Archive for 'Culture'
Paperwork – Part 1 Posted by Geoff on Sep 19, 2018
In my previous article ‘Living The Dream?‘, I wrote about the distasteful subject of corruzione and furbizia, and how these elements conflict with the concept that many foreign visitors have of the ‘Italian Dream’. Today, we’re going to look into another aspect of Italian culture that tends to leave ex-pats rather exasperated: la burocrazia (bureaucracy)…
Living The Dream? Posted by Geoff on Sep 10, 2018
Every now and then, inexperienced visitors to the beautiful part of Italy where I live tell me: “You’re living the dream!” A statement which I find difficult to respond to. I guess my instinctive response would be: “No, I’m living the reality”. But that would entail long and complicated cultural explanations which would, for the…
Italian Popular Sayings – Answers Posted by Serena on Sep 3, 2018
Here are the translations to last week’s blog Italian Popular Sayings – A Quiz avere la luna storta/di traverso literal translation = to have the moon sideways meaning = to be in a bad mood avere la luna sul gomito literal translation = to have the moon on your elbow meaning = fake! I woke…
Italian Popular Sayings – A Quiz Posted by Serena on Aug 31, 2018
Here’s a fun little quiz about detti popolari (popular sayings). In Italy we have many weird and wonderful detti popolari, some of which have a similar equivalent in English, and others which need a bit of explanation in order to be understood. In the list of detti below, we’ve given their literal translation rather than…
Ciappa La Rocca E Il Fus Posted by Serena on Aug 23, 2018
I mestieri nel borgo (the old village trades) which takes place in the beautiful little village of Ponticello, near Pontremoli, is undoubtedly my favourite festival of the year. I love it not just because of the merry atmosphere that permeates the whole hamlet, but also because it re-evokes a period of history that’s within living…
Tales Of The Cacciucco Posted by Serena on Jul 19, 2018
If you’ve been following Serena’s detective story, you’ll have noticed that Ispettore Augusto has a passion for cacciucco, a traditional dish from the Livorno area. So, what is cacciucco, and where did it come from? By Geoff (who doesn’t really like seafood) and Serena (who wants to be a mermaid). What Is Cacciucco? Il Cacciucco…
The Other Side Of The Mountain – Part 1 Posted by Geoff on Jul 5, 2018
Today, we’re on our way to the wonderful Fondazione Magnani Rocca about 10 km south of Parma. We emerge from the long gallery that cuts through the towering rock between Toscana and Emilia Romagna, and everything changes. It’s hard to believe that two neighbouring regions can differ so much in terms of climate, landscape, architecture…