Archive for January, 2012
Essere Vegetariani in Italia Posted by Serena on Jan 30, 2012
It was about 20 years ago that I discovered that my cousin Simona, who is two years younger than me, had become a vegetarian. Simona was very fond of her pet rabbit, so one day when she opened the fridge to find a dead, skinned rabbit inside she was so shocked that she decided to…
Una Ricetta Invernale Posted by Serena on Jan 27, 2012
Every now and then I publish una ricetta italiana (an Italian recipe), and if you browse through my recipe blogs you will notice that they all have one thing in common: they are senza carne (without meat). That’s because Geoff and I are vegetariani. Is it unusual to be vegetarian in Italy? Well, you’ll have…
L’Esilio di Napoleone all’Isola d’Elba Posted by Serena on Jan 25, 2012
Napoleone Bonaparte, who was born in Corsica in 1769 and died in exile on the island of St. Helena in 1821, was once the Emperor of most of Europe. In 1814 he was forced to downsize somewhat, becoming instead emperor of the little Isola d’Elba (Island of Elba) 10 km off the Tuscan coast, which…
Preposizioni Articolate – part 2 Posted by Serena on Jan 23, 2012
Here’s part 2 of my blog dealing with preposizioni articolate (articulated prepositions). You will need to read the introduction to part 1 for an explanation. – Di (of, than, about): di + il = del e.g.: l’albero è caduto a causa del vento (the tree fell down because of the wind) di + lo = dello…
Preposizioni Articolate – part 1 Posted by Serena on Jan 20, 2012
A preposition is a word that describes a relationship between other words in a sentence. The most common Italian preposizioni are, in alphabetical order: a (to, at, in), con (with), da (from, by, since, to, at), di (of, than, about), in (in, inside, to, within, at), per (for, to, by), su (on, in, about), tra/fra (between…
Sant’Antonio Abate Posted by Serena on Jan 18, 2012
On the 17th of January the Catholic Church commemorates Sant’Antonio Abate (Saint Anthony the Abbot), patron saint of animali domestici (pets and farm animals), macellai e quelli che lavorano il maiale (butchers and those who process pork), and coloro che sono afflitti dal fuoco di sant’Antonio (those who suffer from shingles or herpes zoster, commonly…
Innovazioni Italiane – Part 3 Posted by Serena on Jan 16, 2012
This is my third and final blog about innovazioni italiane (Italian innovations) from the last 150 years since Italy’s unification. Here are another four important innovations that have been ‘Made in Italy’: 1. Vibram – A mountaineering accident, in which six alpinisti (mountaineers) froze to death due to lack of adequate footwear, was the stimulus…