Archive by Author
Il Milite Ignoto–The Unknown Soldier Posted by Serena on Nov 4, 2011
Today, the 4th of November, is the Giornata delle Forze Armate e dell’Unità Nazionale (Army Forces and National Unification Day). It commemorates the end of the First World War and the unification of Trentino Alto Adige and Friuli Venezia Giulia in the North East of Italy, which were previously under Austrian dominion, with the Regno…
Novembre Posted by Serena on Nov 2, 2011
Nome (Name): The month of novembre (November) takes its name from the Latin word novem (nine) because it was the ninth month in the Roman calendar. Festività (Festivals): On the 1st of November we celebrate Tutti i Santi (All Saints), which is a national holiday. When I was a child the 2nd of November, Tutti…
L’Incubo di Acqua e Fango Posted by Serena on Oct 31, 2011
Here in northern Toscana and Liguria we’re all still pretty much in a state of shock after last week’s devastating flash floods, and in terms of blogging it’s difficult to think of much else. In our little village near Pontremoli we were pretty much cut off from the rest of the world for a few…
Maltempo Flagella Nord Italia Posted by Serena on Oct 28, 2011
A couple of days ago I wouldn’t have imagined that I’d be able to publish this blog today. On Tuesday we were hit by monsoon like rains which caused horrendous flash flooding and widespread damage. Up in our little village in Lunigiana things seemed pretty bad as walls started collapsing, the telephone and internet stopped…
Fare le Corna Posted by Serena on Oct 26, 2011
Watching a live concert of our favourite Italian heavy metal band, Lacuna Coil, I was struck by the fact that the audience were all facendo le corna (making the horns), a common hand gesture here in Italy, especially in Napoli. I did a bit of research and discovered that the gesture was made popular in…
How to say ‘I love you’ in Italian Posted by Serena on Oct 24, 2011
Apparently one of the most frequently asked questions on internet search engines is ‘how do you say “I love you” in Italian… or Spanish, or German, or Greek, etc. etc. Well, this must be good news for international relations, and it’s certainly a lovely antidote to all the scaremongering perpetrated by politicians and the media…
La Fame di Mimì Posted by Serena on Oct 21, 2011
Povera Mimì la Gatta, ha un po’ di problemi digestivi e l’ho messa a dieta stretta di riso e tonno, ma lei è molto schizzinosa e vuole solo i suoi croccantini. Resiste per quasi un giorno e “poscia, più che ‘l dolor, potè ‘l digiuno”! (Dante) = Poor Mimì the Cat, she has a few…