Archive for September, 2017
Che Il Mediterraneo Sia Posted by Geoff on Sep 8, 2017
The Mediterranean has always been a melting pot of diverse cultures, a meeting of minds and traditions, a conduit between the continents of Africa and Europe. Eugenio Bennato’s Che il Mediterraneo Sia is a wonderful uplifting song that reminds us of our mixed roots and that tutto il mondo è paese (human beings are the…
Il Periodo Ipotetico Posted by Serena on Sep 7, 2017
When we hypothesise about the past, present or future and predict what the consequences might be we use a grammatical form called il periodo ipotetico (conditional sentences). A conditional sentence contains both a hypothesis introduced by the preposition se (if), and a statement of consequence. In Italian we have three types of periodo ipotetico. Let’s…
Il Mondo Corre Posted by Geoff on Sep 4, 2017
Dear readers, do you ever have the feeling that you’re out of synchronisation with contemporary society? It’s tempting to assign this sentiment to advanced age … but I’ve felt out of sync da che mondo è mondo (for ever). It doesn’t bother me any more as I no longer have any desire to be ‘in…
Italian Language and Culture Quiz – The Solutions Posted by Serena on Sep 1, 2017
Here are the solutions to the quiz which we published at the beginning of this week. Names 1. Which continent is named after an Italian explorer, and what is the explorer’s name? Answer: America takes its name from Americus, the Latin version of Italian explorer Amerigo Vespucci‘s first name. 2. Which country is named after an…