Bleeding Espresso

23 January 2009

Village Games: Part III

It’s been a while since P and I played “Dove cazzo è?” (Where the **** is it?), but last weekend’s photostroll with the dogs (while wearing my new official photostroll boots) gave me a perfect chance to round up some photos.

For past rounds of this game, see Village Games I and Village Games II.

The rules are:

(1) I roam the village taking random shots of things.

(2) P has to tell me where I’ve found them–all of them.

(3) Loser cooks dinner and cleans up afterwards.

I started with an easy one, just steps from our house:

Turned up the heat with the door of one of the village’s 13 churches:

Which P got immediately as this is the church nearest the house he grew up in.

Then some random ruins:

P struggled a bit but described the general area, so I gave it to him. But then, the toughest one of all:

He had no clue that it belonged to this house:

Hah! Victory was mine!

But then I remembered another photo I had and wanted to ask him about:

P solved the mystery for me as to what this was used for, so we agreed to call this third edition of Village Games a draw.

Do you know what that pointy object is/was for?

Buon weekend--any fun plans?

35 beans of wisdom »

35 beans of wisdom to “Village Games: Part III”

Gil on 23 Jan 2009 at 7:27 am #

If it was meant to be used in the position it is in in the photo, it was probably a hanger used to hold up rain gutters. If it was just placed in the crack, I think it was a hand tool used a a lever or fulcrum to raise heavy objects. Not fair making us work our brains!

Well look at this. Very first guesser, and he got it 100% right…but which one? Hmm…I’ll let more of you guess before I tell you the final answer.
Homebody at Heart on 23 Jan 2009 at 7:36 am #

Hmmm, could be for tying up animals like horses and burros? Or, could be step? You know how those Italians were always having to fend off those darn Saracens/pirates and the like. So, they didn’t always make it easy to get into the house. Those are my 2 guesses.

Great guesses–the animal thingees are rings though. I love your pirate thinking too!
awedree on 23 Jan 2009 at 8:26 am #

Is the pointy thing for digging?

As for the finne settimana, catch up on sleep! This was a short and packed work week, so I’m looking forward to resting. Maybe have lunch with Mom….Oh, and I definitely have to study. We’re almost there!

Have a great weekend, Michelle

Could be used to dig, but not its original use…have fun this weekend! I’m looking to catch up on sleep too
Scintilla on 23 Jan 2009 at 9:09 am #

Is it a bottle opener?

Scintilla’s last blog post..Pearl of the Amalfi Coast ? Send us Obama !

Nope, although I’m sure it’d work as one!
Willym on 23 Jan 2009 at 9:41 am #

Hanging game after the hunt? Not sure why but that’s the first thing that came to mind – wonder what Freud would have to say about that.

Willym’s last blog post..The Formal Dinner – Folies Bergère 1930s

Hah, great guess, although those are S shaped….
Sheryl on 23 Jan 2009 at 10:02 am #

What a cool game idea. Is it used to hang up something? Like lights for the local festa? Buon weekend!

Sheryl’s last blog post..Lago Palu

Hah, that would probably make too much sense for around here…nope, sorry Thanks for stopping by!
nyc/caribbean ragazza on 23 Jan 2009 at 11:07 am #

I with Gil on this one.

What a great game.

Buon weekend!

nyc/caribbean ragazza’s last blog post..Flashback Friday – Something’s Gotta Give

Smart girl
jen of a2eatwrite on 23 Jan 2009 at 12:02 pm #

Great game, and I don’t have the slightest idea about the pointy thing.

jen of a2eatwrite’s last blog post..Congratulations, Mr. President!

I love playing this game…we definitely have to do it more often
My Melange on 23 Jan 2009 at 1:00 pm #

Looks like a giant can opener for those LARGE cans of roma tomatoes

My Melange’s last blog post..love thursday: my french find

Hah, excellent guess. But nope
Cherrye at My Bella Vita on 23 Jan 2009 at 1:02 pm #

Uhm. No idea, but fun game! Bring your camera to CZ and we will see how he does here! lol

Hah, I’m sure horribly since he rather hates going to CZ
poppy fields on 23 Jan 2009 at 1:20 pm #

I thought the same as scintilla and my mélange…a giant bottle opener

poppy fields’s last blog post..Mountain Cross…

I wouldn’t doubt that some bottles have been opened on it over the years, but nope….
dana kaplan on 23 Jan 2009 at 1:43 pm #

I agree with the last few… I think it’s an opener of some sort.

Great game… I love the idea…

Dana

dana kaplan’s last blog post..Two Very Simple Things/Due cose molto simplici

Glad you enjoyed Dana!
Diva on 23 Jan 2009 at 2:07 pm #

Great game!!! I love the idea!!!
sometimes we just have it trying to remember old photo’s on trips.
will have to make it contest!

So true…best to label photos immediately
anna l'americana on 23 Jan 2009 at 2:45 pm #

A hook for cauldrons of boiling oil of the sort you toss over the ramparts on your enemies?
A rung in a funny minimalist ladder?
Or a hook for street lighting?

Was I allowed more than 1 guess?
LOL.

anna l’americana’s last blog post..Sometimes it snows indoors…..

Hah, absolutely you can have more than one guess. They’re all wrong, but creative!
LuLu on 23 Jan 2009 at 3:35 pm #

What an awesome game!

I have no clue what that thing is so I’m not even gonna try

LuLu’s last blog post..It’s never too late…

It is rather fun since P’s such a show off
lucy on 23 Jan 2009 at 3:41 pm #

since my brain is fried like an egg on hot summer’s day today. I will agree with what everyone says above…lol
Fun plans for the weekend include cleaning the house, washing floors, going to a birthday party in -20 celcius conditions, and watching movies all day Sunday while a roast cooks in the oven!

lucy’s last blog post..

OK I’m in for the roast but you’re on your own with the rest
Julian Meteor on 23 Jan 2009 at 4:47 pm #

GREAT game, but NOT as good as sleeping with strangers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! lmao

Julian Meteor’s last blog post..Google Problem

Well that *is* hard to compete with Thanks so much for stopping by!
City Girl on 23 Jan 2009 at 5:28 pm #

Isnt the big hook thing to cut grass? Sorry for teh non-technical term. Love your boots. This weekend I am spending time with my husband, getting my hair cut and seeing a friend – am trying to figure out where to fit in a yoga class too.

Ooh I should do all of those things too…but no, not a grass cutting tool. Great guess though!
amanda@A Tuscan View... on 23 Jan 2009 at 7:13 pm #

I had absolutely no idea what the pointy thing was, until I read Gil’s comment. I love the idea that it could be some kind of random bottle opener just in case you got caught short and were in desperate need of a swig of vino! That’s such a great thought.
The photo’s are great Michelle, I love the house and the chimney, the colours are gorgeous.
Have a great weekend.

amanda@A Tuscan View…’s last blog post..Brace yourselves…

Thanks Amanda, and would you believe that now I notice them all over the place–in use? Too funny!
Irene on 23 Jan 2009 at 7:31 pm #

Perhaps it was used in the wheat harvest.

Irene’s last blog post..Taki the Noble Cat

Great guess! But nope….
Anali on 24 Jan 2009 at 3:31 am #

Have a good weekend Michelle! It was great to see your blog among the 2009 Weblog Award nominees. I voted for you today! Best of luck! ; )

Anali’s last blog post..What The TJX!?

Thanks so much Anali!
Grace on 24 Jan 2009 at 8:00 am #

It’s kinda scary looking, like a scythe.

Grace’s last blog post..My New Favorite Band: The Pierces

Definitely resembles one, but it’s not….
Gennaro @ Enduring Wanderlust on 24 Jan 2009 at 8:07 am #

I love viewing photographs of old Italian towns. Each unique, but with a unifying aspect to their design.

So true, Gennaro. So true.
saretta on 24 Jan 2009 at 4:16 pm #

Sure, that’s a whatsit! See those everyday (not)!

Love the perspective in the photo of the house. Really makes it look tall and precarious. I like living in a very, very flat area…nothing to fall off of!

saretta’s last blog post..Pulo, 6

Hah, I’m not sure I’d make it in a flat area anymore…so used to walking all these hills!
Absolute Vanilla on 24 Jan 2009 at 6:04 pm #

The pointy object looks like it was lodged there by the grim reaper!

You definitely have to be careful walking around here, I tell ya….
London Southern Belle on 24 Jan 2009 at 8:35 pm #

this is such a cute game! But, please don’t tell my husband as he does all of the cooking and I don’t want to start hehehe

Works just as well with laundry, dusting, sweeping, whatever
Chuck on 25 Jan 2009 at 12:55 am #

Great idea for a competition. I’ll have to try this with my wife … but then we already share those cooking duties pretty equally. Thanks for the idea!

Chuck’s last blog post..Dancing at the Market

P and I share pretty equally too, but not with cleanup…I’m almost always stuck with that, so I love this game
Alda on 25 Jan 2009 at 1:54 am #

Michelle, thanks so much for your visit the other day. And congratulations back! Lovely blog and wonderful photos – kudos!

Alda’s last blog post..We would appreciate your vote…

My pleasure! I look forward to reading more of you
girasoli on 25 Jan 2009 at 4:20 am #

Very cool game! I would have to agree with Absolute Vanilla. It also reminds me of the grim reaper.

girasoli’s last blog post..“chipped”~ PhotoHunt

Hah, I can definitely see that!
casalba on 25 Jan 2009 at 8:30 am #

Fun game and what a lovely little house in a romantic setting. I wonder who lives/lived there. Looks like a fairy godmother should be sweeping the steps, or maybe a witch – Befana, of course.

I don’t know what the thingy is – to hold a shutter open, perhaps?

I’ve always loved that house. I used to sit and imagine the family that lived there all the time….

As for the object, Gil got it (first answer).
This Eclectic Life on 25 Jan 2009 at 10:34 pm #

I like that game! And, you took some lovely photos. You inspire me to go out walking and looking for noteworthy shots here, but I’m not finding them.
An award awaits you at my house. Go here

This Eclectic Life’s last blog post..Blushing From Head To Toe–And Passing It On.

Thanks so much Shelly! Will be over as soon as I can…Internet issues here….
Stefanie on 26 Jan 2009 at 3:57 pm #

Every time I see pictures of your village, I can’t believe you live there. Seriously, your life is right out of a movie or a story book, right?

And I have no idea what that pointy thing is.

Sometimes I don’t believe it either…until I’m without Internet for a couple weeks because providers are so horrible with customer service. But I’m not bitter!

Check out Gil’s answer if you’re really curious as to what that thing is….
wunschdenker on 29 Jan 2009 at 1:24 pm #

I’ll go with Gils’ first guess – the rain gutter holder.

100% correct! And I see them all over the place now
erin :: the olive notes on 01 Feb 2009 at 2:06 pm #

Hi Michelle! this is such a wonderful game…and i just love the photo of the wooden slats on the door!

erin :: the olive notes’s last blog post..my trip to cuba :: part 4

Definitely cool for a church door, eh?
macculata on 09 Mar 2009 at 2:09 pm #

Though you are sure the pointy thing is a rain gutter holder, I would have gone with “pig holder” for slaughtering the annual pig. Nearly every farm household had one. My mother and father were raised in Calabria and visited a few years ago after living in America since 1935. She pointed out the metal hook on the house where she was raised (currently in ruins) and explained how it was used to hold the pig after slaughter. The meat was cured and used throughout the year. I can attest to the absolutely fabulous “gravy” made with the local pork because my cousin Macculata made me the best Italian sauce I ever had when I visited Calabria in 1974. Of course, my Mom makes the best gravy in Brooklyn, but nothing ever came close to that Calabrian sauce with the homegrown meat and tomatoes fresh from her garden.

So I’m going with the “pig holder” theory. Maybe you can find a photo of a real pig holder?

The only thing I’ve seen dead animals on (ahem) is an “S” hook, but I’m sure some people have hooks as you describe. This thing, though, was on the outside of a house right next to a door about at eye level, so definitely not for hanging pigs I’ll ask around to see if I can get a photo for you though!