Archive for November, 2011
ADDIO SILVIO! Posted by Serena on Nov 14, 2011
Many are calling it La Festa della Liberazione. It’s the 12th November 2011, and our infamous ‘Cavaliere’, Silvio Berlusconi, has finally been forced to resign by the international community. Celebrations of this scale for the departure of a political leader have not been seen here in Italy since Mussolini was deposed in 1943! This video…
Tortelli di Zucca Posted by Serena on Nov 12, 2011
Halloween isn’t an Italian tradition, but it’s become popular within the last few years. A friend said to me “ non mi piace Halloween, ma amo le lanterne fatte con le zucche” (“I don’t like Halloween, but I love the pumpkin lanterns”). At this time of year zucche are in abundance, so here is a…
Tu and Lei – Part 1 Posted by Serena on Nov 9, 2011
In Italian we have two main forms of addressing people: the informal tu and the formal lei. We normally use tu with family, friends, and children. Lei is used with people we don’t know, and professionals, such as doctors, lawyers, the police etc. Have a look at the following examples in which the informal is…
Alluvione a Genova Posted by Serena on Nov 6, 2011
I don’t want this to become the ‘Italian Flood Blog’, but the disastrous events which are taking place here at the moment are just too big to ignore. This time it’s the city of Genova on the Ligurian coast that has been very badly hit by torrential rain and floods. In the following video recorded…
Il Milite Ignoto–The Unknown Soldier Posted by Serena on Nov 4, 2011
Today, the 4th of November, is the Giornata delle Forze Armate e dell’Unità Nazionale (Army Forces and National Unification Day). It commemorates the end of the First World War and the unification of Trentino Alto Adige and Friuli Venezia Giulia in the North East of Italy, which were previously under Austrian dominion, with the Regno…
Novembre Posted by Serena on Nov 2, 2011
Nome (Name): The month of novembre (November) takes its name from the Latin word novem (nine) because it was the ninth month in the Roman calendar. Festività (Festivals): On the 1st of November we celebrate Tutti i Santi (All Saints), which is a national holiday. When I was a child the 2nd of November, Tutti…