a new lease on life, casting its abundant rays out into the night…oh, so poetic. But, that reminds me…how about a lamp double Haiku?

Lonely broken lamp,
Yearning for a place to glow.
Silent night - no light.

Broken lamp now fixed,
Casting light like ne’er before.
All is well - tonight.

Until next time…


Ciao for now,

Steve

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Provinces, Comuni & Regions of Italy

Index of Articles

Until researching the nomenclature of the Italian political subdivisions, I was both ignorant of, and baffled by, the terms that I’d hear bandied about regarding Italian socio-political geography. I thought you might also be a bit baffled, so I decided that it’s high-time for all of us to know a bit more about these areas of Italy. It’s not too hard to understand.

There are 3 terms that you need to know: region, province, and comune. Think of a region as a state in the US. And think of a province as a county, or parish. And then think of every square inch of Italy as being located in one comune or another.

COMUNE (plural is Comuni)

We hear a lot about Italian towns like Roma, Venezia, Milano, Napoli, and the other big towns of Italy. In the US, we would call these ‘municipalities’ or ‘townships’, but in Italy the word ‘comune’ is used to describe these political units.

The comune is the smallest political subdivision within Italy. There are 7,918 of them and all of Italy is contained within some comune. This is in stark contrast to the US, where non-municipal land abounds. Just below is a map showing all of the comuni of Italy

The ‘comuni’ of Italy

In the map above, can you spot the very large comune of Roma, which is about half way down the Italian coast of the Tyrrhenian Sea. That little speck of a dot in the middle of the comune of Roma is another country…that being Vatican City.

Now, with a bit of enlargement of northern Italy below, it gives you a better idea of how the 7,918 comuni are organized. I’ve circled (from left to right) Torino, Asti and Milano. As you can see, those municipalities are much larger than their surrounding counterparts, and they are like islands in a sea of the other comuni.

A comune is where you would get your birth certificate, or the death certificate of another (obviously not your own), get your deed registered, pick up a marriage license, etc.

You can see a complete list of the 7,918 comuni/municipalities here.

The comuni of northern Italy

The largest comune is Roma, which is about 25 miles in diameter, and has a population of 2,761,477 inhabitants. You undoubtedly (I have faith in you!) found the comune of Roma, earlier. The smallest comune is Atrani, which tips in at only 1,300 feet in diameter, has only 832 people.

Again, for a comune, think municipality/town/township/city, but with a bit of the flavor of a county.

PROVINCES

The next political subdivision is the ‘province’. Think of a province as being like a US county, or parish if you live in Louisiana. There are 107 provinces in Italy.

The smallest areas shown on this map are the provinces. For now, ignore the darker lines and the shading differences.

The ‘provinces’ of Italy

REGIONS

Then, we come to the largest of the institutional, geo-political bodies, the ‘region’. There are 20 regions, which you can see displayed in this map. Remember, these are like the states in the US.

On this map, you see the names of the regions, using the Italian nomenclature. For instance, we in the US call ‘Piemonte’ by the name ‘Piedmont’, and ‘Toscana’ by the name ‘Tuscany’, etc…don’t ask me why, and don’t get me started on that…Rome/Roma, Florence/Firenze, Venice/Venezia, etc.

The ‘regions’ of Italy, showing their Italian names

There you have it! The regions (states), provinces (counties/parishes), and comuni (municipalities) of Italy. Each region has its own special character…as well as characters. Some are influenced mostly by the sea. Others by their mountains. While others have lakes as their defining feature. And most have a good bit of wine in their makeup. And of course each region has their own, tasty foods, including the various locally-defined shapes of pasta…but that’s a subject for next week’s article!

Wouldn’t it be great to spend time in each of these regions?! I sure think so. Let’s plot out an all-inclusive route and get going!

Ciao for now,

Steve

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