Archive for 'Culture'
Il Pellegrinaggio Posted by Serena on Jul 7, 2010
Last Saturday, the 3rd of July, we joined in a small pellegrinaggio (pilgrimage) to a newly restored Madonnina (shrine to the Madonna) which was due to receive the blessing of the local priest. The pilgrimage was organized by some locals from our village, and was meant to start at 9:00 o’clock in the morning, but…
Gol! Posted by Serena on Jul 4, 2010
I must admit I’m not a big football fan. However, there is something special about Il Mondiale (The World Cup), and as we don’t have a televisione we usually go round to my parents’ apartment to watch the more interesting partite (matches) with my dad, who is an enthusiastic ‘couch footballer’. After a grueling primo tempo (first…
Bocca di Rosa Posted by Serena on Jun 27, 2010
A few days ago all the major Italian newspapers reported that Liliana Tassio, who is believed to have been the inspiration behind the song Bocca di Rosa (Rose Mouth) by il cantautore (the singer-song-writer) Fabrizio De Andrè, had died in Genova, at the age of 88. Published in 1967, Bocca di Rosa is a ballade…
Ricetta del Nocino Posted by Serena on Jun 24, 2010
Today is the 24th of June, il giorno di San Giovanni (Saint John’s Day), the traditional day on which to begin making il Nocino, a liqueur concocted from noci col mallo (green walnuts) that has its origins in the Emilia-Romagna region. A small glass of Nocino is often drunk after meals as a digestivo (digestive)…
Fidarsi – Part 2 Posted by Serena on Jun 18, 2010
In "Fidarsi – Part 1" I wrote about an article that I had recently read in the Italian magazine ‘Focus’ entitled "Fidarsi è rischioso, non fidarsi è peggio" ("To trust is risky, not to trust is worse"), which is a more optimistic version of the Italian proverb "fidarsi è bene, non fidarsi è meglio" (to…
Fidarsi – Part 1 Posted by Serena on Jun 15, 2010
I recently wrote a couple of articles about Italian detti (‘sayings’. See: ‘Una Mela al Giorno’). Here is another well known ‘detto’ that perhaps reflects one of the negative sides of the Italian character: ‘Fidarsi è bene, non fidarsi è meglio’ (‘to trust is good, not to trust is better’). I have never particularly liked…
L’Italia in Cinque Parole – la risposta! Posted by Serena on May 21, 2010
A couple of weeks ago I wrote a blog entitled ‘L’Italia in Cinque Parole’ in which I asked readers to describe Italy and the Italians in five words or short phrases. The response was quite overwhelming, and I began to think that I’d bitten off more than I could chew! The hardest part of the…