A pass into the past: incarnating the col du Saint Gothard

Anne-Laure Franchette & Gabriel Gee, TETI Group

An edible proposal for the SARN Traversing topologies conference in Hospental, MAY 2022

Abstract:
Traffic at the Saint Gothard pass rose dramatically in the late Middle Ages. The route soon became a bustling and strategic nexus between northern and southern Switzerland, and beyond from the Mediterranean to the North Sea. Trade flourished along the newfound path, if tortuous and dangerous prior to the opening of the railway line in 1882. In the twentieth century, tunnels and galleries have further increased the flow of goods along the axis. To consider the resonance of commerce at the pass, edible were proposed to the participants during the Saturday walk. Through the eating of historical recipes and products, we hoped to bodily connect with the cultural histories of the St Gothard, to physically travel into the past, listening to distant voices, culminating in a re-enactment of past economic and social heritage that keeps on informing the present.

Thin coin-shaped cheese scones
Ingredients: flour, water, mustard, salt, Val Piora cheese
The first edible aimed to evoke the trading past of the Gothard, and more specifically its taxation history. From the first development of the North South passage in the 13th century – contrary to passes such as the Col du Grand St Bernard which was used by the Roman empire – towns and regional authorities established numerous custom points: to the north, Basel, Liestal, Hauenstein, Otten, Aarburg, Zofingen, Reiden, Sursee, Sempach, Luzern, Göschenen; to the south, Biasca, Magadino, Lugano, Como. There merchants had to pay their way for the goods desired on both sides of the Alps: linen from Champagne, Burgundy and South Germany, English wool, clothes from Gent and Brussels, Zurich, Basel, Köln and Mainz; edibles including salt, salted herrings, cured meat, grain oat; furs imported from the Hanseatic cities; animals such as horses, cows, goats, sheep; wood, metal, glass; from south to north the textiles from Lombardie and Piemont, Venice and the Levant. The scones suggested a form of staple food that travellers along the mountain pass could rely on. The thin spherical shape alluded to coins in use to pay the custom points. The grated cheese was from Val Piora, very much a local production along the Gothard route. Additionally, in the late medieval ages, cheese was also frequently used as exchange-value, as an alternate to money: “Käse was in der Jungen Eidgenossenschaft nicht nur Hauptnahrung, sondern Zahlungsmittel ebenso gebräuchlich wie Geld. Es war üblich, Handwerker und Taglöhnerdienste… in Käs und Gelt zu zahlen. Auch ausserhalb der Eidgenossenschaft war der Käse anstelle von Geld willkommen. So säumten die Sennen ihre Käselaibe über die Alpenpässe nach Italien und tauschten sie ein gegen Gewürze, Wein, Kastanien und Reis.” (schweizerkaese.ch)



Ship container-shaped cardamon and almond cake
Ingredients: flour, sugar, almonds, milk, egg, grated cardamon
During a recent stay in Bellinzona, we had a great view over the rail tracks of the Lugano-Zurich route, and the long Gothard tunnel that now speeds even more the passage of goods from the Mediterranean world to the Germanic and Baltic beyond. Besides the numerous passenger trains, cargoes are thus also to be seen frequently and at all hours on the rail tracks. In the container age that took over the circulation of goods across the world in the 1960s, shipping containers have become ubiquitous. We are still quite a long way from the sea and the port of Genoa, yet a maritime feel accompanies the enigmatic rectangular boxes. Within, what mysteries from distant land might be on their way to the northern markets? Of course, exotic goods were long transported along the silk roads: “Bei den Lebensmitteln überwagen Salz, getrocknete Feigen, Mais, Öl, Rosinen, Reis, Lorbeer und Mandeln, später auch Zucker, Kaffee und Kakao; dann Gewürze, wie der als kostbares Handelsgut eingestuft gewesene Pfeffer, Zimt, Gewürznelken, Ingwer, Paradieskörner, Muskat, Safran und Kardamon.” (H.P. Nething, Eine Paess und Verkehrgeschichte der Gotthard, Tun Ott Verlag, 1990) In that spirit, we baked a variation on a Swedish almond and cardamon cake (first encountered in Gothenburg), to allude to the spice route that connected Europe to Asia from ancient times. These were made and cut in the shape of shipping containers, to take in the contemporary global routes that continue to bind the world together.

Poetic visions at the Villa dei Cedri:

‘Ferry Masters heading North’

FERRY MASTERS BULHAUL & TAILORMADE LOGISTIKS heading North LANFER, with an A HUKTRA BTT RINNEN BUZZATI TRANSCO EXSIF BERTSCHI CHEMICHAL EXPRESS BULKHAUL ARCESE MEURER INTERMODL LANFER, again DENHARTOGH UKTRA NOVE ARCESE BERTSCHLAG & DISEGNA LOGISTICS Ferry Masters heading North