Robots Are About To Invade Pisa! Posted by Geoff on Aug 11, 2017
Every year, millions of visitors flock to Italy to immerse themselves in its epic history, art, architecture, culture and traditions … … and it’s quite likely that the average tourist goes home from Italy with the impression that they’ve just visited a huge open air museum, never considering that it is, in fact, a modern…
Bagniamoci I Piedi Posted by Serena on Aug 9, 2017
Lunedì scorso era il mio compleanno: “Cosa vuoi fare per il tuo compleanno?” mi chiede Geoff. “Voglio fare una gita nelle Alpi Apuane” gli rispondo. Ed eccoci ad Equi Terme! Equi Terme, se non ci siete mai stati, è un antico borgo nascosto nel cuore delle stupende Alpi Apuane in Toscana. Da casa nostra ci…
Italian Style Octopus And Potato Salad Posted by Serena on Aug 7, 2017
Here’s a wonderful summer recipe full of the flavours of the sea, l’insalata di polpo e patate (octopus and potato salad). This classic Italian dish is quite simple and very tasty, but beware: there are some gruesome acts to be committed. I can’t wait to see Geoff’s expression when he reads it! Allora, siete pronti?…
Shepherdess For A Day Posted by Serena on Aug 3, 2017
Today I’m going to publish a piece written by my friend Simona, who owns La Gallina Cubista, an organic whole-food shop here in Pontremoli. Every week Simona publishes a newsletter advertising her products. Last week, though, she decided to do something a little different by writing about her morning out on the mountains near Pontremoli…
Understanding Italian Modal Verbs Posted by Geoff on Aug 1, 2017
Volere (to want), dovere (to have to) and potere (to be able to) are the three so called modal verbs. As verbs go, they are not particularly difficult to conjugate … until you need to use them in the present perfect (passato prossimo). Then things start to get really interesting! A prerequisite to understanding how…
Ciamioncino, The Singing Trash Collector Posted by Geoff on Jul 28, 2017
Ciamioncino is the nickname of Omar Gueye, a young Senegalese singer from Bergamo in the north of Italy. His name derives from the Italian word camioncino (little truck/lorry), a reference to the trash/rubbish truck which he spends his days following as an ‘operatore ecologico’. So, how did a spazzino (the common name for a street…
Italian Animalistic Expressions Posted by Serena on Jul 26, 2017
It all started a couple of weeks ago when we were walking through the beautiful Tudor Kentwell Hall in Suffolk. From out of nowhere, un pavone (a peacock) graciously strolled into the deserted courtyard. It was like being taken back in time to a magical fairytale kingdom. As the peacock moved around, proudly dragging his…