Tag Archives: Italian poems
Tenue Sole di Marzo Posted by Geoff on Mar 20, 2017
The Italian word primavera has interesting and ancient origins. It’s composed of the two terms: ‘prima‘ (before, or first) and ‘vera‘, which has its roots in the sanscrit word vas-, meaning ‘ardere‘ (to burn) or ‘splendere‘ (to shine), and by extension also ‘l’estate‘ (the summer). ‘Prima-vera‘ therefore is ‘la stagione prima dell’estate‘ (the season before…
A Poem For January Posted by Serena on Jan 26, 2015
Here’s a lovely poem by Giacomo di Michele (1280-1332), better known as Folgòre da San Gimignano, from the beautiful Tuscan town of San Gimignano, near Siena. Folgòre was a knight and courtier who wrote in the Tuscan language just before the time of Dante. He is famous for his set of sonnets known as La…
Duelling Poets Posted by Serena on Jun 2, 2014
Introduction and photos by Geoff For some reason June seems like the kind of month that needs a poem … or maybe even two! These beautiful days of early summer, full of nature’s renewed activity and the return of colours and scents that we’ve been deprived of for months, seem to inspire creativity. We feel…