Italian fireworks - Types of shells

Vavoom

Registered User
The text below is a translation of information found in several Italian books. An idea I have had for a long time in order to make it easier for others to learn and appreciate the wonderful Italian techniques and craftsmanship. The information is far from complete and deals with general subjects as terminology, types of shells and the general set-up of a typical Italian (nighttime) display. The names and terminology presented are in common use throughout Italy, but depending on the region of Italy other names and terminology may be used.

Types of shells:

Bombe ad una sola apertura (single break shells):

daylight shells:

Bomba a paracadute: shell filled with one or more parachutes. The parachute can carry objects like a smoke cannister or a flag.

Bomba a scala: shell filled with 5 or 8 “botti” (respectively one or two layers). The “botti” have to explode in rapid, but very precisely timed, succession to give rhythm to the shell.

Bomba a martello (hammer shell): shell filled with 8 “botti” and a “controcolpo”. Just like the bomba a scala the “botti” have to explode in rapid, but very precisely timed, succession. Except for the last “botto” (no.8), which comes immediately after the second last “botto” (no.7). Another difference with the “bomba a scala” is that the uneven “botti” (no.1, 3, 5, 7) have a different sound than the even “botti” (no.2, 4, 6, 8). The even “botti” are louder than the uneven “botti”. This shell represents a blacksmith hammering on his anvil.

Bomba a fanova: shell filled with 6 “botti” that explode in rapid succession (not precisely timed).

Bomba a riprese: shell filled with lots of inserts in one to three layers in the outside ring. Each layer (ripresa) can contain from 10 up to 100 inserts that explode almost simultaneously. The timing between each ripresa has to be very precise.

Bomba ad intreccio: shell filled with three to twelve “botti”. The “botti” explode in groups (intreccio) and individually in rapid, but very precisely timed, succession. This shell is built to fool the public. It is sort of like a combination of “bomba a scala” and “bomba a riprese”. E.g.: first 6 “botti” simultaneously and followed by 4 individual “botti”.

Bomba stutata (or Bomba spenta): shell filled with a lot of “botti”. After the initial break nothing seems to happen for about three to four seconds (“spenta” meaning extinguished). Then, suddenly, all “botti” explode almost simultaneously. In English a “Stutata” would translate to a “shell of shells”.


nighttime shells:

Each daylight shell can be used as a nighttime shell. The only difference is that the “botti” have been replaced by “sfere” or “granatine” that are filled with coloured stars. Therefore bomba a 8 di sfere o granatine, a fanova, a riprese, ad intreccio, stutata, a serpentelli, a paracadute are also seen at night.

Sbruffi: not a shell, but a small calibre starmine.

Mortaretti: not a shell, but a small calibre pre-loaded single shot mortar.

Bomba a spacco e lampi (or Bombetelle): shell with a coloured bouquet and 6 to 9 small salutes (lampi).

Bomba a spacco e botta: shell with a coloured bouquet followed by a loud salute (botta).

Bomba a stelle: shell simply filled with stars.

Bomba con stelle a botta: shell filled with cardboard tubes that contain a pressed colour composition and a flash composition at the end. At first they produce a bright colour, followed by a report (coloured thunders).

Bomba a cannoli (or in jargon “Controbomba”): shell filled with several layers of “cannoli” in the outer rings. These burn almost to the ground. The center of the shell is often filled with smaller stars (like a pistil). If the center also contains stars that are placed in the form of a cross, the shell is called “Bomba a cannoli e croce”.

Bomba a farfalle: shell filled with stars and one or two layers of small tubes in the outer ring. These tubes spin around and produce a short, but dense, white tail.

Bomba a pioggia di carbone (literally: rain of charcoal): shell filled with stars that contain a lot of charcoal. These produce a trace of gold in the sky, like kamuro or brocade.

Bomba a pioggia bianca (literally: white rain): shell filled with stars that produce a trace of white colour in the sky.

Bomba luminose: shell that has been covered on the outside with a layer (1 cm) of colour composition. When the shell is launched, a bright light goes upward. Normally this effect is obtained by attaching one or several pressed comets on top of the shell.

Bomba giapponesi: shell that is made of two pre-formed hemispheres. They produce a perfectly round effect. The stars have a short burntime.


Bombe composte (multi-break shells):

Both daylight and night-time shells. The difference being that in night-time shells the “botti” have been replaced by “sfere” or “granatine” that are filled with coloured stars. The night-time shells can also contain one or more “controbombe”. The multi-break shells can be constructed out of 2 to 6 shells for daylight shells (resulting in just as many breaks). For nighttime shells upto 11 breaks is possible.

When building a multi-break shell (Italian style) one starts with the break that actually explodes last. The outer diameter of this break is much smaller than the bore of the mortar, but the outer diameter will grow when following breaks are being added. When the first break is finished (completely spiked), a new sheet of paper (twice the height of the first break) is wrapped around it in such a way that it sticks out on the side where the spoletta is. From this protruding paper the second break is built by putting in cardboard discs, sturdy paper, stars/inserts, breakcharge, etc.. The second break is closed with another cardboard disc, wrapped in paper again and finally spiked. This process of building one shell on top of another is continued until the multi-break shell has reached its desired length and diameter.

Building a multi-break shell requires great skill, know-how and taste in order to choose, combine and alternate the desired effects. The most difficult and laborious multi-break shells are considered to be the “31 di scala” and the “3 cannoli”, respectively a daylight shell and a nighttime shell. The “31 di scala” is a 5-break shell that contains 31 “botti”. These “botti” explode in a steady, perfectly timed pace one after the other. The “spoletta madre” is very short. The first break explodes just a few metres after leaving the mortar. The remaining body of the shell continues to climb up. In order to be safe the first three breaks should explode while going up and the final two should explode while going down.
The “3 cannoli” is a 3-break shell. Each break is a “controbomba” that can also contain “intrecci”. This multi-break shell has an outer diameter of 28 cm and weighs approximately 80 kilos. It shows three huge, perfectly round, bouquets with “cannoli” burning to the ground.


Simbology of multi-break shells:
On each shell the contents have been written with symbols. Below are some common symbols.

+ = colpo scuro (dark salute)
. = botto (salute)
R = ripresa
i = intreccio
# = intreccio di sfere
L = contrabomba
® = stutata (R in the circle should be an S)
© = contrabomba a croce (C in the circle should be a +)


General set-up of multi-break shells:

Italian%20fireworks%20-%20bomba%20da%20tiro.gif

Figure 4: Set-up of a Bomba da Tiro

a = stoppino di accensione (firing fuse)
b = passafuoco (quickmatch)
c = spoletta madre (main fuse)
d = mina di lancio (liftcharge)
e = spoletta intermedia
E = casing filled with intrecci/riprese/fanova in four layers
F = casing filled with three layers of salutes
G = contrabomba a stelle
H = controbomba with five layers of cannoli
1 = tronetti/colpetti/intrecci di granatine
2 = colpi di scala/granatine/sfere
3 = stelle (stars)
4 = peperone or spacco (breakcharge)
5 = cannoli
6 = spacco a polvere (breakcharge of black powder)
7 = controcolpo (bottomshot)

Bomba da Tiro: shell that is (often) fired individually at the begin of a display. Each Bomba da Tiro can have up to 6 breaks. More breaks is possible, but very rarely seen. Often the first break contains several (three or four) intrecci of smaller shells. The following breaks are “controbombe”. Although the first break can also be one big stutata-like break, followed by one huge “controbomba con croce di Malta” (with Maltese cross). A Bomba da Tiro ends with a salute, which is called a “controcolpo”.

Bomba fermata: often a two-break shell (first break two or three “intrecci”, second break a “contrabomba”). They are a prelude to the finale. Bigger “fermata” consisting of two or three “contrabombe” also exist.

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Literature:
Fuochi Pirotecnici – L’arte e i segreti, Francesco Nicassio, Levante Editori, Bari, 1999
Pirotecnia Moderna, F. di Maio, Hoepli, Milano, 1891
Fuochi Artificiali, T. de Francesco, G. Lavagnolo, Torino, 1960
 
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stutata28

Registered User
The picture of the multi break shell shows us a shell with four breaks and a bottom-shot. The first two breaks are the so called intrecci, the third and fourth break are the so called controbombe : two times a controbomba.
 

stutata28

Registered User
Some additional information :
sfera = granatina = stucchio = stucchietti , this is a cilindrical insert shell of for example 5 cm with 3 layers of 7 pallette ( = cilindrical stars like cannoli ).
 
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