Archive for February, 2013
Figli di Annibale Posted by Geoff on Feb 28, 2013
Figli di Annibale (Hannibal’s Children) is the name of a song by the Neapolitan group Amalmegretta, whose music is a mix of reggae, dub, Neapolitan songs and Arabic chants. The song’s lyrics shouldn’t be viewed as factual, or as a history lesson, but rather as an allusion to Italy’s multi ethnic origins, which I’ll discuss…
Annalisa e Claudio fanno una passeggiata nella neve Posted by Geoff on Feb 27, 2013
Over the last couple of weeks we’ve had a lot of snow. Now, seeing the landscape transformed in such a sudden and dramatic manner is a wonderful experience … for a couple of days! Then the boredom sets in: va bene, signora Natura, hai fatto una cosa splendida e molto impressionante, ma adesso basta, ci…
Che Cavolo Mangiamo Oggi? Posted by Serena on Feb 24, 2013
We are reaching the end of the winter (hopefully), and the only vegetable that still survives on our sad orto (vegetable garden), all covered in snow, is il cavolo nero toscano (Tuscan black cabbage). With its tufts of long, dark green leaves that look almost black against the white wintery mantle, il cavolo nero is…
Il cognome del marito? No, grazie Posted by Serena on Feb 19, 2013
“Il tour mondiale della signora Carter. Ma chi diavolo è, vi starete chiedendo se, come me, vi siete persi alcuni dettagli della vita privata di una delle popstar più famose a livello internazionale? Agli ignoranti (in materia) come me, basterà un solo nome: Beyoncé … Ma era proprio necessario farsi chiamare con il cognome del…
Il Cielo In Una Stanza Posted by Serena on Feb 15, 2013
Yesterday morning I woke up with un tarlo musicale (literally: a musical woodworm, a repetitive piece of music that sticks in your mind) in my head. It was the beginning of an Italian song called Il cielo in una stanza, written by singer and songwriter Gino Paoli in 1960. This old song, wonderfully interpreted by…
Un Memorabile Martedì Grasso Posted by Serena on Feb 12, 2013
Oggi è Martedì Grasso, ultimo giorno di Carnevale, e come sempre questo mi riporta con la memoria ad un lontano Martedì Grasso di tanti anni fa. Avevo sedici anni e frequentavo il Liceo Classico Niccolò Machiavelli di Lucca, una scuola severissima e lugubre, dove era assolutamente vietato ridere e scherzare, essere giovani insomma. L’istituto era…
Pronomi Combinati – Part 2 Posted by Serena on Feb 8, 2013
In Part 1 of this blog we looked at the ways in which personal pronouns are combined together when they precede a verb. Today I’m going to look at how and when to use the combined pronouns after a verb. All the following cases have two main changes in common: 1. the fact that the…