Archive for 'Culture'
Musica a Pontremoli Posted by Serena on Sep 13, 2017
Cosa c’è di più bello dell’ascoltare la musica classica suonata da grandi professionisti in luoghi che sono dei veri e propri gioielli architettonici? E’ questo il regalo che ci ha fatto il maestro Giulio Plotino la settimana scorsa qui a Pontremoli: sette concerti, uno per ogni sera della settimana, e per di più tutti gratuiti!…
Italian Language and Culture Quiz – The Solutions Posted by Serena on Sep 1, 2017
Here are the solutions to the quiz which we published at the beginning of this week. Names 1. Which continent is named after an Italian explorer, and what is the explorer’s name? Answer: America takes its name from Americus, the Latin version of Italian explorer Amerigo Vespucci‘s first name. 2. Which country is named after an…
Quanta Frutta! Posted by Serena on Aug 25, 2017
In our giardino (garden) we have two small apple trees which despite their humble proportions have provided us with a bumper crop this year. Apples, apples every day … … apples for breakfast with our muesli, apples after lunch, apples for our afternoon merenda (snack), apples in our salad, and who knows, maybe a nice…
Quel Mazzolin Di Fiori Posted by Serena on Aug 21, 2017
Gathered around the old well in Ponticello, the local musician are singing Quel Mazzolin Di Fiori (That Little Bunch Of Flowers), a folk song that I loved as a child. Composed in the second half of the nineteenth century, Quel Mazzolin Di Fiori was to become one of the Alpini’s (Italian mountain troops) favourite songs…
Shepherdess For A Day Posted by Serena on Aug 3, 2017
Today I’m going to publish a piece written by my friend Simona, who owns La Gallina Cubista, an organic whole-food shop here in Pontremoli. Every week Simona publishes a newsletter advertising her products. Last week, though, she decided to do something a little different by writing about her morning out on the mountains near Pontremoli…
Ciamioncino, The Singing Trash Collector Posted by Geoff on Jul 28, 2017
Ciamioncino is the nickname of Omar Gueye, a young Senegalese singer from Bergamo in the north of Italy. His name derives from the Italian word camioncino (little truck/lorry), a reference to the trash/rubbish truck which he spends his days following as an ‘operatore ecologico’. So, how did a spazzino (the common name for a street…
Italian Animalistic Expressions Posted by Serena on Jul 26, 2017
It all started a couple of weeks ago when we were walking through the beautiful Tudor Kentwell Hall in Suffolk. From out of nowhere, un pavone (a peacock) graciously strolled into the deserted courtyard. It was like being taken back in time to a magical fairytale kingdom. As the peacock moved around, proudly dragging his…