Archive for March, 2015
Every Now and Then … Posted by Geoff on Mar 12, 2015
Written by Serena (and accidentally published under Geoff’s name!) A while back I received a request from a reader asking me if I could shed some light on the word tanto and the many different ways in which it’s used. So, first of all, my apologies to Paul for taking così tanto tempo (such a…
Neroli and Nerola Posted by Serena on Mar 11, 2015
When I was a child we use to spend our summer holidays in a little village near Roma called Montorio Romano. To get to the village we had to go past Nerola, a small town on the old Roman road known as the via Salaria. Outside Nerola, at the 47 kilometre ‘milestone’, there was an isolated…
Non E’ Detto …. Posted by Geoff on Mar 9, 2015
I must say that I really enjoyed reading the responses to my recent post Conversational Fragments. I love the fact that we have such imaginative readers, and I also find the responses very useful for gauging people’s comprehension of the colloquial expressions that I tend to use in my articles. One such expression that really…
Son Tanto Brava Posted by Serena on Mar 5, 2015
Sunday the 8th of March will be La Festa della Donna (International Women’s Day), and I thought it would be nice to find a special poem for the occasion. Searching through my poetry books and the internet for something appropriate I came across a short poem written by Sibilla Aleramo between 1912 and 1920, and…
Michelangelo’s Secret Room Posted by Serena on Mar 4, 2015
Last week I recounted an anecdote about my visit to the Vatican Museums and how I ended up running away from the Sistine Chapel. However, as I said at the end of it, “l’anno dopo ebbi la mia rivincita con Michelangelo!” (the following year I got my payback on Michelangelo!) Here’s how: The summer following…
Conversational Fragments Posted by Geoff on Mar 2, 2015
Last week I wrote an article entitled Useful Conversational Rejoinders … well you asked for more, so here it is: Setting: doctor’s waiting room. State of mind: bored to the point of counting the cracks in the ceiling for the third time Entertainment value: –10 suddenly … nothing happens! but then … ubiquitous ring-tone … whose…