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Archive for February, 2015

Ai Musei Vaticani Posted by on Feb 26, 2015

In today’s post, I recount a visit to the Vatican Museums that I made when I was a student of archaeology many years ago. Apart from two brief notes, I’ve left the text entirely in Italian. If you have any difficulty translating it, please leave a comment below. L’altro giorno la mia amica Annalisa mi…

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Masaccio’s Holy Trinity Posted by on Feb 25, 2015

After a long day spent wandering around the narrow tourist packed streets of Florence, I usually try to make a quick visit to the church of Santa Maria Novella before catching the train. I like its elegant facade, designed by Leon Battista Alberti in 1470, and besides, it’s always so quiet in there, a moment of respite before throwing myself…

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Useful Conversational Rejoinders Posted by on Feb 23, 2015

As learners of Italian we’ve all found ourselves in situations where our limited vocabulary makes us sound like fumbling four year olds, vero? Yes we’ve studied our grammar, we’ve rehearsed fantastical Italian conversation in our heads, we’ve made grand speeches on the most fascinating of topics in la bella lingua …. and suddenly there we…

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I Racconti di Luisa – Il Falò Posted by on Feb 19, 2015

Story by Luisa with an introduction by Geoff A good friend of ours, Luisa, grew up in Vittoria, Sicilia. Sometimes when we’re chatting she opens up her ‘box of memories’ as she calls it, and recounts episodes from her youth. “Do you like writing?” I asked her one day, “yes, I used to” she replied…

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The Amatriciana Dilemma Posted by on Feb 17, 2015

What are the true, authentic ingredients of Amatriciana sauce? This was the main topic of discussion in all the Italian newspapers last week. Why? Because master chef Carlo Cracco had the cheek to tell a member of the audience on a TV program that you should add uno spicchio d’aglio in camicia (a clove of garlic…

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Parting Words Posted by on Feb 16, 2015

A chill wind sweeps the darkening platform and whistles mournfully through the overhead cables. A plastic wrapper rattles by as it chases a leaf along the tracks. The speaker crackles to life, and a distant voice, seeming to emanate from some far off continent, announces: Il treno proveniente da Parma, diretto a Livorno, è in…

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St. Valentine’s Day in Italy Posted by on Feb 12, 2015

In Italy, La Festa di San Valentino is very different from the Valentine’s Day I experienced in the UK. I still vividly remember my first Valentine’s Day in England, not because it was so romantic, but because it was full of cultural surprises. It all started a couple of days before the 14th of February…

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