by Dianne Hales | Sep 29, 2020 | Books, books on Italy, creche, history, Italian language, Italy, Language, Religion, saints, Travel, Umbria, Web/Tech, Weblogs
October 4 marks the feast of San Francesco (St. Francis), born in Assisi in 1182, the son of a prosperous textile merchant. Young Francesco, the ringleader of a band of hard-drinking, carousing young men, seemed an unlikely candidate for salvation — let alone...
by Dianne Hales | Jul 21, 2020 | Books, books on Italy, history, Italian language, Italy, Language, literature, Romance, Travel, Web/Tech, Weblogs, women
A guest post by Maria Teresa Cometto She was one of the first women in Italy to earn a living as a journalist and a writer, the first female columnist for the leading Italian daily Corriere della Sera, and the author of 45 books. She called herself Marchesa Colombi,...
by Dianne Hales | Jun 2, 2020 | Books, books on Italy, Health, history, Italian language, Italy, Language, literature, Renaissance, Social behavior, Travel, Tuscany, Web/Tech, Weblogs
The Medici, the dynasty that governed Renaissance Florence, blazed into the 21st century in a three-part series, now streaming on Netflix. While many dispute its historical accuracy, the lavish production captures the seize-the-day spirit of the age. Certainly...
by DHales | Sep 28, 2018 | Books, history, Italy, Language, Religion, Sayings and expressions, Travel, Web/Tech, Weblogs
San Francesco St. Francis October 4 marks the feast of one of the most beloved saints, St. Francis of Assisi (1181-1226). Renowned for his rapport with all God’s creatures (noto per il suo rapporto con tutte le creature di Dio), he also qualifies as...
by DHales | May 15, 2015 | Books, culture, Education, Florence, history, Italy, Language, Sayings and expressions, Travel, Web/Tech, Weblogs
Viva Dante! Some 750 years after Dante Alighieri's birth, his words live, not just in Italian literature, but in everyday conversations. A taxi driver in Rome sums up the frenetic bustle of the city in peak tourist season as a bolgia infernale, using Dante’s...
