Archive for the year 2011
I Figli Mammoni Posted by Serena on May 12, 2011
In Italian we have a word that describes a high percentage of young Italian men: un mammone (a mum’s boy), or literally ‘a big mum’. The typical mammone lives at home with mummy and daddy until well past the age of thirty (my youngest brother moved out when he was thirty six!), he doesn’t usually…
L’Etimologia della Pasta Posted by Serena on May 9, 2011
I thought it would be fun to have a look at just a few of the innumerable varieties of pasta that we produce in Italy, and to discover where they get their names from. Click on the images below to enlarge them. Va bene, cominciamo con la pasta italiana più famosa: gli spaghetti (o.k. let’s…
Carsulae e la via Flaminia Posted by Serena on May 6, 2011
When I visit an ancient site I like to let my imagination wander and to ‘feel’ the history. I find this much harder, or even impossible to do amongst hoards of tourists, so I prefer to find lesser know places, such as the ruins of the Roman town known as Carsulae near Terni in Umbria…
Maggio Posted by Serena on May 3, 2011
The name of the month maggio (May) comes from the Roman goddess Maia, mother of the god Mercury. Principali Festività (Main Festivals): On the 1st of May we celebrate la Festa del Lavoro or Giornata Internazionale dei Lavoratori (International Workers’ Day). This year il Primo Maggio (the First of May) falls on a Sunday and…
Il Nuovo Decespugliatore Posted by Serena on Apr 30, 2011
As I mentioned in my last blog "Facciamo gli erbi" the grass and weeds on the orto (vegetable garden) are growing a vista d’occhio (before our eyes). As we don’t have a cow or a goat the only practical way of keeping 500 square meters of land under control is a decespugliatore (strimmer or brush…
Facciamo gli Erbi Posted by Serena on Apr 28, 2011
At this time of year nature is suddenly waking up. Every day is greener, and l’erba nell’orto cresce a vista d’occhio (the grass in the vegetable garden grows before your eyes), much to the desperation of my husband Geoff who has to cut it! However, it gives me a lot of pleasure to see the…
Poco Posted by Serena on Apr 25, 2011
Poco – a little word that makes a big difference when used correctly! It can be translated as ‘little’, ‘short’, ‘few’, ‘not much’, ‘not very’. N.B. when used as an adjective it changes gender and number according to the noun, e.g. poco sole – not much sun, pochi giorni – a few days, poca pasta…