Aren’t Tapas Spanish?

Wandering through Venice, I came across this signboard outside a small eatery, its hand-painted letters enthusiastically proclaiming Cicchetti – Typical Venetian Food – Tapas. The first two lines make perfect sense: cicchetti are indeed a hallmark of Venetian gastronomy, those small, flavourful bites served in bàcari across the city. But then comes the curious third line: Tapas. A word so rooted in Spanish culinary identity that seeing it coupled with “typical Venetian” is enough to raise an eyebrow — and perhaps a smile.

From a photographic perspective, the image is a straightforward yet effective piece of documentary work. The sign is centred and fills the frame, allowing the viewer to engage directly with the message. The shallow depth of field subtly softens the edges and background, ensuring that nothing distracts from the bold typography. The painterly brushstrokes of the letters, alternating between white and red, are rendered sharply, their slight imperfections adding a human, artisanal quality.

The exposure is well balanced. The blackboard surface retains texture, avoiding the flatness that can come from overly bright lighting. The whites of the lettering are not blown out, and the warm tones of the surrounding frame and wall complement the palette, anchoring the composition in its warm, Venetian setting.

Technically, the photograph is clean, with a pleasing contrast that enhances legibility. There is a slight fall-off in sharpness towards the corners — likely due to aperture choice — but it does not detract from the overall impact.

What makes this image engaging is not just the faithful reproduction of the sign but the incongruity it records. It captures a small cultural collision — intentional or accidental — between two distinct culinary traditions, encapsulated in a few square feet of blackboard. A reminder that, in tourism-driven cities, authenticity sometimes gets a playful, if slightly confusing, reinterpretation.