Italian culture

Education in Italy: One Foreign Parent’s Views & Experiences

February 12, 2011

Caveat: The articles in this section are based on my family’s experience of the Italian education system in a specific time and place: Milan, and later Lecco, from 1991 to 2007. I haven’t lived in Italy all my life, nor ever attended any Italian educational institution myself, so my views may be biased, and your mileage may [...]

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Learn Italian in Song: Stessa Spiaggia, Stesso Mare

February 19, 2010

    Piero Focaccia There’s not much to this song: apparently, the singer wants to relive last year’s summer fling. But it’s also a profound statement of traditional Italian vacation habits: the same sea, the same beach, practically the same ombrellone (beach umbrella – which you rent, along with the lounge chairs and a patch [...]

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Learn Italian in Song: L’Emozione non ha Voce

January 28, 2010

Emotion has No Voice Adriano Celentano. The video above comes from Rockpolitik, a variety show hosted by Celentano in 2006. Io non so parlar d’amore l’emozione non ha voce E mi manca un po il respiro se ci sei c’e troppa luce La mia anima si spande come musica d’estate poi la voglia sai mi [...]

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Learn Italian in Song: E la Barca Tornò Sola

January 27, 2010

And the Ship Returned Alone Renato Carosone (1960) Erano tre fratelli pescatori, con una mamma bianca, con una barca nera e con tre cuori ancora da creatura… Il mare urlava cupo quella sera e il legno della incognita straniera cercava aiuto in tutto quell’orrore. “Chi rischierà la vita per salvare la bionda forestiera, chi sarà?” [...]

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Learn Italian in Song: Due su Due

January 26, 2010

Song by Articolo 31. Once again, the theme of family and mamma. Two on Two ritornello: refrain: io non so cosa pensavi quelle notti con papà I don’t know what you were thinking those nights with Dad ma grazie mamma ne hai fatti due su due Thanks, Mom, you made two on two [two alike?] [...]

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Thinking Badly of Others in Italy

January 24, 2010

A very indicative Italian saying: A pensare male si fa peccato, ma si indovina [quasi] sempre. This translates roughly as: “To think badly [of others] is a sin – but you’re nearly always right.”

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Gallery: A Spring Day in Lecco

May 7, 2009

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

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Gallery: Gravedona Cemetery

May 5, 2009

^ 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 [...]

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Learn Italian in Song: Anna

March 28, 2009

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 [...]

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Divorcing Italy

February 1, 2009

Rossella and I returned to Italy the week before Christmas, having been away since June 30th. That was the longest period I’d spent out of Italy in 18 years. I was uneasy about this re-entry, expecting it to be traumatic. I thought I would be making a decision about whether I would ever willingly live [...]

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Everyday Italian: Newspaper Headlines, Jan 2 2009

January 15, 2009

Lecco: Beats/strikes [female] companion – arrested Pasturo [a small town in the mountains]: party in a mountain cabin, dies at 22 years. [We know from the local grapevine that the cause of death was probably a drug overdose. The young man dropped dead at the dinner table at a New Year's party among friends.]

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The Italian Adam

January 11, 2009

This week I was in Grenoble, France, filming for Sun. Enrico drove over from Lecco to join me on Friday, and we spent the weekend there together. It was too cold to do much roaming around outside, so we went to Grenoble’s fine arts museum, which features a small but impressive collection of paintings, arranged [...]

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Everyday Italian: Newspaper Headlines, Jan 1 2009

January 3, 2009

Left: Savings: countdown: January 3 the sales begin, but some are already giving discounts Falls into a creek and his friend saves his life Happy birthday Riccardo! The great Cassin turns 100 [Italy's "greatest living mountaineer," a native of Lecco, turned 100 on January 2nd. There will be a statue etc.] Center: Taxes: The tax [...]

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Everyday Italian: Newspaper Headlines, Dec 2008

January 2, 2009

headlines from Dec, 2008 Left: The race for gifts paralyzes Lecco Lecco [the soccer team] defeated during the last minutes Center: Nurse at Manzoni [hospital], native of Lecco, dies on the Medale [local cliff face] Roads and trains in chaos [from holiday traffic, presumably] Right: Eluana: the decision [belongs to] the Udine clinic [this is [...]

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Apologia del Fascismo, in Flagrante

January 1, 2009

At this time of year, Italy’s newsstands offer a variety of calendars to suit every taste, from fast cars to naked women. But this one startled me, not least because it would seem to be in violation of Italy’s law against apologia del fascismo (“apology for Fascism”), which prescribes penalties against whoever “pubblicamente esalta esponenti, [...]

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Italian Christmas Carols

December 12, 2008

(originally posted Dec 4, 2005) Italians aren’t as thrilled about carol-singing as us Anglo-Saxon types, but a few are so enthusiastic about singing of any kind that they make the effort to gather friends for a seasonal songfest. Like our friend Roberto. Lyrics for “Tu scendi dalle stelle” (with a rather overwrought English translation, and [...]

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Learn Italian in Song: Certi Momenti

July 13, 2008

Certain Moments Pierangelo Bertoli, 1980 A song in favor of a woman’s right to choose, from a time when either choice to be made for an unwanted pregnancy resulted in social stigma. Unfortunately, the song is relevant still today. For the moment (2008), abortion is legal in Italy, but the political right wing and the [...]

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Everyday Italian: Newspaper Headlines 22

June 3, 2008

Left: Free gift: map of northern Lake Garda Nudists at Pradello Two commuters wounded Disco party for dog Johnny – photo Right: Young person dies in a car run over by a train Insert: housing market

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Everyday Italian: Newspaper Headlines 21

June 2, 2008

Upper left: Health: “golden” consultations at the hospital and local health authority: they spend 2.3 million Departments and services at the Manzoni [hospital] up for bidding by private interests? Tragedy: mother of three dies in the crash Left: Free gift: the map of the pre-Alpine lakes 350 thousand euros to the extortionists: gas station owner [...]

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Everyday Italian: Newspaper Headlines 20

April 2, 2008

Clamorous: Videocameras and ZTL [zona traffico limitato - "limited traffic zone"]: the justice of the peace annuls the [traffic] fines Molests a girl: band leader arrested (the photo) Parking: Mayor Faggi “We’ll do the Serpentino” [?] Scandal: young girl has sex at school in exchange for cell phone recharges Albanian severely beats the owner of [...]

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