Archive for September, 2013
The Fall of my Guardian Angel Posted by Serena on Sep 27, 2013
In this little story from my childhood I’ve mainly used two verb tenses: imperfetto, which I’ve marked in purple, and passato prossimo, which is in red. Quando ero bambina in casa avevamo una statuina in ceramica di un angelo, che mia madre diceva essere il nostro angelo custode: era alta circa 10 cm, aveva la…
Addio allo Sceneggiatore Luciano Vincenzoni Posted by Geoff on Sep 23, 2013
Most of you have probably never heard of Luciano Vincenzoni, but I’m sure you’re all familiar with his work, unless of course you’re one of the few people who has never seen the famous Sergio Leone films such as “The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly”, and “A Fistful of Dynamite”! Luciano Vincenzoni Vincenzoni, who…
Lei or Lei, how to tell you from her … Posted by Serena on Sep 20, 2013
Recently, I wrote several posts about the formal personal pronoun “lei” (you singular). I also explained that the use of the capital letter for the formal pronoun is an artificial distinction created by some grammar books to make it ‘easier’ to recognise. In reality, Lei (you) written with a capital letter is uncommon, and only…
The Vulcania Posted by Geoff on Sep 17, 2013
A few days ago Serena published an article about her Grandmother’s war diary, which you can read here. Reading about Vincenza’s journey from Berbera to Brindisi on the former luxury liner turned Red Cross rescue ship, I became curious as to the history of the Vulcania. A contemporary poster advertising the M.V. Vulcania During its…
My Grandmother’s War Diary Posted by Serena on Sep 13, 2013
“7-1-43 Arrivo a Pesaro. Le bambine e mio padre stanno bene. Siamo vivi grazie a Dio! Il viaggio è finito!” (Arrival in Pesaro. The girls and my father are well. We are alive thank to God! The journey is over!) These words are taken from the very succinct diary that my grandmother kept during the…
Lei, Le or La?–The Solutions Posted by Serena on Sep 10, 2013
Here are the solutions to our quiz about Lei, Le and La which we published a few days ago. If you haven’t seen it yet you’ll find it here: 1. Buon giorno Dottor Bianchi, le avevo telefonato ieri mattina per fissare un appuntamento, si ricorda? (telefonare a qualcuno, indirect object) = Good morning Doctor Bianchi…
Nutella Party! Posted by Geoff on Sep 6, 2013
Ingredients for a Nutella party: 1. Lots of Nutella 2. Home made pandolce (sweet bread) 3. A rocky mountain stream 4. VERY IMPORTANT! Children Nutella parties don’t take place very often in our village here in Lunigiana. Nutella, pandolce, and rocky mountain streams are all pretty easy to find, but what we lack, unfortunately, is…