Archive for 'Culture'
The Feast of the Epiphany and the Befana Posted by Bridgette on Jan 6, 2021
Ciao a tutti! Buon anno 2021! Oggi è il 6 gennaio, quindi è l’Epifania! Today is January 6th, so it is the Epiphany! Last year I shared a post about the history of the Epiphany and the Befana that I have linked down below in case you would like to read it and brush up…
Tu Scendi dalle Stelle Posted by Bridgette on Dec 23, 2020
Tu Scendi dalle Stelle – From Starry Skies Thou Comes As the holidays approach, what better way to celebrare l’inizio (to celebrate the beginning) than by listening to music to set l’atmosfera (the mood, atmosphere)? Composed in the 18th century by Saint Alphonsus Liguori in un stile pastorale (a pastoral style), this is very likely the most…
Superstizioni italiane Posted by Bridgette on Nov 13, 2020
Superstizioni italiane – Italian Superstitions Oggi è venerdì 13. Today is Friday the 13th. Una giornata sfortunata, an unlucky day in the US. But it’s not considered an unlucky day and number in Italy. Instead, the number 17 is unlucky for them. Let’s look at some other superstizioni italiane. Mai mettere un cappello sul letto – Never put…
Politics in Italy Posted by Bridgette on Nov 6, 2020
Ciao a tutti! The world and all of us are watching the US elections closely, con ansia to get the final results. If you go to the Italian news site La Repubblica for example, the main page looks exactly like one from the US – full of articles about our election. To check out their…
La Poesia – Poetry Posted by Bridgette on Oct 16, 2020
Oggi, leggiamo un po’ di poesia italiana. Ugo Foscolo was a famous poet, revolutionary, and writer from the 18th century. He is especially remembered for his 1807 poem called Dei Sepolcri, Of the Sepulchres, which you can read fully here. It is a 295 hendecasyllabic (line of 11 syllables) verse poem, so make sure you give yourself…
Il Siciliano Posted by Bridgette on Sep 19, 2020
Ciao di nuovo! Today, I want to talk about the language of Sicily: u sicilianu. Some people would simply say it is a dialect of Italian, some an accent, but really – it is a language itself that is now actually recognized by UNESCO. Like perhaps some of you, the first time I went to…
Un incubo tutto italiano: la burocrazia Posted by Bridgette on Sep 8, 2020
An Italian nightmare: bureaucracy Se siete stati in Italia, in fila ad un qualche ufficio postale, o comunale (che significa del Comune) vi sarà certamente capitato di avere davanti a voi un qualche cittadino, spesso anziano, lamentarsi della fila, e più in generale della “burocrazia italiana”. If you have ever been to Italy, in line at some…