Viene La Befana Posted by Serena on Jan 6, 2017
Today, the sixth of January, we celebrate l’Epifania (the Epiphany), which commemorates the arrival of i Tre Re Magi (the Three Wise Men) in Bethlehem. Today also marks the end of the Christmas festivities (collective sigh of relief!). Before the modern era of globalization, and the adoption of certain traditions from America, l’Epifania was the…
I Rimedi Della Nonna Posted by Serena on Jan 5, 2017
What to do when you have the flu? Are i rimedi della nonna (grandma’s remedies) any use, or are they merely placebos? There’s an old aphorism which says: “Il raffreddore è una malattia che, se curata, dura sette giorni, altrimenti dura una settimana.” (“The cold is an illness which, if cured, lasts seven days, otherwise…
We Have Been Influenced! Posted by Geoff on Jan 2, 2017
The Christmas and New Year period have been a complete blank for us this year because siamo stati tutti e due influenzati (we’ve both had the flu). Influenza, like so many Latin words that we take for granted in the English language, actually has a very interesting etymology. In order to discover why English speakers…
Uno Su Due – English Translation Posted by Geoff on Dec 30, 2016
Here, as promised, is the full English translation of yesterday’s blog Uno Su Due. Stefano: Ciao Geoff! Cosa stai facendo? Geoff: Ciao Stefano! Sto ricostruendo questo muro a secco pericolante … infatti ne è già crollato un pezzo più di un anno fa, ma finora non ho avuto l’opportunità di metterlo a posto. Ora è…
Uno Su Due Posted by Geoff on Dec 29, 2016
According to my mother, when I was about 2 years old I used to turn my jigsaw puzzles upside down so that I couldn’t see the pictures, and then assemble them by shape alone. Well, it’s been years since I’ve done a jigsaw puzzle, but I still get immense satisfaction from real world problem solving…
A Mysterious Christmas Present Posted by Serena on Dec 27, 2016
Some Christmas presents are more memorable than others. My first memorable one was given to me when I was about four years old. La mattina di Natale mi svegliai e non trovai nessuno nelle camere da letto, né i miei fratelli né i miei genitori. Allora andai in sala dove c’era l’albero di Natale e…
Astro Del Ciel Posted by Geoff on Dec 23, 2016
Astro Del Ciel (Star from The Sky) is the Italian version of Steven Spielberg’s famous Sci-fi film ‘Close Encounters Of The Third Kind’ … CUT … CUT! Astro Del Ciel, take 2: Astro Del Ciel (Star from The Sky) is the Italian version of the famous Austrian Christmas carol ‘Stille Nacht’ (‘Silent Night’) composed by…