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L’Esilio di Napoleone all’Isola d’Elba Posted by Serena on Jan 25, 2012
Napoleone Bonaparte, who was born in Corsica in 1769 and died in exile on the island of St. Helena in 1821, was once the Emperor of most of Europe. In 1814 he was forced to downsize somewhat, becoming instead emperor of the little Isola d’Elba (Island of Elba) 10 km off the Tuscan coast, which…
Preposizioni Articolate – part 2 Posted by Serena on Jan 23, 2012
Here’s part 2 of my blog dealing with preposizioni articolate (articulated prepositions). You will need to read the introduction to part 1 for an explanation. – Di (of, than, about): di + il = del e.g.: l’albero è caduto a causa del vento (the tree fell down because of the wind) di + lo = dello…
Preposizioni Articolate – part 1 Posted by Serena on Jan 20, 2012
A preposition is a word that describes a relationship between other words in a sentence. The most common Italian preposizioni are, in alphabetical order: a (to, at, in), con (with), da (from, by, since, to, at), di (of, than, about), in (in, inside, to, within, at), per (for, to, by), su (on, in, about), tra/fra (between…
Sant’Antonio Abate Posted by Serena on Jan 18, 2012
On the 17th of January the Catholic Church commemorates Sant’Antonio Abate (Saint Anthony the Abbot), patron saint of animali domestici (pets and farm animals), macellai e quelli che lavorano il maiale (butchers and those who process pork), and coloro che sono afflitti dal fuoco di sant’Antonio (those who suffer from shingles or herpes zoster, commonly…
Innovazioni Italiane – Part 3 Posted by Serena on Jan 16, 2012
This is my third and final blog about innovazioni italiane (Italian innovations) from the last 150 years since Italy’s unification. Here are another four important innovations that have been ‘Made in Italy’: 1. Vibram – A mountaineering accident, in which six alpinisti (mountaineers) froze to death due to lack of adequate footwear, was the stimulus…
Quanto bene conosci l’Italia? Le Soluzioni Posted by Serena on Jan 13, 2012
Well done everyone who had a go at my quiz ‘Quanto bene conosci l’Italia?’. Here are the correct answers: 1. Roughly how many inhabitants does Italy have: a. 40million, b. 50million, c. 60million, or d. 70million? c. 60,000,000 – according to Istat, The National Institute for Statistics, “Al 31 dicembre 2010 risiedevano in Italia…
La Voce Posted by Serena on Jan 11, 2012
Let’s take a look at some of the vocabulary which describes ways in which we use la nostra voce (our voice): sussurrare / bisbigliare (to whisper): Laura ha sussurrato qualcosa alla sua compagna di classe (Laura whispered something to her classmate), or non capisco quello che stai bisbigliando (I don’t understand what you’re whispering) mormorare…