Archive for October, 2016
A Brief History Of Spoken Italian Posted by Geoff on Oct 31, 2016
Although Italian has existed for centuries as a standard written language, it wasn’t until the advent of television and the spread of mass education in the 1950’s that it became widely spoken. Latino Volgare Spoken Italian is a lingua neolatina (new Latin language) which has evolved from Latino volgare, the everyday spoken Latin of the…
October Italian Grammar Quiz – The Solutions Posted by Serena on Oct 28, 2016
Lazy astronauts up in your space station, and lazy submariners under the polar ice cap … where are your answers? Luckily some of our clever readers have had a go at this weeks quiz, which, if you haven’t yet seen it, you can find HERE. Now, let’s see how you got on. 1. Finché or…
Gli Ospiti Di Annalisa Posted by Serena on Oct 27, 2016
My friend Annalisa is a lovely sweet person with a very poetic soul. She can turn everyday facts into beautiful special events. So when I read this little tale on her Facebook page I decided (with her permission) to share it with you, my dear readers. Ho l’abitudine di mettere appena fuori casa del cibo…
October Italian Grammar Quiz Posted by Geoff on Oct 26, 2016
Time for a quiz, and time for all of you who are normally too shy, or too busy to leave us a comment. That includes you, astronauts up in the space station, and you, submariners under the polar ice cap … we know you’re reading this! Fill in the blanks in the Italian translations below…
Ottobre – A Poem Posted by Serena on Oct 21, 2016
Every season has its own beauty. Autumn brings exhilarating colours, the smell of must and wine, and the miracle of the sun ‘that can’t bid us farewell, returning every morning like a new miracle’. These are the thoughts expressed by the poet Vincenzo Cardarelli (1887-1960) in his poem Ottobre, which he wrote in the autumn…
Home made Italian Limoncello Posted by Serena on Oct 20, 2016
Oh dear, not one of you noticed the lemon! I was expecting a deluge of comments to the tune of “what on earth is a lemon doing amongst a bunch of DIY tools?” And yet there it is dear readers, right in the middle of the photo that appeared in my blog Attrezzi Fai Da…
Carmela’s Story Posted by Geoff on Oct 18, 2016
A year ago I began writing the story of Carmela and her shoe obsession. Originally intended as a one off article, the story took on a life of its own, becoming five separate chapters. Then our little white kitten Bianca, inspiration for Carmela’s cat, fell ill and died in my arms. Distraught, I avoided writing…