Buying Clothes in Italy – Part 1 Posted by Serena on Apr 8, 2016
A couple have been invited to una festa in maschera (a fancy dressing party) and they’ve decided to mascherarsi (dress up) as Bonnie and Clyde. They go down town to root around the mercatino delle pulci (flea market) were vintage clothing is sold: Marito: “Mi servono un paio di pantaloni a vita alta, taglia 48…
Stolen Archaeological Treasures Return To Italy Posted by Serena on Apr 6, 2016
As a trained archaeologist, articles relating Italian archaeology always catch my eye. Here’s a recent one that really pleased me: Il 22 marzo sono rientrate in Italia dalla Svizzera 45 casse piene di beni archeologici appartenenti al nostro paese. Beni archeologici unici, per un valore stimato di ben 9 milioni di euro, provenienti da scavi…
For Better or For Worse Posted by Geoff on Apr 5, 2016
Parli bene l’italiano! (You speak Italian well!) You won’t get far in any conversation without needing to use the words good, bad, well, badly, better or worse. Now here’s one of those topics that in theory should be simple but in practice can turn out to be quite confusing. Let’s try and break it all…
Historic Italian Monuments For Sale! Posted by Geoff on Apr 1, 2016
Da il Corriere del Tirreno di oggi: Buco dell’ASL National Health Services Financial Crisis Regione Toscana in crisi costretta a chiudere vitali servizi sanitari e di emergenza se non verranno generati fondi Tuscan Region forced to close vital health and emergency services if no funds generated Dopo mesi di sofferti dibattiti è stato deciso di…
Le Conte Italiane Posted by Geoff on Mar 31, 2016
As promised in yesterday’s blog, here is a small collection of conte (counting games) that I’ve selected from many many examples. Most of these conte contain the idiomatic expression toccare a qualcuno (to be somebody’s turn). For an explanation of le conte see here. I’ve also included translations for the two baffling barzellette (jokes) from…
Now It’s My Turn Posted by Geoff on Mar 30, 2016
Last week Serena wrote a vocabulary blog about her cold, which it seemed that I’d escaped. But unfortunately, adesso tocca a me (now it’s my turn) … sniff sniff … Well, if Serena can make a blog out of a common cold so can I! But I’m not going to whine about how bad I…
An Italian Painting for Easter Posted by Serena on Mar 25, 2016
There is a hidden jewel in the Pinacoteca e Museo Civico in the small Tuscan town of Volterra: La Deposizione dalla Croce (The Deposition from the Cross) by Rosso Fiorentino. Giovan Battista di Jacopo (1494-1540), known as il Rosso Fiorentino (the Red-haired Florentine), was one of the most famous artist of 16th century Tuscan Mannerism…