The Great Debate

[jwgh]

There is an object that is frequently used in some communities as a symbol of hospitality, to welcome people.







Last night, at 1 am, in the parking lot of Nick-a-Nees, I overheard part of a discussion about what that object is. I thought both sides made interesting points, so I thought I'd see what you all thought.

[Poll #1024868]

(I include the third option for completeness.)

Comments

[mmcirvin.livejournal.com]

I used to see this a lot in Virginia, and nobody ever identified it as anything other than a pineapple.

[stumpsforhands.livejournal.com]

I can't believe what I'm seeing here. Three other votes, all for "It's a goddamn pineapple?" Jake, I would have expected better from you. Please take it from an Italian and a Providence native: it's a pigna, a pinecone.

[jwgh]

Sorry, it looks like a goddamn pineapple to me.

[stumpsforhands.livejournal.com]

The other ones are, but not ours.

[mmcirvin.livejournal.com]

...LThis article is basically how I always heard it; the very foreignness of the pineapple led to its popularity as a rare luxury item in Europe, and the associations in colonial America followed.

[stumpsforhands.livejournal.com]

That's all well and good, but the object on the Federal Hill arch is not a pineapple, it is a pinecone. And it is not there as a symbol of welcoming, it is there as a symbol of prosperity.

[mmcirvin.livejournal.com]

Looking at that picture closely... I don't think that's the same thing as in the other picture!

[cgoldfish.livejournal.com]

yeah, we've been schooled. he's right.

[jwgh]

I am skeptical anyway. The thing has leaves on top that look an awful lot like pineapple leaves to me.

http://www.ccri.edu/italianclub/LittleItaly.html says:

Is that a pineapple or a pine cone?

Many people are puzzelled by the figure under the main entrance underpass at "Providence's Little Italy". In fact, hanging from the underpass is "La Pigna", an Italian symbol for hospitality and for sharing of abundance.

[paperclippy.livejournal.com]

The way I heard it, it is Italian, and while there are pine trees in Italy ("The Pines of Rome"), pineapples don't grow there. That said, the second two photos sure look like pineapples.

[cpr94.livejournal.com]

The second two look like pineapples. The first one doesn't look like anything I know, but more like a pinecone than a pineapple. The bottom of the first item is pointed in a way that I believe the bottoms of pineapples are not. It's also the only one hanging down, for what that's worth.

I submit the following:
The second two are goddamn pineapples.
The first one is a crappy representation of a pinecone. Or maybe pinecones in Italy look different than the ones in Pennsylvania.

[ronebofh.livejournal.com]

I think cedar cones look more like that.

[junquegrrl.livejournal.com]

i think the use of the pineapple as a sign of welcome comes from england (even tho, as i say it, it doesn't make a lick of sense). i thought that's what i heard at Sturbridge Village...