460 KITCHEN AT COMACCHIO. [CHAP. x. 



any architectural character, and there is a tower, from the top 

 of which a good view of the lagoon and its various islands 

 may be obtained ; but in an industrial point of view the chief 

 feature of the place is the great kitchen where the cure of the 

 fish is carried on, one of the peculiarities of Comacchio being 

 that a large portion of the eels are cooked before being sent to 

 market. The kitchen where the eels are cooked is a large 

 room containing a number of fireplaces ranged along one side. 

 These fireplaces are about five feet square, and in front of each 

 of them are hung six or seven spits on which the eels are 

 impaled and roasted. The fire is placed on a low grate, and 

 immediately below the spits is a trough or duct to catch the 

 grease that drops from the eels while cooking. Before being 

 roasted the fish undergo an operation. A workman seated 

 before a block of wood, with a small hatchet in his hand, 

 seizes the eels one by one and with great dexterity cuts off the 

 head and tail, which are given to the poor, divides the body 

 of the eel into several pieces of equal length according to its 

 size, and throws them into a basket at his side. Each piece at 

 the same time is slightly notched to facilitate the work of the 

 next operator, who with equal skill and quickness puts the bits 

 on the spit. It is only the large eels, however, that are decapi- 

 tated and divided, the smaller ones are simply notched and 

 stuck on the spit. The spits thus filled are next handed to 

 the women in front of the fire. Two women are necessary 

 for each fireplace : one regulates the fire ; the second looks 

 after the roasting of the eels, which is the most important 

 part of the labour, carefully shifting the spits from a higher to 

 a lower position in front of the fire until the fish are properly 

 done, when the spits are taken off by the woman, who places 

 them aside for the next operation. This woman also attends 

 to the grease that collects in the trough below the spits, and 

 puts it in jars for future use. Besides these fireplaces, there are 

 a number of furnaces fitted with large circular frying-pans, 



