The Song of Francesca da Rimini Posted by Serena on Jan 18, 2016
Last Thursday I went to the theatre with my friend Annalisa to hear a recital in which the actress Pamela Villoresi, accompanied by a pianist and a soprano, read some of Dante’s work. The recital was based on the theme of Francesca da Rimini, the unfortunate heroine of the Fifth Canto of l’Inferno. In this…
Non Vedo l’Ora! Posted by Geoff on Jan 15, 2016
Non vedo l’ora! (literally: I can’t see the hour) is a very common expression meaning ‘I can’t wait!’ or = ‘I’m really looking forward to’ It can be used as an exclamation on its own: Giorgio: vieni a vedere la mia raccolta di antiche pistole domani? = Giorgio: are you coming to see my collection…
How To Tell The Time In Italian Posted by Geoff on Jan 13, 2016
So … if you don’t have a donkey (see Monday’s post) how exactly do you tell the time in Italian? Asking the time If you watched the video embedded in Monday’s blog, you’ll have noticed that the man on the scooter asks the contadino: mi scusi buon uomo … mi sa dire l’ora per favore?…
Having Your Watch Fixed in Italy Posted by Serena on Jan 12, 2016
The setting: il negozio di un orologiaio (the watchmakers/repairers shop) in a small town in Italy The characters: Serena (the client), and l’orologiaio (the watchmaker) Serena: “Buongiorno, ho bisogno di cambiare la batteria dell’orologio” Serena: “Good morning, I need to change the battery in my watch” Orologiaio: “Mi dia pure l’orologio che guardiamo il tipo…
Telling The Time In Italy … The Country Way Posted by Geoff on Jan 11, 2016
Nowadays we all have a watch or a cell phone that tells us what the time is, but once upon a time watches weren’t so common, and cell phones were still a thing of the distant future. So how did people in the past know what the time was if they were out working in…
The Three Kings Arrive in Florence Posted by Serena on Jan 6, 2016
In the early 1990’s I worked at the archaeological museum in Florence. I used to commute there every day from Lucca by train and then walk from La Stazione Santa Maria Novella to the museum. If I had time, I’d stop for a few minutes at Palazzo Medici Riccardi and visit La Cappella Dei Magi…
Foggy Italy Posted by Geoff on Jan 4, 2016
We wanted to begin 2016 with some music: “Forse troviamo una bella canzone su gennaio” (perhaps we’ll find a nice song about January)” said Serena … “Hmmmm, vedremo” ( Hmmmm, we’ll see) I replied sceptically 30 minutes of fruitless searching pass … my scepticism has, unfortunately, been justified. Italian songs with the word gennaio in…