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THE SEA
I am vividly nostalgic about the times when, as a little boy, I went with my father to the fish market and amused witnessed the spoken “fight” between the various fishermen who, from their stalls, praised enhanced the quality of their displayed goods and, at the same time, jokingly denigrated those of their neighbours, being immediately paid back in their own coin. Not only, but those moments of sheer cheerfulness were made still more amusing from the fact that every seller soon had recourse to the “secret weapon”, addressing the person they were talking to by their “xistos”, that is the family nickname that everyone had inherited from generation to generation and in turn handed down to posterity. Whenever I cross the threshold of the market, it seems to me that I still hear those voices of old sea dogs who knew thousands of odd anecdotes, thousands of hilarious stories about the origins of the most bizarre xistos of buyers and sellers, but also, at the same time, thousands of secrets how to “sell off”, so to speak, fish that is not fresh any more. In that way they triggered a competition of astuteness between themselves and the customer who, if competent, succeeded unfailingly to unmask them thus starting “as a punishment” a still more funny competition about who would fetch the best price. Many of those fishermen-sellers of their own catch have unfortunately retired now or, what is worse, they have breathed their’s last, while the new generation which has replaced them has a “more serious” idea of the activity they carry out, so that a great part of the practical jokes of 25 years ago have got lost. However, the fact remains that the experience of the daily shopping at the market is still one of the most interesting moments of my working day. The photo collection that follows is meant to be a little tribute both to the generous sea of Alghero with its extraordinary produce and to the hard work of the fisherman, so deeply rooted with history and with the traditions of the Alghero community.
At the Market
Barracuda
Dentex
Dorado
Garfish
Gilthead
John Dory
Lobster
Louvar
Monkfish
Octopus
Prawns
Ray’s Bream
Sailfish
Scampi
Spiny Lobster
Squill
Tuna
Wreckfish
Swordfish
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