Archive for 'Culture'
‘O Sole Mio Posted by Serena on Jun 18, 2009
‘O sole mio is without doubt the most well known Neapolitan (and probably Italian) song in the world. The lyrics were written by the journalist Giovanni Capurro in 1898, and the music was composed by his friend Eduardo di Capua, a professional posteggiatore, a Neapolitan word meaning someone who sings in restaurants and at parties. They then…
Parole Onomatopeiche, the solutions, and a poem. Posted by Serena on May 22, 2009
It’s always exciting to launch a little quiz on the internet and wait for the answers to come rolling in, so first of all I’d like to say thanks to the people who replied to Parole Onomatopeiche, well done both of you! Now for the solutions: 2. Tic… tic… e’ il ticchettio dell’orologio (is the…
Il Giro d’Italia, part 2 Posted by Serena on May 19, 2009
Now don’t start getting the idea that I’m mad about cycling. Well I have got una bici (a bike) in the shed with two flat tires, and it gets an airing once or twice a year. When we lived in a fairly flat region in England we cycled to work, to the shops, and also for leisure. But…
Il Giro d’Italia Posted by Serena on May 16, 2009
On Saturday 9th May the competitors in Italy’s most important cycle race set off from their starting point at Lido di Venezia in the north of Italy. Known as Il Giro d’Italia (The Tour of Italy) the race is broken into 21 stages, during the course of which the cyclists will cover 3,455.6 Km and pass through 3 countries: Italy, Austria and Switzerland, and 13 Italian regions…
A day in Firenze Posted by Serena on Apr 28, 2009
Last week here in Italy was Settimana della Cultura (Culture Week). Organized by the Italian Ministry of Arts, Settimana della Cultura offers free entry to all the national museums, so we decided to make the most of it and go to Firenze (Florence) for the first time in many years. On the Monday afternoon we went down to…
Buon Compleanno Roma! Posted by Serena on Apr 22, 2009
Yesterday, Tuesday the 21st April, Rome celebrated her birthday, and she’s is not doing too badly given her age: 2,762! Rome’s birthday is called il Natale di Roma: Natale comes from the Latin word natus, which is the past participle of the verb nascere meaning ‘to be born’. Nowadays we only use the word Natale for…
Un cappuccino per favore Posted by Serena on Apr 10, 2009
‘Un cappuccino per favore’ is probably one of the most common phrases learnt by tourists visiting Italy, yet as with many things Italian a cappuccino isn’t always what you think it is. To the tourist a cappuccino is nothing more than a fancy cup of coffee with foam on top, but how many realize that a cappuccino…