Archive for 'Culture'
La Camera di Canaletto? Posted by Serena on Apr 4, 2009
Speaking of misleading words (see my recent series ‘Misleading Word of the Day’), another word that I have often seen included in lists of so called ‘falsi amici’ (false friends) or false cognates is ‘camera’. I don’t however consider ‘camera’ a ‘false friend’ but rather a ‘helpful friend’ because it is one of the many…
La Festa della Donna e La Mimosa Posted by Serena on Mar 7, 2009
Sunday the 8th of March is International Women’s Day, a festival which will be celebrated around the world. Here in Italy this very popular festival is called La Festa della Donna. In 1946 the Unione Donna Italiana (Italian Woman Union), whilst preparing for the celebrations of the 8th of March, decided to choose an object to symbolize the event. The…
La Zampogna Posted by Serena on Mar 3, 2009
In my recent blog about Le Cioce I mentioned that although the use of this type of footwear has more or less died out it is still possible to see them being worn by Zampognari, the players of the traditional Italian bagpipes which are known as Zampogne. The name zampogna seems to have come from the ancient…
Oreste Lionello, the Italian voice of Woody Allen Posted by Serena on Feb 25, 2009
I have just read the sad news in the Corriere della Sera (an Italian newspaper) that Oreste Lionello died last week at the age of 81 following a long illness. Born in Rhodes (Greece) in 1927 of Italian parents, he was a famous comedian and one of the founding figures of Italian cabaret. Oreste Lionello and his company Il…
Le Maschere di Carnevale Posted by Serena on Feb 18, 2009
Here in Italy the Carnevale (Carnival) period is reaching its euphoric climax, so I thought it might be appropriate to write a few words of explanation. The word Carnevale originally comes from the Latin “carnem” (meat) and “levare” (remove, put away) with reference to the banquet that preceded the beginning of Lent, the period of…
“Promemoria” by Gianni Rodari Posted by Serena on Feb 11, 2009
I was browsing through my books this morning when I came across a little poem which I had forgotten all about: it’s called Promemoria (Memo) and was written by Gianni Rodari, a famous children’s author who is also loved by adults. Rodari was born in 1920 in Omegna (Piedmont); when he was young he initially worked as a…
Campanilismo Posted by Serena on Feb 2, 2009
The word campanilismo, which doesn’t have a specific English translation, derives from campanile (bell tower). The campanile, traditionally the tallest and most prominent building in any town or village, has become, in the concept of campanilismo, an enduring symbol of devotion to, and love of ones region, city, town, village or even quartiere (quarter, small district of a town). Campanilismo is…