Category Archives: Italy

Italian language, Italian songs

Aggiungi un Posto a Tavola: Consolazione

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All this God-inspired romance is interrupted by the arrival of a travelling prostitute named Consolazione –

Consolation

– with that name, she could be a denizen of Dogpatch! – who distracts all the men from their wives, apparently because it’s their last chance for an extramarital fling.
Uomini, eccomi! Men, here I am!
E’ arrivata Consolazione Consolation has arrived.
Consolazione di nome e di fatto “Consolation” by name and in fact
Per consolarvi ho certi argomenti I have certain ways to console you
Prova per credere Try it to believe it
Facciamo un patto Let’s make a deal:
Se dopo voi non restate contenti If afterwards you aren’t content,
Sulla parola di Consolazione vi rimborso la consumazione! On the word of Consolation, your money back!
Mando il mondo in visibilio, tutti chiedono di me I cause the world to …, everyone asks for me
L’avventura a domicilio “Adventure at home”
L’ho inventata e sai perché I invented it, and you know why
È una vera vocazione It’s a true vocation
A nessuno dico no I don’t say no to anyone
E se vuoi consolazione and if you want consolation
Me la chiedi You ask me –
Te la do* and I give it.
Se per colpa degli eventi If because of [by fault of] events
sei più triste di un cipresso you are sadder than a cypress
e la sera tu ti senti And in the evening you feel
malinconico e depresso melancholy and depressed
se per questa depressione If because of this depression
il morale tuo sta giù Your morale is down
tu vieni da tu vieni da Consolazione You come to, you come to Consolation
e lei te lo ritira su! And she’ll pull it back up for you!
Un due tre One, two, three
UOMINI Prima a me MEN: Me first!
Quattro cinque sei Four, five, six
UOMINI Comincia da me MEN: Start with me
sei sette otto, chi è senza biglietto Six, seven, eight. Who doesn’t have a ticket?
UOMINI io io io! MEN: Me me me!
Si faccia pure sotto**, sotto sopra in qualsiasi posizione Step right up [it’s done below], below, above, in any position
L’importante è non dire mai di no The important thing is never to say no
E se vuoi Consolazione and if you want Consolation
UOMINI La vogliamo MEN: We want it/her!
Aho ve la do! Oh, and I’ll give it to you!
dialog: Toto’ asks what she’s selling.

“This!” she says, showing her breasts.

“I only see a pair of zinne,” he responds.

“What did you expect me to have – four?”
Mi vuoi esotica o nostrana Do you want me exotic or local
turca greca russa o indù Turk, Greek, Russian or Hindu
Preferisci l’egiziana Do you prefer the Egyptian
Faccio tutto, scegli tu! I do everything, you choose!
E per te Consolazione egiziana diverrà And for you Consolation will become Egyptian
Tutankà tutankà tutankamera veniteme a trovà! Tutan[khamen]… [everything in the room] – come up and see me!
UOMINI Consolazione Consolaziò-ò-ò men: Consolation
Tu sei l’ultima occasione You’re the last chance/last sale
Non possiamo dire no We can’t say no
Voglio la Consolazione I want Consolation!
La volete? You want it?
UOMINI Si! Yes!
Io ve la dooooooooo, siiii I’ll give it to you, yes!
UOMINI
Consolazione consolazione, dammi tutto tutto dammi consolazione!		 Consolation, give me everything, give me consolation.

* Te la do – “I’ll give it to you” – to give “it” is used as a euphemism for a woman to give sex.

God, however, has something up his sleeve to take care of this little setback. Toto, the (unmarried) village idiot, has been hanging about the sidelines of this scene, too dense to know what to do with a woman. God suddenly gives him the necessary knowledge, and he shoulders aside the other villagers to reach Consolation, who takes one look at his, er, talents, and closes the door on everyone else, leaving them to go back to their wives.

next: Notte Per Non Dormire 2

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bio, Italy travel

Bellagio: “Beauty and Comfort” on Lake Como

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Bellagio, Lake Como’s best-known tourist destination, lies at the tip of the triangle between the two southern branches of the lake. You can get there by road or get there by boat from Menaggio or Varenna.

Personally, I find Bellagio a bit overrated. During the season it’s overrun with tourists, and the shops are accordingly filled with overpriced souvenirs, most of which have nothing to do with the region (okay, I’m a souvenir snob – I only want something that authentically represents the place).

I concede that the views are stunning – but there are views at least equally stunning from other points on the lake.

But I end up in Bellagio a lot whether I want to or not, because our foreign visitors usually want to see it. My favorite way, during the summer, is to take the slow boat from Lecco.

Bellagio’s charm, for me, is in its verticals – everything runs uphill from the lakefront. (Which means that, to really appreciate it, you must be prepared to walk.)Above is a view up Bellagio’s main salita, with the (justly) famous Bilacus restaurant on the right. Below is a shop whose sign I’m fond of – I love the antique typography you can still find on many shop signs in Italy.

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Italian songs

Learn Italian in Song: 7000 Caffé

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written, recorded and copyrighted by Alex Britti Alex Britti - '3' (Sanremo 2003) - 7000 Caffé

Here’s another great by Alex Britti – go out and buy his music! Sadly, his own brilliantly original music video has been removed from YouTube, but here’s a version with another fave of mine, Neri Per Caso.
7000 caffé, 7000 coffees
li ho gia’ presi percha’© I’ve already drunk them because
sono stanco di stare al volante I’m tired of being at the wheel
e vorrei arrivare entro sera da te And I would like to arrive [at your home] by this evening
che aspetti me nel castello lassu’¹ Who are waiting for me in the castle up there
con la treccia gia’ sciolta With your braid already undone
affacciata al balcone vestita di blu Looking out from the balcony, dressed in blue
7000 caffé 7000 coffees
é l’effetto che ho is the effect I have
quando arrivo al portone When I arrive at the entry
e ti vedo gridare con gli occhi il mio nome percio’ And I see you call out my name with your eyes [therefore]*
vieni verso di me e io pazzo di te You come towards me, and me crazy for you,
in un attimo ci diamo il bacio piu’dolce, piu’dolce che c’é in a moment we give each other the sweetest, the sweetest kiss there is
Ritornello: Chorus:
Ho bisogno di te perche sei bella e poi I need you because you’re beautiful, and then
Ho bisogno di te come l’acqua il caffé I need you like [water needs coffee / coffee needs water]**
come un mondo che gira e che, amore, se non vuoi, Like a world that turns and that, love, if you don’t want
non finira’ mai Will never end.
Ad esempio lo sai l’altra sera ero a casa For example, you know, the other evening I was at home
cercavo da bere ma il frigo era vuoto I was looking [for something] to drink but the fridge was empty
perché non ho fatto la spesa Because I didn’t do the [grocery] shopping
tu non ci crederai – indovina che c’é You won’t believe it – guess what?
ho trovato una tazza con l’ultimo dei 7000 caffé I found a cup with the last of the 7000 coffees
Ora sto qui da solo e non dormo e non volo Now I’m here alone and I don’t sleep and I don’t fly
mentre tu sei lontana While you’re far away
ripenso a una scena di te senza velo I think again of a scene of you “without veils” [nude]
non so bene cos’é, forse i troppi caffé I don’t know what it is, maybe too many coffees
ma stanotte non riesco a dormire But tonight I can’t sleep
e l’amore lo faccio da me. And I’ll make love by myself.
* This word doesn’t seem to fit here – I suspect he just threw it in to fit the rhyme.** The meaning here is (probably deliberately) ambiguous.
if you find this useful and want more, let me know!

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bio, Italy travel

Il Muro di Sormano: Where Bicycle Racers Hit THE WALL

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On a sunny Sunday in January, we drove up to the triangolo Lariano – the peninsula jutting into y-shaped Lake Como, whose tip is Bellagio. It’s an area famous in Italian bike racing history (there’s even a church dedicated to cycling, with relics of famous racers – including their bikes) As we drove, part of the road was stencilled with Muro di Sormano, over and over again. We had never heard of this, and thought it must refer to some ancient ruin of a Roman or medieval wall.

After lunch at the top of the hill in Colma, we noticed a tourism signpost for “Muro di Sormano – 2 km” with an estimated walking time of two hours. This seemed like a lot of time to cover two kilometers. So we started walking down the very steep slope of a newly-paved road, which was painted with altitude markers and stencils of local plants, and viewing spots where you could look out and identify the mountain peaks all around. More mysterious were the large quotations from Italian cyclists, painted on the ground so as to be read from the bottom up.

We ran into a local couple who were happy to tell us all about it. I love hearing stories from people like this, who have been in a place forever and known every inch of it for decades. Myself, I have a breadth of knowledge about many parts of the world, but I will never have the depth of knowledge that comes with being deeply, permanently rooted in your native soil. I’m not sure I would trade, but I do enjoy seeing the other side.

As they explained, the “wall” of Sormano is the road itself. It used to be part of the Giro di Lombardia (and maybe the Giro d’Italia). Because of its steep grade, the cyclists perceived it as a wall. Which doesn’t appear to have stopped them – in one part of the video you can see what are apparently the record times for covering this damn-near-vertical distance.

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