It’s been a while since we’ve had a quiz. So before you all go into letargo (hibernation) for the winter we thought we’d give you a bit of brain exercise to do. In this quiz you need to identify the twelve famous Italians described below. We’ve tried to make the quiz accessible to everyone by giving the clues in English, and with a little bit of investigation on the internet you’ll soon have them all identified. Please post your answers in the comments section. Here we go:
1. Italian composer famous for his memorable, highly atmospheric spaghetti westerns soundtracks (remember the whistle?)
2. Renaissance polymath from a little Tuscan village near Florence. In order to read his notes you need to hold them up to the mirror.
3. Avid traveller, explorer, and storyteller, from a family of Venetian merchants. For many years he was a diplomat for the Kublai Khan.
4. The original fricchettone (hippy), he talked to the animals, lived in a grotto in Umbria, and created the first presepe vivente (Nativity show).
5. Known as l’Eroe dei Due Mondi (the hero of two worlds), he led Le Camicie Rosse, an army of a thousand men dressed in red shirts.
6. Florentine Renaissance cartographer, who gave his name to a new continent.
7. What is the first name of the female fashion designer, whose surname is used in the title of this novel/film?
8. For twenty years he ruled Italy with his Camicie Nere (Black Shirts), and succeeded in making the trains run on time.
9. Artist and sculptor from Livorno who lived in Paris at the beginning of the Twentieth century. His style is characterized by the long faces and necks of his subjects.
10. Car manufacturer from Modena whose famous products carry a horse logo.
11. Iconic Italian actress who celebrated her eightieth birthday this September.
12. Influential educator whose portrait appears on the other side of this bank note.
Buon Divertimento!
Comments:
David Cookson:
1. Ennio Morricone
2. Leonardo da Vinci
3. Marco Polo
4. St Francis of Assisi
5. Garibaldi?
6. Amerigo Vespucci
7. Non lo so!!
8. Benito Mussolini
9. Modigliani
10. Ferrari
11. Sophia Loren
12. Montessori?
2 guesses, + one I haven’t a clue about. Thank you – it was great fun!
David
Joseph T. Madawela:
12 out of 12. Does make me an honorary Italian?
Serena:
@Joseph T. Madawela Salve Joseph!
Per nominarti italiano onorario devo controllare le tue risposte! 😉
Saluti da Serena
Michael Long:
1.Ennio Morricone 2.Leonardo Da Vinci 3.Marco Polo 4. San Francesco d’Assisi 5.Giuseppe Garabaldi 6.Amerigo Vespucci 7. Miuccia Prada 8. Benito Mussolini 9.Amedeo Modigliani 10. Enzo Ferrari 11. Sofia Loren 12.Maria Montessori
Tommaso:
1. Ennio Morricone
2. Leonardo da Vinci
3. Marco Polo
4. San Francesco d’Assisi
5. Giuseppe Garibaldi
6. Amerigo Vespucci
7. Mario
8. Benito Mussolini
9. Amedeo Modigliani
10. Ferrari
11. Sophia Loren
12. Maria Montessori
Bill Auge:
Geoff, ho una domanda: e’ vero che Mussolini ha fatto I treni in orario, cambiando gli orari dei treni non facendo I treni piu efficiente?
A presto, Bill
Serena:
@Bill Auge Ciao Bill! Non lo so proprio! La storia dei treni in orario ai tempi del Fascismo fa parte della leggenda: “Mussolini ha fatto almeno una cosa buona: ha fatto andare i treni in orario!”. Se poi questo è vero, non lo so.
Tanti saluti da Serena
Igor Sidorov:
1.Ennio Morricone (remember the whistle?)Oh,yes -“For A Few Dollars More”(“Per qualche dollaro in più”)by Sergio Leone;2.Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci;3.Marco Polo;4.Giovanni Francesco di Pietro Bernardone;5.Giuseppe Garibaldi;6.Amerigo Vespucci;7.The first name is Maria Bianchi(Miuccia Prada nipote di Mario Prada);8.Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini;9.Amedeo Clemente Modigliani;10.Ferrari S.p.A.;11.Sofia Villani Scicolone(Sophia Loren);12.Maria Tecla Artemesia Montessori(Maria Montessori)
Serena:
@Igor Sidorov Complimenti Igor, sei stato bravissimo! Dove hai trovato tutti quei nomi complicatissimi? Specialmente il n.4, mi ci sono voluti alcuni istanti per riconoscere San Francesco. Un piccolo appunto: domanda n. 10: Ferrari s.p.a. è la ditta (s.p.a. = società per azioni). Siccome il quiz riguardava persone famose, la risposta completa è ‘Ingegner Enzo Ferrari’ 🙂
Saluti da Serena