Archive for April, 2013
From The Computer To The Spade! Posted by Geoff on Apr 30, 2013
I recently heard about a fascinating initiative taking place in the suburbs of Rome. It’s called EutOrto, and the following newspaper article, which I’ve edited and translated, explains what it’s all about: Dal computer alla vanga, da tre anni in cassa integrazione in 20 ex Eutelia hanno preso in gestione un terreno all’Ardeatino From the…
O Bella Ciao Posted by Serena on Apr 26, 2013
Yesterday was the 25th of April, Festa della Liberazione (Liberation Day), which is a national holiday here in Italy. It represents the liberation of Italy from Nazi occupation and Fascist dictatorship, and the end of the Second World War in Italy. 68 years ago, on the 25th of April 1945, Torino and Milano were freed…
Using The Subjunctive In Italian Posted by Serena on Apr 23, 2013
Several years ago I wrote a series of posts about the use of the subjunctive, and I divided the subject in four parts, each dealing with one tense: congiuntivo presente (present subjunctive), congiuntivo passato (past or perfect subjunctive), congiuntivo imperfetto (imperfect subjunctive) e congiuntivo trapassato (pluperfect subjunctive). Today we’re going to look at the some…
La Primavera di Botticelli Posted by Serena on Apr 18, 2013
Dopo un lungo e piovoso inverno che sembrava non voler mai finire, all’improvviso è scoppiata la primavera in tutto il suo splendore: sull’erba tornata verde mazzi di primule, narcisi e giunchiglie si alternano a violette e iris, mentre i prati sono bianchi, azzurri e gialli di margheritine, veronica e tarassaco. Contro il cielo azzurro si…
Topalbano–The Italian Mouse Detective! Posted by Serena on Apr 16, 2013
Take two classic ingredients from Italian popular fiction … 1. Generations of Italians have grown up with Disney’s comics “Topolino” (Little Mouse), the Italian version of Mickey Mouse, whose hobby is playing the private detective. These comics are extremely popular here in Italy, and rather than being simply a translated version of the original they…
Maleducato Posted by Serena on Apr 12, 2013
A couple of weeks ago we looked at greetings, adjectives, nouns and idiomatic expressions constructed with the adverb bene (well/good). Today we are going to look at words built with the opposite adverb male (badly): maleducato/a/i/e – male plus educare (to educate) = badly-behaved, ill-mannered: Giorgio è un bambino proprio maleducato (Giorgio is a really…
One Muddy Day in Tuscany Posted by Geoff on Apr 9, 2013
Would the book/film ‘Under The Tuscan Sun’ have met such great success if it had been entitled ‘Under The Tuscan Rain’? I doubt it. Of course Tuscany, in the minds of most romantically inclined foreigners, is synonymous with sunshine. If you’ve only ever spent a couple of idyllic sultry weeks in our fair region it’s…