Archive for November, 2008
A visit to the Archaeological Museum in Florence Posted by Serena on Nov 29, 2008
The first time my husband came to Italy I took him to Firenze (Florence) of course. I warned him before hand not to dress like a tourist (no shorts or sandals, no cameras dangling from the neck) because I intended to take him to a place that is very important to me: not the Uffizi…
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly Posted by Serena on Nov 27, 2008
A few days ago we came across a DVD of Sergio Leone’s famous spaghetti western movie ‘The Good, the Bad and the Ugly’, starring Clint Eastwood and featuring Ennio Morricone’s unforgettable haunting soundtrack. Its Italian title is Il Buono, il Brutto e il Cattivo, and this prompted the question from Geoff: “which is the Bad…
È arrivata la neve, the snow has arrived! Posted by Serena on Nov 24, 2008
Opening the shutters this morning I was greeted by a world magically transformed overnight by la neve (the snow). The late autumn mauves, blues, golds and ambers of yesterday now seem a thing of the distant past, having been replaced by an almost monochromatic landscape. As usual, when the snow arrives, the world seems strangely…
Mamma Mia! Posted by Serena on Nov 22, 2008
Today I’ll try to shed a bit of light on the use of the aggettivi possessivi (possessive adjectives). Lets first have a quick look at them: My = mio, mia, miei, mie Your (sing.) = tuo, tua, tuoi, tue His/her/its/Your (polite) = suo, sua, suoi, sue Our = nostro, nostra, nostri, nostre Your (plur.)…
La Castagna (The Chestnut) Posted by Serena on Nov 20, 2008
November. It’s time to sit around a log fire and savor a handful of hot caldarroste (roasted chestnuts) with a glass of vino novello (new wine). What more could you ask for? Large parts of central and northern Italy are covered with castagneti (chestnut woods) and for centuries chestnuts were the main source of food…
A Walk in the Mountains Posted by Geoff on Nov 19, 2008
Anyone who has done a bit of walking in Italy will sooner or later notice the little red and white stripes painted on trees, rocks, telegraph poles, old buildings etc. These segnali (signs) mark the routes of sentieri (footpaths) most of which have been created by CAI the Club Alpino Italiano (Italian Alpine Club). Going…
L’alfabeto telefonico Posted by Serena on Nov 15, 2008
It’s always tricky trying to spell a word over the telephone because several letters are difficult to distinguish from each other, e.g. p and b, m and n, etc. Of course you can use the international alphabet system: alpha, bravo, charlie … but I personally can never remember it. In Italy we use a system…