Where to torrefy chestnuts Photo

Photographer’s Note

In former times the sweet chestnut was the “bread of the poor people” in the Swiss canton Ticino and the most precious possession were chestnut trees. Until the 19th century the chestnut was a real staple food there. One person annually consumed about 150 kg . They were torrefied and milled and the flour was used for noodles, for soups and even for bread. This tree was brought by the Romans from Caukasus and “established” here in the southern Alps.
Still today big parts of this canton are covered with chestnut forests - all in all still 20000 hectares.

In order to preserve the chestnuts for winter they were torrefied in special two-story houses, the so called Grà. In basement a fire was sparked and in the upper floor the chestnuts were spread on a grate.

Here I show you one of these old Grà high up in a side valley of Verzasca valley.

In workshop you can see a sketch of this process.

Good bye for some days - a small holiday!

mikolaj_kawa, pauloog, Gerrit, Royaldevon, CeccoPhoto, holmertz, guytoc, saxo042, Muse, eska, mvdisco, maximage, feather, xuaxo, jlbrthnn, xavshot, PixelTerror, jafadabret, Kielia, Roly, ellelloo has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

jasmis (51339) 2009-08-13 0:29

Amazing example of stoned architecture with stunning roofs. Detailed note, as well.
Regards my dear friend.

mikolaj_kawa (31959) 2009-08-13 0:32

Hello Frank! Very interesting cottages, interesting village and landscape. Nice natural colours, ideal contrast, perfect sharpness. Very good exposure. Well done!

pauloog (7121) 2009-08-13 0:36

Hello Frank,
A well composed photo in fine natural colours but also very interesting thanks to your note, learning me the story of the importance of chestnut farming.
Regards,
Paul

Gerrit (36615) 2009-08-13 0:41

Hi Frank,
fine houses and a great composition with well achieved depth.
The colours are great.
Regards, gerrit

mortijo (12532) 2009-08-13 0:53

Hallo Frank,
Schönes, interessantes Bild und eine sehr interessante Beschreibung.
Grüsse aus ein regnerisches Luxemburg
John

snunney (35880) 2009-08-13 0:58

Hello Frank,
A good capture of these old stone buildings with a particular past. Good rendering of tones and textures and I like the light and colour contrasts between foreground and background.

Royaldevon (6026) 2009-08-13 1:01

Good Morning Frank,

I have to say, this is what TE is all about!
What interesting notes on a subject that is completely new to me.
Your pov is very good, giving three layers which contrast in subject, textures and colours, and produce a good sense of depth.

Kind regards,
Bev :-)

CeccoPhoto (2711) 2009-08-13 1:09

Ciao Frank,
this place is wonderful.
and this house is great!!!
I love it, I want visit it!!!

Thank for the sharing.

Cecco.

holmertz (10149) 2009-08-13 2:04

Hello Frank,
Although there isn't so much in this photo that actually reminds me of chestnuts, it's a fine picture with a partly cubistic composition. It leaves me in no doubt where the locals got their building-material. The little houses, clinging to the steep hillside, are bare distinguishable from the natural rocks. The area looks like a great place for trekking.
Kind regards,
Gert

bema (9268) 2009-08-13 2:23

Hallo Frank,

wie ich sehe hat der Hinweis gestern abend gefruchtet, die MapView-Funktion ist installiert, habe deine Antrwort gestern abend aber nur im Vorbeilaufen gesehen, da gerade meine Frau am PC saß..

tolle Region und eine sehr schöne Arbeit..

viele Grüße Bernd

john1 (2595) 2009-08-13 2:23

Bonjour Frank,

Excellente composition de deux maison accroché a la montagne. Les détails et les couleurs sont d'un naturel. merci de nous la faire partager.
John.

baba_flies (8191) 2009-08-13 2:43

Lieber Frank! Ich liebe Marroni (wie wir sagen) und heutzutage geht es mehr Richtung Luxus, wenn man sie an der Zuercher Bahnhofstrasse kauft :))) Was fuer huebsche kleine Haeuser, typisch fuer die Gegend und ich glaube jeder Schweizer moechte gerne so eines. Sie sind immer noch voll im Trend und werden umgebaut und unserem modernen Leben angepasst. Ein richtiges Tessiner Foto, gefaellt mir gut ... und bald ist wieder Marroni-Zeit, es ist zwar noch Sommer, aber es liegt ein Herbstwind in der Luft. Beste Gruesse, Barbara.

ktanska (16759) 2009-08-13 2:48

Hi Frank,
Beautiful view of traditional Ticinese stone buildings, green hills slope and more hazy bluish forest on the other side of the valley.
Note and WS are quite interesting.
Kari

npecanhuk (15212) 2009-08-13 9:19

Hello Frank!
That's a really attractive and quite beautiful picture!
The pov was very well chosen and pretty privileged!
The composition is great! Sharpness, exposure and natural colors are very good! A mix of traditional architecture and nature! TFS - congratulations!
Best regards,
Neyvan

dta (6622) 2009-08-13 9:24

Bonjour Frank ,
Merveilleuse exemple d'archirchitecture rurale . c'est étonnant comme on peut retrouver des constructions semblables (pierres , lauzes) dans d'autres régions riches en châtaigners , comme la Castaniccia , en Corse , ou les Cévennes .
Très beau cadrage .
Amicalement

carper (66148) 2009-08-13 10:44

very nice place Frank,
a well taken shot here, good composition, fine light, good job, have a good evening.
regard jaap

guytoc (1610) 2009-08-13 10:59

Bonjour Frank,

Voilà deux constructions typiques, tout à fait bien rendues ici, avec un avant et arrière-plan intéressants.
Une belle plongée dans la vallée et qui plus est, une note très instructive.
Passe de belles vacances.
Cordialement.
Guy.

claudeD (11564) 2009-08-13 11:09

Hallo Frank,

zuerst vielen Dank für deine guten Wünsche zu meinem 800 ten Bild auf TE.
Das Tessinn begeistert mich immer wieder und wenn ich dein Bild hier sehe habe ich sofort Lust auf einen Abstecher dorthin.Vielleicht naechstes Frühjahr.

Mit den bsteb Grüssen aus Luxemburg

Jean-Claude

Selmik (1446) 2009-08-13 12:21

Hi Frank,
beautiful natural scenery,nice observation of the Gra',good details and colors,informative notes.
TFS,
Mike

saxo042 (16590) 2009-08-13 15:06

Hi Frank,
With long steep hills like here, it is quite natural to acive compositions with good diagonal lines. Some very goodlooking houses here. Quite good also to omit the sky completely, this is a more interesting POV this way. And I understand that this is your favorite trekking area!
Kind regards
Gunnar

Muse (31131) 2009-08-14 1:05

Bonjour Franck,
Image typique de ces mazets dans un superbe environnement.
Une lumière un peu forte mais tu l'as bien gérée.
Je te souhaite un excellent week-end,
Amitiés,
Denise

mvdisco (11715) 2009-08-14 8:49

Bonjour Frank,
Très beau point de vue et composition,
Jolies couleurs et détails,
très belle vielle architecture ..
excellent cliché mon ami..
Michel mes salutations et bon weekend sur une journée très chaude et humide ..27 celcius....

maximage (13724) 2009-08-14 13:36

Bonjour Frank,
Tu étais donc dans ce beau canton du Tessin en juillet!
Le pays des chataignes! Belles constructions typiques et anciennes de ce pays si chaleureux.
Jolie compo avec une excellente atmosphère de vieilles pierres.
Amitiés et bon weekend.
max

feather (50588) 2009-08-14 14:34

They look a bit tumble-down Frank. Are they still in use? Very good shot of the old buildings which make a diagonal down the mountain slope. I remember as a child we used to roast chestnuts on the open fire in the house. It was a treat!
Enjoy your trip.
Kath

xuaxo (5917) 2009-08-15 10:56

Hallo Frank,
Very interesting subject, beautiful houses and landscape.
The houses seem like some of Northern Portugal, and the importance of chestnuts also.
I see in the WS that the German "Kastanie" is not so different from the Portuguese "castanha". In Portuguese it means also "brown", the color.
Greetings,
F.

pablominto (41700) 2009-08-15 23:04

Hello Frank,

It is interesting to see how people were settling in valleysides with an elevation of +30 degrees..!
The architecture tells this happened many years ago, the fine note tells the story behind these houses...
Tech wiser fine quality and a good documentary!

Greetings,
Pablo -

asajernigan (14414) 2009-08-16 6:47

Frank,
This is a great shot of this chestnut processing building. Your composition is great using the slope of the mountain to create a diagonal through the scene. The tree covered mountains provide a nice backdrop for the shot. The lighting and colors are great as is the sharpness and details.
Have a great holiday and bring back some good photos!
TFS,
Asa

jlbrthnn (39533) 2009-08-17 12:21

Good evening Frank,
Your photograph points out the Cevennes in Languedoc to me, with also a mountainous landscape, resembling stone-built houses, and the same practice of the harvest and the sêchage of sweet chestnuts. The point of view and framing are more pleasant. The light, the natural colors, clearness, are of great quality. Congratulations.
Have a nice evening.
Cordially.
Joël

xavshot (63373) 2009-08-20 9:31

Bonsoir Frank
une belle compo en diagonale qui permet de profiter de ce charmant coin. L'endroit m'a l'air bien tranquille. Belle image.
Xavier

PixelTerror (87215) 2009-08-20 12:30

Ciao Franco
Nice stone houses of these ticinese mountains, the summer sun is hard and this can be seen at places but you have exposed it well, I'd like to see more on the right, for example with a second stitched image
Have a nice evening JY

jafadabret (40717) 2009-08-21 9:50

Bonjour Frank.
La châtaigne était également cultivée et appréciée dans mon département de l'Ardèche. Il en reste des fabriques de marrons glacés à Privas et à Aubenas. Je ne savais pas que la Suisse avait aussi une économie basée sur les châtaigniers dans certains de ses cantons.
Belle photo de vestiges de la vie paysanne !
Amicalement
Jacques

danyy (69963) 2009-08-22 14:45

Bonjour Frank,
j'aime beaucoup le relief qui se dégage de cette scène faite en plans successifs. Des couleurs magnifiques et fortes dans les verts du premier plan.
C'est parfaitement cadré.
My best regards.
daniel.

AKITA (5693) 2009-08-22 17:41

dear Frank,
a beautiful picture of the wonderful old stone house,
this severe situation on the slope of the mountain is very interesting.
maybe strong sun light and wind are attacking this house as rocks there,
and almost this house looks like one steady rock.
thank you for your excellent shot, from Japan,
Akihisa

Kielia (8811) 2009-08-23 2:08

Hallo Frank,
ein atemberaubender Platz an diesem steilen Hang! Du hast einen ausgezeichneten POV gewählt für dieses wunderbare Bild, die Häuser werden sehr schön belichtet. Ein Beitrag im besten Geist von TE!
Herzliche Grüße aus dem sonnigen Norden,
Harriet

Rafer (4674) 2009-08-29 23:49

Impecable ejecución y bonito lugar...saludos

Roly (1960) 2009-08-30 20:50

I found this to be a very informative image and note, because I like chestnuts. We have them around here as well but they are not particularly good, and for chestnut products one has to go to suppliers of European products. I was not aware that they are and were so popular in southern Switzerland and I am somewhat envious: I cant even remember when I had the last ones. The typical mountain architecture is not unlike the old storage buildings I saw this year in the Picos the Europa. Many of the Asturian sheds were however in a pretty bad state of disrepair, while these in Switzerland seem to be able to withstand another few decades on their own. The stone roofs are very interesting.

boa (1516) 2009-08-31 14:43

Hello Frank,
well..interesting note and a good lesson about chestnuts. I`m very impressed of the houses in this photo. Very skillful constructed and especially: Very beautiful ! Looks like you have choosen a very good Pov, with both the buildings visible and we can imagine how steep it is. Tfs!
Best regards
Boa

ellelloo (5045) 2009-09-06 6:47

Hallo Frank,
An attractive photo with the interesting stone houses on a steep slope of the mountain. I like your POV and composition, the beautiful light and colours and the good definition of details. The note and the workshop are very interesting and make this a valuable TE contribution! TFS!
Greetings,
Lasse