Archive by Author
Buying Clothes in Italy – Part 1 Posted by Serena on Apr 8, 2016
A couple have been invited to una festa in maschera (a fancy dressing party) and they’ve decided to mascherarsi (dress up) as Bonnie and Clyde. They go down town to root around the mercatino delle pulci (flea market) were vintage clothing is sold: Marito: “Mi servono un paio di pantaloni a vita alta, taglia 48…
Stolen Archaeological Treasures Return To Italy Posted by Serena on Apr 6, 2016
As a trained archaeologist, articles relating Italian archaeology always catch my eye. Here’s a recent one that really pleased me: Il 22 marzo sono rientrate in Italia dalla Svizzera 45 casse piene di beni archeologici appartenenti al nostro paese. Beni archeologici unici, per un valore stimato di ben 9 milioni di euro, provenienti da scavi…
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…
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…
An Inspiring Italian Teacher Posted by Serena on Mar 8, 2016
Oggi, 8 marzo, è la Festa della Donna e voglio dedicarlo ad una donna speciale per me. Non la mamma, che ovviamente è sempre la donna più speciale, ma una maestra. Eravamo a Bengasi dove, dopo la rivoluzione del 1969 che aveva portato al regime Gheddafi, il Console italiano aveva concesso alcune stanze del consolato…
How to say Any in Italian Posted by Serena on Mar 4, 2016
We recently received this request from one of our readers: “Trovo il vostro blog molto utile. Ho tanta difficoltà con la parola inglese ‘any’. Potete scrivere un blog su come si dice ‘any’ in italiano? Grazie mille!” In fact, the use of the indefinite adjective ‘any’ is a very complicated subject both in Italian and…