Deirdre' cartoon

Countries Beginning with I

Italy, India, the Internet, and the world

May 7th, 2009

Gallery: A Spring Day in Lecco

Photos I took on a weekend walk around town with Enrico last spring.

Related Posts

May 5th, 2009

Gallery: Gravedona Cemetery

img_3873

^ This (doubtless allegorical) statue
just begs for a funny caption. Any ideas?
(Click on the image to see a larger version.)

While visiting friends on the other side of Lake Como, we stopped by the lakeside town of Gravedona and visited the cemetery.

As you can see, family vaults are kept over generations and centuries, and are well maintained. This is possible in a culture where families simply don’t move around much. When families have moved away from their roots, people will sometimes travel on November 1st (Ognissanti - All Saints’) to spruce up their family graves elsewhere in Italy. Religious organizations hang around the cemeteries that day to sell pre-printed tags that you can hang on your family vault to show you’ve been there (in case your dead ancestors didn’t notice?), and florists - who tend to cluster around cemeteries - do a booming business as well.

Related Posts

March 28th, 2009

Learn Italian in Song: Anna

Another Battisti classic.

Hai ragione anche tu
cosa voglio di più
un lavoro io l’ho
una casa io l’ho
la mattina c’è chi
mi prepara il caffè
questo io lo so
e la sera c’è chi
non sa dirmi no
cosa voglio di più
hai ragione tu
cosa voglio di più
cosa voglio
Anna
voglio Anna
Non hai mai visto un uomo piangere
apri bene gli occhi sai perché tu ora lo vedrai
apri bene gli occhi sai perché tu ora lo vedrai
se tu non hai mai visto un uomo piangere
guardami
guardami
Anna
voglio Anna
Ho dormito lì
fra i capelli suoi
io insieme a lei
ero un uomo
quanti e quanti sì
ha gridato lei
quanti non lo sai
ero un uomo
Cosa sono ora io
cosa sono mio Dio
resta poco di me
io che parlo con te
io che parlo con te di
Anna
Anna
voglio Anna
You, too, are right
What more do I want?
I have a job
I have a home
In the morning there is someone who
makes my coffee
I know this.
And in the evening there is someone who
Can’t say no to me
What more do I want?
You’re right.
What more do I want?
What do I want?
Anna.
I want Anna.
You’ve never seen a man cry
open your eyes wide, you know, because now you will see him/it
open your eyes wide, you know, because now you will see him/it
if you’ve never seen a man cry
look at me
look at me
Anna.
I want Anna.
I slept there
among her hair
together with her
I was a man
How many “yeses”
she cried out
You don’t know how many
I was a man
What am I now?
My god, what am I?
There’s little left of me
I who speak with you
I who speak with you of
Anna.
Anna.
I want Anna.

Related Posts