by Dianne Hales | Apr 6, 2021 | April, Books, books on Italy, history, Italian, Italian language, Italy, Language, Sayings and expressions, Travel, Web/Tech, Weblogs
T.S. Eliot called it the cruelest month (il mese più crudele). Yet this is also the romantic month that inspired classic songs and movies like Enchanted April, April in Paris and April Love. And as the cheerful childhood rhyme reminds us, April showers bring...
by Dianne Hales | Mar 23, 2021 | books on Italy, culture, history, Italian, Italy, Language, Religion, Sayings and expressions, Sicily, Travel, Web/Tech, Weblogs
La Settimana Santa (Holy Week) will be different this year, especially in Italy. In years past pilgrims from around the world would travel to Italy to commemorate the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Every region celebrated with rituals that...
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 9, 2021 | Books, books on Italy, history, Italian movies, Italy, Language, Roman history, Rome, Travel, Web/Tech, Weblogs
“Veni, vidi, vici” (I came, I saw, I conquered). These three Latin words summarize the passions of the consummate Roman leader: Gaius Julius Caesar (100–44 BC), who lived to conquer—by sword, word, or seduction. By age thirty, Caesar had proven himself a fearless...
by Dianne Hales | Feb 23, 2021 | Books, books on Italy, Education, Italian language, Language, learning Italian, pets, Sayings and expressions, Travel, Weblogs, wine
I had my first conversation with an Italian dog years ago while I was jogging near Porto Ercole. A distraught man stopped me to explain that his pet was trapped in a steep ravine. He could push him from behind, but would I call the pup to come to me. The man addressed...
by Dianne Hales | Feb 16, 2021 | amore, Books, books on Italy, cookbooks, culture, food, Food and Drink, Italian folklore, Italian language, Italy, Language, learning Italian, love in Italy, Roman history, Romance, Rome, Travel, Web/Tech, Weblogs
I went to Rome this week. I savored local specialties like spaghetti alla carbonara and saltimbocca alla romana. I strolled through the lively markets of Testaccio and Campo de’ Fiori. I garnered tips on cooking pasta al dente (it should resist the tooth—but the tooth...
