So far in my series of blogs on the Italian article we’ve looked at l’articolo determinativo (the definite article: the), l’articolo indeterminativo (the indefinite article: a/an) and le preposizioni articolate (preposition/article combinations: on the, in the, from the, etc.). Here’s an opportunity to put your learning into practice.

In chapter 1 I asked you to fill in the missing articles. Today, in the next part of our little tale, I want you to fill in the missing articles as before as well as the prepositions/article combinations. This is quite a challenging exercise, and you may need to refer to the following blogs:
Tuscan Villa For Sale – Chapter 1
How To Use The Italian Definite Article
The Italian Indefinite Article
Combining Articles With Prepositions

A provincial road in the north of Tuscany. ___ strada provinciale ___ nord ___ Toscana. Photo by Geoff

Tuscan Villa For Sale – Chapter 2
Vendesi Villa Toscana – Capitolo 2

We’re in the avenue of the villa. We have to avoid the branches that have fallen from the trees. A squirrel crosses the avenue and climbs up a pine. We arrive at two big magnolia trees and as we pass them a splendid villa suddenly appears before our eyes.
Siamo ___ viale ___ villa. Bisogna evitare ___ rami caduti ___ alberi. ___ scoiattolo attraversa ___ viale e si arrampica su ___ pino. Arriviamo a due grandi alberi di magnolia e quando li superiamo ___ improvviso davanti ___ nostri occhi appare ___ splendida villa.

It’s a bit run down, with discoloured shutters, a couple of which swing from their hinges. Ivy and wild clematis grow up the walls and on the roof of the villa. In front of the entrance there’s a cobbled path covered by a pergola. The structure of the pergola is all distorted and the rambling roses have gone wild.
E’ __ po’ decadente, con ___ persiane scolorite, ___ paio ___ quali pendono ___ cardini. Edera e vitalba crescono ___ muri e ___ tetto ___ villa. Davanti ___ ingresso c’è ___ vialetto acciottolato sormontato da ___ pergola. ___ struttura ___ pergola è tutta storta, ___ rose rampicanti si sono inselvatichite.

On the right of the path there are some lines of grapevines, on the right there’s a circular stone fountain, and on the central pillar there’s the statue of a nymph. The fountain is dry and full of dry leaves, and all around its perimeter there are lavender bushes.
___ destra ___ vialetto ci sono alcuni filari di viti, ___ sinistra c’è ___ fontana circolare in pietra, e ___ pilastro centrale c’è ___ statua di ___ ninfa. ___ fontana è asciutta e piena di foglie secche, e tutt’intorno ___ perimetro ci sono cespugli di lavanda.

We climb up the three worn out sandstone steps, leaning on the wrought iron railing, and we stop on the last of these in front of the big old chestnut wood door. Geoff, very excited, holds the key in his hand.
Saliamo ___ tre gradini in pietra serena tutti consumati, appoggiandoci ___ ringhiera in ferro battuto, e ci fermiamo ___ ultimo di essi davanti ___ vecchio portone in legno di castagno. Geoff, tutto emozionato, tiene ___ chiave in mano.

… to be continued