Archive by Author
La Panzanella Posted by Serena on Aug 12, 2016
Browsing through my mother’s cookery books, I found an old booklet containing traditional Tuscan recipes. As I started reading through it I was immediately struck by its language, a beautifully old style Tuscan, full of almost obsolete words. So I decided to copy one of the recipes and share it with you. I chose La…
At The Bar In Italy Posted by Serena on Aug 10, 2016
The bar is an essential institution in Italy. A meeting place, somewhere to pass the time of day, to top up your caffeine levels or the credit on your cellulare. At the bar you can read the provided daily paper, play lotto, buy cigarettes, fare la colazione (have breakfast), una merenda (a snack) or, in…
On Patrol Posted by Serena on Aug 5, 2016
There’s a painting by Giovanni Fattori called In Vedetta that for me encapsulates the Mediterranean summer. It’s probably not what you’d expect: no white beaches dotted with parasols, no fields covered in golden crops, no shady terraces with grape covered pergolas. It’s quite an unusual picture, but whenever I see it I’m immediately overwhelmed by…
Irregular Nouns – A Quiz Posted by Serena on Jul 29, 2016
In last week’s quiz we focussed on coordinating articles, nouns and adjectives in a series of short sentences. This quiz takes the exercise a step further by introducing irregular nouns into the equation. We’d like you to translate each of the sentences in the four groups below by adding the definite or indefinite article (il…
Francesco e la sua Fratella Posted by Serena on Jul 27, 2016
Frugando fra le vecchie fotografie ne ho ritrovata una di mio fratello più piccolo, Francesco, con la nostra cagnetta Queenie. La foto fu fatta a Bengasi, nella strada davanti a casa nostra. In questa foto Francesco doveva avere circa 3 o 4 anni, perché ha in mano il cestino che usava quando andava all’asilo. Rummaging…
A Box Of Adjectives – An Italian Quiz Posted by Serena on Jul 22, 2016
Masculine, feminine, singular, plural, sometimes it’s hard to correctly pair up those adjectives with the nouns that they describe and their respective articles. This quiz, based on summer vocabulary, will focus on very short sentences which require exactly that: the coordination between article, noun and adjective. How to complete the quiz: Below you’ll find a…
A Delicious Italian Fish Recipe Posted by Serena on Jul 15, 2016
Until a few months ago I’d almost never cooked fish despite the fact that I really like it, but recently I’ve ventured in this new territory, and I’m doing pretty well. I started with very basic recipes, but now I’ve progressed onto a couple of more elaborated dishes. Here is one of my favourites, very simple…