botte

barrel, cask
The first botti I came to know as a child had lived their file as wine containers and were located in the cave my father and her sister had in their native village. I know this sounds strange, but that is how it was: not far from the house in Poggio Catino, inside the village, a massive door opened to reveal a high-ceilinged, dark and cool corridor carved into the rock. For many years that was our refrigerator and also our long-term storage area for staples like fruit, wine and olive oil, and also for the wood my aunt used during the winter to fuel her stove and fireplace. I was afraid of going there by myself, but loved visiting it with one of the adults, because of the earthy smell and the cool temperature.

Botti smell good: of wood, wine and work. One of my uncles was a bottaio, a maker of botti.

I have always been small, short if you wish: I am 5'1" and usually have no problems with it. Have you ever seen a Fiat 500 car? One of the advantages of being small is that I could fit in that car. From third through fifth grade I had a teacher who was a tall man. He was the first one to tell me that nelle botti piccole sta il vino buono (literally, good wine is found in small barrels, meaning: good things come in small packages).

There are other sayings involving botti. The first one of this selection is quite funny:

• volere la botte piena e la moglie ubriaca (to want to have your cake and eat it too; I know, the English saying is slightly different: I adjusted it to the Italian construction, which literally means to want to have the barrel full and the wife drunk¹);
• dare un colpo al cerchio e uno alla botte (to run with the hare and hunt with the hounds, which is a British expression and means to try to be on good terms with both sides in a conflict or a dispute; in Italian is also used to describe trying to answer conflicting needs);
• essere in una botte di ferro (to be on sure ground, literally, to be in an iron barrel).

¹I realized I had omitted the literal translation of the Italian expression: apologies to the early readers.

Hear me pronounce the words and expressions on the botte audio file [mp3] or go to the botte audio page for more listening options.

Comments

[Katiez]

Our wine celler/cold storage in our house in andorra was carved into the rock at the back of the garage.
I can understand the fear/love of a child for such a place. Add in the fear of critters living in such spaces... I wouldn't go alone either!

[Simona]

That's nice, Katie: thanks for sharing your experience. A garage with a cave: very interesting.

[Lisa]

Once again, a lovely, evocative post. And -- as for having your cake and eating it too, that is how we say it in English, exactly. I especially like the "run with the hare, hunt with the hounds" saying, probably because I was once accused of "trying to be all things to all people," which is a slightly different concept, but close!

[Susan]

Though American caves have always scared me, there is something quite romantic about European ones. Simona, I can vividly "see" that cask in a charming Italian village so long ago. Lovely post all around.

[Paz]

I think that being a bottaio must be very interesting.

Paz

[Simona]

Thanks Lisa. That English expression is charming: it makes me think of Victorian novels with hunting scenes. I am trying to think if we have an Italian expression corresponding to "trying to be all things to all people," but I cannot find one: I'll let you know if I do.
Thanks Susan. The cave we had was indeed charming in its own way: it felt alive, breathing. I would like to visit it again and see how it feels to be there as an adult.
Hi Paz: it is a skilled job, certainly, and very interesting, making things that last a long time.