by Dianne Hales | Oct 12, 2021 | books on Italy, Dante, Florence, history, Italian, Italian language, Italian words and expressions, Italy, Language, learning Italian, Travel, Tuscany, Web/Tech, Weblogs
This year the Settimana della lingua italiana nel mondo (week of the Italian language in the world), from October 18 to 23, celebrates “Dante, l’Italiano.“ It is a fitting tribute during the 700th commemoration of the poet’s death in 1321. Born in Florence in...
by Dianne Hales | Jun 8, 2021 | art, art history, Books, books on Italy, culture, Florence, history, Italian, Italian language, Italy, Language, learning Italian, Leonardo da Vinci, Leonardo da Vinci, Religion, Roman history, Travel, Tuscany, Web/Tech, Weblogs, women
Lisa Gherardini del Giocondo (June 15, 1479 — July 15, 1542) My quest for the real Mona Lisa began years ago in Florence when I was doing research for LA BELLA LINGUA. An art historian who befriended me casually mentioned during a dinner at her home that the mother...
by Dianne Hales | May 25, 2021 | Books, books on Italy, Dante, Florence, history, Italian, Italian language, Italy, Language, literature, Sayings and expressions, Travel, Web/Tech, Weblogs
Although 756 years have passed since Dante Alighieri’s birth in Florence in May of 1265, his words live, not just in literature, but also on the tongues of contemporary Italians. On a swerving, heart-stopping ride through Rome, a taxi driver assured me that the...
by Dianne Hales | Mar 16, 2021 | art, art history, Books, books on Italy, culture, Florence, history, Italian, Italian movies, Italy, Language, learning Italian, Renaissance, Sayings and expressions, Travel, Web/Tech, Weblogs
In English the most eagerly awaited of seasons “springs” to life with blunt urgency. In Italian la primavera blossoms into four elegant syllables. My etymological dictionary traces primavera back to radici indoeuropee (Indo-European roots): prima for “before” and vas...
by Dianne Hales | Mar 2, 2021 | art, art history, Books, books on Italy, culture, Florence, history, Italian language, Italy, Renaissance, Tuscany, Web/Tech, Weblogs, women
Italy’s dazzling pantheon of artistic geniuses seems a man’s world. Yet a few women with singular passion defied all obstacles and created important works of art. As a way of celebrating International Women’s Day, here are three artists whose stories I recount in LA...
by Dianne Hales | Jan 12, 2021 | Books, books on Italy, comics, culture, Dante, Florence, history, Italian comic books, Italian language, Italy, Language, literature, Travel, Tuscany, Web/Tech, Weblogs
It was dislike at first sight. Everything about Dante Alighieri (1265-1321) put me off. As artists traditionally portrayed him, the medieval poet seemed a ferocious grump with a big beak, jutted chin, petulant sneer, and hooded eyes. Although writers like William...
