The Vulcania Posted by Geoff on Sep 17, 2013
A few days ago Serena published an article about her Grandmother’s war diary, which you can read here. Reading about Vincenza’s journey from Berbera to Brindisi on the former luxury liner turned Red Cross rescue ship, I became curious as to the history of the Vulcania. A contemporary poster advertising the M.V. Vulcania During its…
My Grandmother’s War Diary Posted by Serena on Sep 13, 2013
“7-1-43 Arrivo a Pesaro. Le bambine e mio padre stanno bene. Siamo vivi grazie a Dio! Il viaggio è finito!” (Arrival in Pesaro. The girls and my father are well. We are alive thank to God! The journey is over!) These words are taken from the very succinct diary that my grandmother kept during the…
Lei, Le or La?–The Solutions Posted by Serena on Sep 10, 2013
Here are the solutions to our quiz about Lei, Le and La which we published a few days ago. If you haven’t seen it yet you’ll find it here: 1. Buon giorno Dottor Bianchi, le avevo telefonato ieri mattina per fissare un appuntamento, si ricorda? (telefonare a qualcuno, indirect object) = Good morning Doctor Bianchi…
Nutella Party! Posted by Geoff on Sep 6, 2013
Ingredients for a Nutella party: 1. Lots of Nutella 2. Home made pandolce (sweet bread) 3. A rocky mountain stream 4. VERY IMPORTANT! Children Nutella parties don’t take place very often in our village here in Lunigiana. Nutella, pandolce, and rocky mountain streams are all pretty easy to find, but what we lack, unfortunately, is…
Lei, Le or La? A Little Quiz Posted by Serena on Sep 3, 2013
A few days ago I wrote a post about the use of the different forms of the formal personal pronoun: lei, le and la. Today I’m going to give you a few sentences that are missing the personal pronoun. All you have to do is fill the gaps with the correct form (click HERE if…
Non Potho Reposare Posted by Serena on Aug 30, 2013
Non Potho Reposare (I Cannot Rest) is the title of a famous Sardinian song. In 1915 Salvatore Sini (1873 – 1954), a Sardinian lawyer from Nuoro who enjoyed writing, composed a love poem entitled “A Diosa” (To the Goddess). Later, in 1921, Giuseppe Rachel, who was the conductor of the local band, composed a melody…
Lei, Le or La? Posted by Serena on Aug 27, 2013
This morning my husband Geoff had to write an e.mail to the dentist to make an appointment, and before sending it he asked me to check it for spelling and grammar mistakes. Well, I must say that it was well written, but had one recurrent mistake: the confusion between the various formal personal pronouns. Despite…