Archive for 'Culture'
My Father’s Old Trade Posted by Serena on Jun 24, 2015
By Serena with English translation by Geoff In questi giorni mio papà vive con noi, cioè con me, Geoff e otto gatti, perché mia mamma non sta bene ed è ricoverata in ospedale. Per tenere tranquillo mio padre e non fargli venire in mente brutti pensieri, ho scoperto un trucco semplice ma molto efficace: gli…
Italian Stereotypes Posted by Serena on Jun 17, 2015
‘Abbiamo fatto l’Italia, ora dobbiamo fare gli Italiani’ (we have made Italy, now we have to make the Italians) said Italian writer and politician Massimo d’Azeglio shortly after the unification of Italy in 1861. Over a century and a half later we still haven’t got ‘standard’ Italians, but rather an eccentric collection of regional cultures…
Is it Art? Posted by Geoff on May 19, 2015
Does anyone really know what art is any more? Artists have always pushed the boundaries, posed difficult questions and challenged our preconception. Perhaps it was always inevitable therefore that the line that divides what we considered to be art from ‘everything else’ would eventually blur and fade. One particular genre that has caused much pondering…
The Travelling Butterflies Posted by Serena on Apr 22, 2015
A short while ago I wrote an article about my gita in sella with the association Farfalle in Cammino, which you can read HERE. The founder of the association, Simona Ferrari, is a friend of mine and, as I was curious to know how Frafalle in Cammino came about, I asked her if she wouldn’t…
I Racconti di Luisa – Il Falò Posted by Geoff on Feb 19, 2015
Story by Luisa with an introduction by Geoff A good friend of ours, Luisa, grew up in Vittoria, Sicilia. Sometimes when we’re chatting she opens up her ‘box of memories’ as she calls it, and recounts episodes from her youth. “Do you like writing?” I asked her one day, “yes, I used to” she replied…
The Tree of Life – Part 2 Posted by Geoff on Jan 28, 2015
essiccare = to dry/desiccate sbucciatura = to de-husk/peel metato/seccatoio = chestnut drying barn farina di castagne = chestnut flour gràfié e bigungia = dialect name for a large pestle and mortar malàta = hemp sack used for removing the husk from chestnuts vasùra = tray for winnowing the chestnuts, from vassoio = tray In part…
The Tree of Life – Part 1 Posted by Geoff on Jan 21, 2015
Castagno = Sweet Chestnut Tree Castagna (plural castagne) = Sweet Chestnut/s Castagneto = Chestnut Plantation Up until just a few decades ago, the humble castagna was a vital part of the Italian contadino’s (peasant’s) diet. Il castagno, often referred to in times past as l’albero del pane (the bread tree) proliferated around small towns and…