Archive for March, 2011
Difesa dell’acqua pubblica e no al nucleare Posted by Serena on Mar 31, 2011
Here is an interesting topical article taken from the Italian newspaper ‘La Repubblica’. It reflects both the Italian public’s preoccupation with environmental issues, and their lack of faith in the ability of politicians to move beyond their internal disputes, power games, and ‘bunga bunga’ parties, and actually do something constructive! It is estimated that between…
Rapporto sulla Salute dell’Italia – part 2 Posted by Serena on Mar 27, 2011
WARNING, those of you who idealize the healthy Italian lifestyle and mythical Mediterranean diet may be disappointed! Adulti e bambini sempre più pesanti e grassi (Adults and children increasingly overweight) Every year in Italy about 50,000 deaths are related to obesity. Amongst adults 35.5% are overweight and 10% are obese, giving a total of 45.5%…
Rapporto sulla Salute dell’Italia – part 1 Posted by Serena on Mar 24, 2011
Tendenze demografiche (Demographic tendencies) In Italia, la popolazione residente (the resident population) is increasing. However, il tasso di fecondità (the birth rate) remains relatively stable, but below the 2.1 per couple which would guarantee a ricambio generazionale (renewal of the next generation). The current crescita demografica (demographic growth) is explained by immigration. L’Italia continua ad…
Specchio di Primavera Posted by Serena on Mar 21, 2011
Bentornata, Primavera! (Welcome back, Spring!) What better way to celebrate the official beginning of Spring than through the words of a great poet? Salvatore Quasimodo was born in Modica (Sicily) on the 20th of August 1901. After completing his engineering studies in Palermo, Quasimodo travelled around Italy following “il lavoro che dà da vivere” (the…
17 Marzo 1861 – 2011 Posted by Serena on Mar 18, 2011
Yesterday, the 17th of March, we celebrated the 150th anniversary of the Unification of Italy with a national holiday. The history of the unification of Italy is long and complicated, but in a nutshell: The official birth of il Regno d’Italia (the Italian Kingdom) took place on the 17th of March 1861, and Vittorio Emanuele…
Definitions Quiz Posted by Serena on Mar 15, 2011
Part 1 Here is a list of categories. See if you can match them with their appropriate definition, as shown in the example below. 1. gli indumenti sono … cose che servono per vestirsi 2. i mezzi di riscaldamento sono … 3. gli utensili da cucina sono … 4. i mezzi di illuminazione sono ……
Parole Omofone Posted by Serena on Mar 12, 2011
In Italian, the letter ‘h’ is silent. This creates several parole omofone, i.e. words that sound the same even if their meaning, or the way in which they are written is different. Here are the most common: Group 1 ho 1st person singular of verb avere = to have: ho uno zio che abita a…