Archive for December, 2011
Addio a Mamma Coraggio Posted by Serena on Dec 14, 2011
On the 10th of December this year, Angela Casella, best known in Italy as ‘Mamma Coraggio’ (Mother Courage), died at the age of 65. The story begins on the evening of the 18th of January 1988, when her eighteen year old son Cesare Casella was kidnapped in his hometown of Pavia, in the North of…
L’Accento nei Verbi Posted by Serena on Dec 12, 2011
In Italian, we have fixed rules for the pronunciation of letters which, once learnt, make it much easier to understand the relationship between written and spoken language. Unfortunately, the same is not true for accents. Although there are rules for where accents fall in verbs there are also lots of exceptions. As for nouns, adjectives…
Innovazioni Italiane Posted by Serena on Dec 9, 2011
As you probably know, 2011 is the 150th anniversary of Italy’s unification. I thought that it might be interesting to have a look at some of the most important Italian innovations that have been conceived during the last 150 years. 1. La Dinamo In 1859 professor of physics Antonio Pacinotti of Pisa designed what is…
Aspettando il Natale Posted by Serena on Dec 7, 2011
“Ancora una volta il Natale si avvicina fra luci, suoni, colori e tanta speranza che le cose possano andare meglio”. (“Once again Christmas is getting close with its lights, sounds, colours and a lot of hope that things may get better”.) This is the opening phrase in the booklet that I picked up yesterday in…
Che Casino! Posted by Serena on Dec 5, 2011
1. casino (con l’accento sulla ‘o’), luogo dove si gioca d’azzardo. 1. casino (with the accent on the ‘o’), a place where one gambles. 2. casino (con l’accento sulla ‘i’), bordello. 2. casino (with the accent on the ‘i’ ), brothel 3. casino (con l’accento sulla ‘i’), confusione, chiasso, caos, molto 3. casino (with the…
Dicembre Posted by Serena on Dec 2, 2011
Nome (Name): The month of dicembre (December) takes its name from the Latin word decem (ten) because it was the tenth month in the Roman calendar. Festività (Festivals): On the 8th of December we celebrate l’Immacolata Concezione (the Immaculate Conception), which commemorates the belief that the Virgin Mary was conceived free from the taint of…