Archive for March, 2016
Le Conte Italiane Posted by Geoff on Mar 31, 2016
As promised in yesterday’s blog, here is a small collection of conte (counting games) that I’ve selected from many many examples. Most of these conte contain the idiomatic expression toccare a qualcuno (to be somebody’s turn). For an explanation of le conte see here. I’ve also included translations for the two baffling barzellette (jokes) from…
Now It’s My Turn Posted by Geoff on Mar 30, 2016
Last week Serena wrote a vocabulary blog about her cold, which it seemed that I’d escaped. But unfortunately, adesso tocca a me (now it’s my turn) … sniff sniff … Well, if Serena can make a blog out of a common cold so can I! But I’m not going to whine about how bad I…
An Italian Painting for Easter Posted by Serena on Mar 25, 2016
There is a hidden jewel in the Pinacoteca e Museo Civico in the small Tuscan town of Volterra: La Deposizione dalla Croce (The Deposition from the Cross) by Rosso Fiorentino. Giovan Battista di Jacopo (1494-1540), known as il Rosso Fiorentino (the Red-haired Florentine), was one of the most famous artist of 16th century Tuscan Mannerism…
I’ve Got a Cold Posted by Serena on Mar 23, 2016
Ogni medaglia ha il suo rovescio, every cloud has a silver lining. The cloud is my miserable cold, and the silver lining is that you get to learn some useful vocabulary. So, now you can moan about how bad you feel in both English and Italian … lucky you …. etciù!!! Suona il telefono. Serena…
Does It Suit Me – Does It Fit Me? Posted by Geoff on Mar 21, 2016
Here’s a little point of grammar that can easily trip up the unwary: In Italian, when we talk about things fitting, we usually use the form starci (from the verb stare = to be/stay/remain and ci = there). Let’s take a look at some examples: Mi puoi mettere questa valigia in bagagliaio? – Purtroppo non…
An Italian Poem for Father’s Day Posted by Serena on Mar 18, 2016
Here in Italy, the 19th of March is La Festa del Papà (Father’s day). Here’s a beautiful poem written by Camillo Sbarbaro (1888 – 1967) and published in 1914 in the collection Pianissimo. The poem takes its title from the first line: Padre, se anche tu non fossi il mio padre (Father, even if you…
Idiomatic Expressions With The Italian Verb Fare – Part 2 Posted by Geoff on Mar 16, 2016
Well, I did warn you that there are a lot of idiomatic expression with the verb fare! If you missed part 1 of this post you can find it HERE. 1. idiomatic weather expressions with fare: fare caldo/freddo = to be hot/cold: oggi fa proprio freddo! = it’s really cold today! fare bel/brutto/cattivo tempo =…