by Dianne Hales | Feb 11, 2020 | Books, books on Italy, history, Italy, Language, Romance, Travel, Uncategorized, Web/Tech, Weblogs
“What could be more romantic than Valentine’s Day in Verona?” I asked my dubious husband as I persuaded him to visit the hometown of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet for La Festa degli Innamorati (the Feast of the Lovers). “Did Valentine live there?” he asked....
by Dianne Hales | Feb 4, 2020 | art, art history, Books, books on Italy, Florence, history, Italy, Language, Travel, Web/Tech, Weblogs
Six hundred years ago, in 1420, construction began on one of the world’s architectural marvels: the long-unfinished dome of Florence’s Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore. Winning the commission for this task proved almost as challenging as the work itself for Filippo...
by Dianne Hales | Jan 28, 2020 | art, art history, Books, books on Italy, culture, Florence, history, Italy, Language, Rome, Travel, Web/Tech, Weblogs
This year marks the 500th anniversary of the death of a Renaissance painter hailed for achieving graziosissima grazia, the most graceful grace. Raphael of Urbino, born in 1483, was talented, affable, kind and drop-dead gorgeous. Raphael’s artistic genius sprang from...
by Dianne Hales | Jan 14, 2020 | Books, culture, Film, history, Italy, Language, movies, Travel, Web/Tech, Weblogs
January 20 marks the 100th birthday of the legendary director Federico Fellini. In a business built on dreams, he may have been the biggest dreamer of all. As a boy, Fellini kept a sketch pad and colored pencils by his bed so he could record his vivid fantasies when...
by Dianne Hales | Jan 7, 2020 | Books, books on Italy, culture, food, Food and Drink, history, Italy, Language, Sayings and expressions, Social behavior, Travel, Web/Tech, Weblogs
A passion for food merits a precise word in Italian: golosità (from gola, for throat), which goes beyond appetite, craving, gluttony, or hunger. Friends proudly declare themselves “golosi,” often for a dish made only in their hometowns, only with local ingredients,...
by Dianne Hales | Jan 3, 2020 | books on Italy, Christmas in Italy, creche, culture, history, Italy, Language, Nativity scene, Sayings and expressions, Travel, Web/Tech, Weblogs
Long after many Americans have taken down their Christmas trees and packed away the decorations, Italians continue to celebrate. The final feast is l’Epifania (Epiphany), on January 6, which commemorates the arrival of i re magi, the three kings who followed the...
