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Proud To Be Italian? Part – 1 Posted by Serena on Jan 27, 2016
Following Geoff’s article I Don’t Feel Italian I thought I’d write a few words about my personal take on patriotism. “L’Italia fa schifo” said a couple of teenagers one day to a rather taken aback Geoff when they realised that he was English. Personally, I wasn’t at all surprised by this phrase as I used…
The Song of Francesca da Rimini Posted by Serena on Jan 18, 2016
Last Thursday I went to the theatre with my friend Annalisa to hear a recital in which the actress Pamela Villoresi, accompanied by a pianist and a soprano, read some of Dante’s work. The recital was based on the theme of Francesca da Rimini, the unfortunate heroine of the Fifth Canto of l’Inferno. In this…
Having Your Watch Fixed in Italy Posted by Serena on Jan 12, 2016
The setting: il negozio di un orologiaio (the watchmakers/repairers shop) in a small town in Italy The characters: Serena (the client), and l’orologiaio (the watchmaker) Serena: “Buongiorno, ho bisogno di cambiare la batteria dell’orologio” Serena: “Good morning, I need to change the battery in my watch” Orologiaio: “Mi dia pure l’orologio che guardiamo il tipo…
The Three Kings Arrive in Florence Posted by Serena on Jan 6, 2016
In the early 1990’s I worked at the archaeological museum in Florence. I used to commute there every day from Lucca by train and then walk from La Stazione Santa Maria Novella to the museum. If I had time, I’d stop for a few minutes at Palazzo Medici Riccardi and visit La Cappella Dei Magi…
My Favourite Italian Blogs of 2015 – Part 2: Serena’s Choice Posted by Serena on Dec 31, 2015
Oggi tocca a me (today it’s my turn) to choose my favourite articles written by Geoff during 2015. Not an easy task at all, as there’s so much to choose from! However, after a lot of pondering here’s my list in no particular order: Tourists, Beware Of What You Wear This blog was a great…
Il Mio Primo Capodanno Posted by Serena on Dec 29, 2015
Avevo quattro anni nel mio primo Capodanno di cui ho un ricordo preciso. I miei genitori avevano deciso di passare le vacanze di Natale in Egitto e così la notte di Capodanno eravamo alloggiati in un albergo di lusso al Cairo. Dopo cena mia madre mise me e i miei due fratelli maggiori a letto…
A Very Special Christmas Tree Posted by Serena on Dec 23, 2015
Every Christmas when I was a child we had to learn the usual stereotypical seasonal poems which inevitably referred to il Bambinello (Baby Jesus), angeli e pastori adoranti (adoring angels and shepherds), and pace e amore fra tutti gli uomini (peace and love between all people). So, whilst searching the other day for an atypical…