Maremma Amara Posted by Serena on Sep 5, 2012
A few days ago Geoff wrote an article about the effects of this summer’s draught on Il Parco Naturale dell’Uccellina in Maremma, which reminded me of a folk song that I love. My professor of Topography at the University of Pisa used to sing it during our archaeological campaigns in Vada, near Livorno. Maremma is…
Tu and Lei Revisited Posted by Geoff on Sep 3, 2012
Last year, Serena wrote a couple of blogs about the use of Tu and Lei (click on text to open links): Part 1, Part 2 Those blogs explained that in Italian we have two main forms of addressing people: the informal tu and the formal lei. We normally use tu with family, friends, and children…
Una consonante fa la differenza Posted by Serena on Aug 31, 2012
There are times when a single or a double consonant can make a big difference to a sentence, e.g. Mi passi la pala per piacere? (Can you pass me the shovel please?) instead of Mi passi la palla per piacere? (Can you pass me the ball please?), or Mi piace Luca (I like Luke, a…
Allarme per l’Ombrone Posted by Geoff on Aug 30, 2012
A few days ago, in a blog called Il Temporale (The Storm), I wrote about the incredible dry heat we’ve experienced here this summer. I talked about the impact that this siccità (dryness) has had on the environment, and how it had desiccated our orto (vegetable garden). Here’s an article that I found, with some…
Vietato Cantare l’Ave Maria in Chiesa Posted by Serena on Aug 28, 2012
È vietato cantare l’Ave Maria in chiesa! (It’s forbidden to sing the Hail Mary in church!) Unbelievable but true! But why? A couple of weeks ago, actor and film director Michele Placido, originally from Foggia in Puglia, got married to the young actress Federica Vincenti. He asked his old friend Al Bano, a famous pop…
Il Temporale Posted by Geoff on Aug 27, 2012
Quando abitavo in Inghilterra non avrei mai immaginato che un giorno mi sarei augurato la pioggia, ma dopo più di due mesi senza neanche una goccia ero proprio disperato. Sono cinque anni ormai che abito qua in Italia, e sono abituato alle estati lunghe e calde, ma quest’anno è stato eccezionale. Diciamo così, anche Serena…
Insalata Russa Posted by Serena on Aug 24, 2012
Despite its name, l’insalata russa (Russian salad) is originally from Piemonte (Piedmont), a region in the north west of Italy, and, in fact, in France it’s known as "salade piemontaise". According to the Vocabolario della Lingua Italiana Treccani “Insalata russa è chiamata anche insalata italiana” (Russian salad is also called Italian salad). It seems that…