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Dear Rossella, ... some further research suggests that Montale may be talking about the flying gurnard (Dactylopterus volitans), which is, quite literally, a fish which flys. A 'gallinella' may be a 'gurnard', according to EURODICAUTOM, and the recipe I sent earlier on suggests that the gurnard is eaten along the Ligurian coast. So while I can't find any reference to the flying gurnard as 'gallinella di mare', there may be a local Ligurian usage (of which early Montale is particularly fond, especially given the ambiguity here) which identifies the fish in flight with a bird at swim. Cercasi pescatore ligure! George On Wed, 25 Nov 1998 03:17:02 PST rossella riccobono <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > Cari colleghi/e, > > I have a question for this very useful colloquia site and perhaps > somebody can help me find an answer. > I am working on Montale and have come across a dilemma about the > identity of the 'gallinella di mare' of 'I morti'. > > Battaglia (1966ff) registers different meanings: > the crucial ones here are the following: > > 1. type of fishing bird, a species being the 'gallinella d'acqua'. No > mention is made of 'gallinella di mare', however. > > 2. type of fish, popular in the Mediterranean especially on rocky areas > -- and this fits with the Ligurian coast. > > The lines read: > > 'come la gallinella > di mare che s'insacca tra le maglie' > > It seems to me more logical to identify this misterious being as a fish > 'che s'insacca tra le maglie', and I would do so if Montale's well known > passion for birds didn't put a doubt in my mind. > Could a bird 'insaccarsi tra le maglie' whilst fishing? > Can anybody help? > > Rossella Riccobono > > > ______________________________________________________ > Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com ---------------------- G.Talbot [log in to unmask] %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%