Dear Ezequiel,

I do not think it might be Dentalium, as they, as far as I know, are not
eaten by man. Maybe Teredo navalis, which is said to be fried and eaten in
Venice or, what I would suppose, Lithophaga, which will have the size of
rigatoni but not the color.
Best regards
Bernd Sahlmann
from Munich

----- Original Message -----
From: "Ezequiel" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Wednesday, March 21, 2007 10:20 AM
Subject: Re: "rigatoni di mare"


> Thanks Paul,
>
>  I've seen the dish mentioned elsewhere also. Looks promissing.
>
>  However, the "rigatoni di mare" I am trying to identify are
> mentioned in a nineteenth-century archaeological report, when, while
> excavating at Pompeii a vessel was found containing some
> shells that are described as "rigatoni di mare".
>
>  I'm beginning to think that the denomination "rigatoni di mare" is a
> nineteenth-century name for the shell... I'll have to dig up some old
> Italian dictionaries.
>
>  Maybe the shape of the pasta would resemble the shell. It would have
> to be some kind of ribbed tube shell... from the Bay of Naples, of
> course.
>
> Ezequiel
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> [log in to unmask] - a forum for informal discussions on molluscs
> To leave this list, click on the following web link:
> http://listserv.uga.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=conch-l&A=1
> Type your email address and name in the appropriate box and
> click leave the list.
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------

----------------------------------------------------------------------
[log in to unmask] - a forum for informal discussions on molluscs
To leave this list, click on the following web link:
http://listserv.uga.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=conch-l&A=1
Type your email address and name in the appropriate box and
click leave the list.
----------------------------------------------------------------------