by Dianne Hales | Aug 20, 2019 | Books, books on Italy, history, Italy, Language, Sicily, Travel, Web/Tech, Weblogs
“Stai attenta!” (Be careful!), Captain Tonino shouts as I dive into the Tyrrhenian Sea off Sicily’s northeastern tip. I ignore his warning. The Aeolian islands, ancient playground of the gods, shimmer as irresistibly now as in times long past. Above me Stromboli, the...
by Dianne Hales | Jul 16, 2019 | Books, books on Italy, history, Italy, Language, Sicily, Web/Tech, Weblogs
La passione italiana dates back to a time before time when a geologic frenzy carved a boot in the middle of the Mediterranean. Convulsing and colliding, tectonic plates thrust an ancient seabed so high that tiny crustaceans were trapped and fossilized in the Italian...
by Dianne Hales | Apr 5, 2019 | Books, books on Italy, history, Italy, Language, Religion, Sicily, Social behavior, Travel, Web/Tech, Weblogs
The Original Passione Passion Sunday, the fifth Sunday of Lent, marks the beginning of a two-week period sometimes called Passiontide. The early Christians fashioned the word passio from passus, the past participle of the Latin for “suffer.” I never...
by DHales | Dec 10, 2018 | Books, culture, Italy, Language, Music, Religion, Sayings and expressions, Travel, Web/Tech, Weblogs
La Festa di Santa Lucia (December 13) In the dark of December parts of Italy light up to celebrate a saint whose name derives from the Latin lux or lucis for light (luce in Italian). Lucia was a young girl who lived in Siracusa on the island of...
by DHales | Jun 15, 2018 | Books, culture, Florence, history, Italy, Language, Sayings and expressions, Social behavior, Travel, Web/Tech, Weblogs
Padre, Babbo, Papà, Nonno Father, Daddy, Grandpa In Italy La Festa del Papà falls on March 19, the feast of San Giuseppe (St. Joseph), the husband of Mary and earthly father of Jesus. In the United States we celebrate fathers on the third Sunday of June. I...
