Archive for December, 2010
La Tombola Posted by Serena on Dec 30, 2010
The other day I was reminiscing with some friends about games we used to play during the Christmas and New Years holidays in the good old pre-electronic games days. Probably one of the most popular cooperative games was, and hopefully still is, la tombola (with the accent on TOM-bola), which is more or less the…
Esondazioni, Alluvioni, e Frane Posted by Serena on Dec 27, 2010
My sister in law arrived from France last Monday the 20th of December to spend Christmas with us here in Italy, having made a horrible 7 hour car journey from Nantes to Parigi only to be snowed in at Paris Airport for a couple of days. Today is the 26th and so far she hasn’t…
Il Menu di Natale Posted by Serena on Dec 24, 2010
When I lived in England and taught Italian, at this time of year my students would ask me: "What is the traditional Italian Christmas meal?" They were very surprised when I told them that we don’t have a standard national pranzo di Natale (Christmas lunch), but each region has its own culinary tradition. So, this…
Auguri di Natale Posted by Serena on Dec 21, 2010
Yes, it’s time for the inevitable ‘Christmas Blog’. This year, I thought we’d have a look at what to write if you want to send a card to an Italian friend, or perhaps you just want to impress someone with your amazing linguistic ability! The mass exchanging of cards isn’t as big a thing here…
Viva Verdi! Posted by Serena on Dec 18, 2010
Last Saturday evening we went to the Teatro della Rosa in Pontremoli for a concert of choral works by Giuseppe Verdi. The performers were from Teatro Regio di Parma, one of Italy’s most important Opera Houses, which specializes in performing Verdi’s Operas. In fact Verdi was born in 1813 just a few kilometers from Parma…
Mimì La Gatta – La Mia Storia – Part 1 Posted by Serena on Dec 15, 2010
Mimì La Gatta – La Mia Storia – Part 1 Mimì The Cat – My Story – Part 1 Non è da sempre che abito qua in questa casa. Una volta ce n’era un’altra, più grande ma meno accogliente. C’era anche un’altra famiglia. Pensavo che mi volessero bene. Magari all’inizio, quando ero piccina…
Santa Lucia Posted by Serena on Dec 12, 2010
Here in Italy, the 13th of December is the festival of Santa Lucia, a day which, in many countries of the northern hemisphere, used to be considered the shortest of the year. Many cultures still celebrate the winter solstice at this time with ‘festivals of light’. This brings back a memory from my childhood, when…