Archive for 'Culture'
Il Gatto Inverno di Gianni Rodari Posted by Serena on Jan 18, 2013
Today is a real winter’s day up here in our little village in the mountains: a lot of crispy white snow, limpid blue sky, and icicles dangling from the drain pipes. Gigia, one of our six cats, has been having fun exploring the fluffy white carpet that has covered our patio, and seems very excited…
Italian Christmas Traditions – Answers to the Quiz Posted by Geoff on Dec 26, 2012
Here are the answers to our Christmas Quiz. Let’s see how you got on! 1. Dove è nato il poeta Giuseppe Ungaretti, autore della poesia “Natale”? Il poeta Giuseppe Ungaretti è nato ad Alessandria d’Egitto, in Egitto 2. Come si chiama la più famosa torta di Natale italiana? la più famosa torta di Natale italiana…
Quiz–Italian Christmas Traditions Posted by Geoff on Dec 21, 2012
Here’s a little Christmas Quiz for you. Most of the answers can be found in our December blogs of the last four years. I’ve given links to the relevant blogs below. You can answer the questions in English if you prefer. 1. Dove è nato il poeta Giuseppe Ungaretti, autore della poesia “Natale”? 2. Come…
La Leggenda di Lucida Mansi Posted by Geoff on Oct 22, 2012
It seems that every town in Italy has more than its fair share of legends, and Lucca is no exception. Here’s one of my favourites. Like all legends, it has several popular variations. My version contains an amalgam of the most common elements. The Legend of Lucida Mansi Lucida Samminiati, figlia di nobili Lucchesi (daughter…
La Rosa dei Venti Posted by Serena on Oct 3, 2012
If you read or listen to the weather forecast here in Italy you’re quite likely to come across expressions such as: vento di libeccio (wind from libeccio) meaning vento provenienete da sud ovest (wind coming from South West) or vento di tramontana (wind from tramontane) meaning vento proveniente dal nord (wind coming from the North)…
Mulattiera di Mare Posted by Serena on Sep 27, 2012
Occasionally it’s fun to find examples of one of the many dialects which make Italy so linguistically rich, and to show the difference between dialect and ‘official’ Italian. Today I’ve chosen Fabrizio de Andrè’s beautiful song Creuza de mä, written in the Genoese dialect (from Genova). Fabrizio de Andrè (Genova 1940-1999) was a very important…
Le Mille Ciotole di Catullo Posted by Serena on Sep 25, 2012
Last week, while researching for my quiz about Italian airport names, I came across the poems of the Latin poet Gaius Valerius Catullus, who was born in 84 BC in Verona. When I was at secondary school I studied Latin, and Catullus was on our reading list. We all used to like his poems, because…