Tag Archives: Italian Poetry
La Parola Più Bella Posted by Serena on May 9, 2019
On the second Sunday of May, like many other countries around the world, we celebrate la Festa della Mamma (Mothering Sunday). In Italy this festival was first introduced as a business enterprise in 1956 at Bordighera, a town situated on the Ligurian coast, famous for the commerce of ornamental flowers. La Festa della Mamma was…
Mi Piace Il Verbo Sentire Posted by Serena on Apr 4, 2019
Today, I’m dedicating a poem by Alda Merini (1931-2009) to my dear husband Geoff, who sometimes complains that the verb sentire (to feel) is used for too many different actions: to hear, to smell, to taste, and to feel. In reality, we do actually have specific nouns and verbs to describe i cinque sensi (the…
A Poem For November Posted by Serena on Nov 8, 2018
Here’s a beautiful poem written by Giovanni Pascoli in 1891, which perfectly describes these early November days. In this poem, published in the poetry collection Myricae, Pascoli describes the period from the 2nd of November (I morti = All souls) to the 11th of November, San Martino, normally referred as l’estate di San Martino (Saint…
Il Pettirosso Posted by Serena on Mar 29, 2018
Why does the Robin have red feathers on its breast? An Easter legend explains: Un giorno di duemila anni fa, una mamma uccello stava volando in cerca di cibo per i suoi piccoli quando notò sulla cima di un colle tre croci con tre uomini appesi. Incuriosita l’uccellino si avvicinò e notò che uno di…
Il Vento Posted by Serena on Feb 22, 2018
Outside there’s a strong wind howling and whirling the snow around. According to the news, this wind comes from Siberia and is called ‘burian’. They say that it will bring even colder temperatures in the next few days. Inspired by the weather, I searched the Internet for a poem describing the wind, and finally found…
Fiocchi Di Neve Posted by Serena on Dec 13, 2017
Domenica la prima neve è caduta in paese rinnovando l’incantesimo di un mondo fatato ricoperto di un soffice manto bianco. Mi è tornata in mente una delicata poesia di Umberto Saba, che descrive la magia dell’arrivo della neve. L’immagine che Umberto Saba presenta della nevicata mi ricorda la mia fanciullezza. Beh, ad essere sinceri io…
A Poem For Mother’s Day Posted by Serena on May 12, 2017
In Italy, on the second Sunday of May, we celebrate la Festa della Mamma (Mother’s Day). This is a fairly new festival, having been ‘imported’ into Italy from America after the Second World War. I’ve found a very appropriate poem for the occasion by Edmondo De Amicis (1846-1908) for his mother. It’s called Se Fossi…