Here is a line-by-line translation and explanation. Keep in mind that there is not only one way to translate poetry. If you look for translations of this sonnet on the Internet, you will find various versions. The most important thing is to understand it enough to get the gist of the poem. Some words are different from modern Italian, for example, duo instead of due (two), ove instead of dove (where), loco instead of luogo (place), desio instead of desiderio (desire).
1. Benedetto sia ’l giorno, e ’l mese, e l’anno,
Blessed be the day, and the month, and the year
→ The poet is blessing the moment in time when he first saw the woman he loves.
2. e la stagione, e ’l tempo, e l’ora, e ’l punto,
and the season, and the time, and the hour, and the exact point [in time].
→ He continues the list, blessing every detail of that moment.
3. e ’l bel paese, e ’l loco ov’io fui giunto
and the beautiful place, and the spot where I was joined
→ He adds the physical place where he happened to be when it happened that he was struck
4. da’ duo begli occhi che legato m’hanno;
by two beautiful eyes that bound me;
→ Her eyes “tied” him to her
5. e benedetto il primo dolce affanno
and blessed be the first, sweet agony
→ He is also blessing the first "sweet" pain of love
6. ch’i’ ebbi ad esser con Amor congiunto,
that I felt when I became joined with Love,
→ When he first fell in love. Amor is another name for Cupid.
7. e l’arco, e le saette ond’i’ fui punto,
and the bow and the arrows where I was struck,
→ Love is imagined as Cupid shooting arrows. Saetta is another word for freccia (arrow).
8. e le piaghe che ’nfin al cor mi vanno.
and the wounds that go all the way to my heart.
→ His love wounds are deep — another poetic metaphor.
9. Benedette le voci tante ch’io
Blessed be the many voices (words) that I
→ Beginning again with a blessing (implicit subjunctive).
10. chiamando il nome de mia donna ho sparte,
have scattered while calling my lady’s name, — sparte is another past participle (in the feminine plural to agree with voci) of the verb spargere (to scatter)
→ All the times he has spoken her name.
11. e i sospiri, e le lagrime, e ’l desio;
and the sighs, the tears, and the desire; desio is an archaic form of desiderio (desire)
→ All the feelings his love caused — also blessed.
12. e benedette sian tutte le carte
and blessed be all the pages
→ “The pages” = the poems he has written about her.
13. ov’io fama l’acquisto, e ’l pensier mio,
where I gain fame (through writing), and my thoughts, — Ove is another form of dove (where)
→ His poetry gives him fame; his thoughts
14. ch’è sol di lei, sì ch’altra non v’ha parte.
which belong only to her, so that no other woman has any share in them.
→are entirely of her; there is no place for any other woman.
E il {loco} ov'io fui giunto [e il luogo dove io sono giunto] da duo begli occhi [grazie a quei due begli occhi]
And the place where I was joined by two beautiful eyes
Captions 6-7, La compagnia del cigno EP 5 - Part 3
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Francesco Petrarca (known as Petrarch in English) was born in the area of Arezzo, Tuscany in around 1304, in other words, at the beginning of the century known as il trecento ('300). He spent many years in France, living in Montpellier and especially in Avignon. Legend has it that he fell in love with a woman named Laura in Avignon, whom he met in a church there.
The present sonnet, dedicated to Laura, is part of "Rerum vulgarium fragmenta" (fragments composed in the vernacular). This is notable because most of his works were composed in Latin. Another name for this collection of poems in Italian was Rime sparse (scattered rhymes or verses). It was also called il canzoniere (the songbook).
Why are we talking about this particular sonnet? Barbara, a character in La compagnia del cigno, on Yabla, recites the sonnet perfectly when she joins an Italian class in her new school. It seemed like a perfect occasion for us to discuss some interesting features of the sonnet. One feature is the use of the subjunctive (il congiuntivo), a grammar topic we've talked about in previous lessons, so this is a chance to look at one more way to use this tricky verbal conjugation.
Benedetto sia il giorno e il mese, e l'anno.
Blessed be the day and the month, and the year.
Captions 1-2, La compagnia del cigno EP 5 - Part 3
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That is how she begins. Here is the entire sonnet:
Francesco Petrarca (1304-1374)
Sonetto LXI dal Canzoniere (sonnet 61 from the "songbook")
Benedetto sia 'l giorno, e 'l mese, e l'anno,
e la stagione, e 'l tempo, e l'ora, e 'l punto,
e 'l bel paese, e 'l loco ov'io fui giunto
da' duo begli occhi che legato m'hanno;
e benedetto il primo dolce affanno
ch'i' ebbi ad esser con Amor congiunto,
e l'arco, e le saette ond'i' fui punto,
e le piaghe che 'nfin al cor mi vanno.
Benedette le voci tante ch'io
chiamando il nome de mia donna ho sparte,
e i sospiri, e le lagrime, e 'l desio;
e benedette sian tutte le carte
ov'io fama l'acquisto, e 'l pensier mio,
ch'è sol di lei, sì ch'altra non v'ha parte.
The poem starts out with the subjunctive (Benedetto sia…). How does this work? The poet is expressing a wish, a blessing, or a devotional hope. That's one way the subjunctive is used in Italian.
Trentino–Alto Adige is a region in northern Italy, right on the border with Austria and Switzerland. It has two main provinces:
Trentino, with the capital city Trento (Trent), where almost everyone speaks Italian.
Alto Adige, also called South Tyrol (German: Südtirol), with the capital city Bolzano (German: Bozen), where most people speak German as their first language.
Because of its history, the region is officially bilingual (in fact, trilingual, since Ladin, a local Romance language, is also recognized in some valleys).
Many towns and cities in South Tyrol have both German and Italian names:
Bolzano / Bozen
Merano / Meran
Bressanone / Brixen
This is because South Tyrol was part of Austria-Hungary until 1919, when it became part of Italy after World War I. The local population was mostly German-speaking, but the Italian government wanted to strengthen Italian identity in the new territory.
During the Fascist period (1920s–1940s), Mussolini ordered the Italianization of South Tyrol. German was banned in schools and public life, and all German place names were replaced with Italian ones. These Italian versions were often invented or adapted by the Italian nationalist Ettore Tolomei.
Ostilità verso i dialetti, repressione delle minoranze linguistiche. [Bozen, Bolzano. Trento]
Hostility towards dialects, repression of minority languages.
Captions 4-5, Me Ne Frego Il Fascismo e la lingua italiana - Part 2
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Unless you go there or look at a map, you might only see or hear one version of the place name, the one in the language being spoken at the moment. Can it be confusing? Yes.
Qui, nell'Abbazia di Novacella a Varna in Val d'Isarco, a pochi chilometri da Bressanone, in tanti hanno sostato e trovato ricovero.
Here in the Abbey of Novacella in Varna in the Valley of Isarco, at only a few kilometers from Bressanone [Brixen], many have stopped and found refuge.
Captions 20-23, Itinerari Della Bellezza Trentino Alto Adige - Part 3
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Today, both languages are recognized. Street signs and official documents are in Italian and German. For example, you’ll see “Bolzano/Bozen” on road signs or maps.
💡 Did you know?
Besides Italian and German, a third language is spoken in some valleys of South Tyrol: Ladin.
In Italian, it’s called ladino.
In German, it’s called Ladinisch.
Ladin is not the same as the modern language Ladino (or Judeo-Spanish), which is spoken by Sephardic Jews. The two are unrelated.
Ladin is a very old Romance language, directly descended from Latin, and is still spoken in a few Alpine valleys (for example, the Val Gardena / Gröden and Val Badia / Gadertal). Because of this, South Tyrol is sometimes described as a trilingual province: Italian, German, and Ladin.
Thanks for reading. You can write to us at [email protected].
In a recent lesson, we talked about the moon, and shapes. We mentioned which side il gobbo (the hump) would appear, according to whether the moon was waxing or waning. Here is an article in Italian about that.
In a recent video, there is also mention of gobbo. So let's delve a bit deeper into this interesting word.
Little Livietta, in the series Provaci ancora, prof! is worried about a condition that might cause her to be slightly hunchbacked as she grows.
Diventerò gobba, mamma?
Will I become hunchbacked, Mom?
Caption 57, Provaci ancora prof! S3 EP2 Doppio imprevisto - Part 2
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It turned out she needed to just do some swimming. Here is what she reported to her father, as he came home after a hard day.
Amore, perché non dai la bella notizia a papà? -Ah, sì! Non diventerò gobba, papà.
Darling, why don't you tell Dad the good news? -Oh, yes! I won't become hunchbacked, Dad.
Captions 8-9, Provaci ancora prof! S3 EP2 Doppio imprevisto - Part 10
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In effect, gobba can be either an adjective or a noun. In our two examples, gobba is an adjective, but it may give the feeling of a noun.
The noun form gobba indicates a bump or hump, usually on the upper back. Livietta's father, in a foul mood, comments this way:
Ma in fondo anche una piccola gobba cosa sarebbe stata, in confronto alla sofferenza del mondo, no?
But deep down even a little hump, what would it have been compared to the suffering in the world, right?
Captions 15-17, Provaci ancora prof! S3 EP2 Doppio imprevisto - Part 10
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Un gobbo can indicate a person who can be described as a hunchback.
Gobbo (in the masculine form) can also refer to the prompt box. or its covering, in a theater. A human prompter in a theater can be in the wings, or, in operas, the prompter can sit in a covered box in the center of the proscenium, so as to be seen by the performers, not the audience.
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In modern times, il gobbo may also refer to the teleprompter used in speeches, on TV, and in videos.
There are also specifically Neapolitan references to il gobbo, but we will leave those to the Neapolitans. We'll provide a final reference to a vegetable. Cardoons, called cardi in Italian, come in various shapes and sizes, one of which is sharply curved at its base. These are called gobbi in Tuscany. Here's an article.
Thanks for reading. Write to us at [email protected].
We've talked about Italian nicknames and how they are formed in this lesson. But there are also classic terms of endearment or pet names that are used every day in a general way. Let's look at a few of them.
One very common term of endearment is tesoro (treasure) or tesoro mio (my treasure). Depending on the tone and context, it can be heartfelt or slightly sardonic. In English, we'd likely say "honey," "sweetheart," or a variety of other terms.
Tesoro, tranquilla.
Treasure, don't worry.
Caption 76, I Bastardi di Pizzofalcone S1 EP6 Buio - Part 10
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Just as proper names can be altered to be more "affectionate," so can terms of endearment.
Tesoruccio mio, ti prego, perdonami.
Little treasure of mine, I beg you to forgive me.
Caption 33, La Ladra EP. 4 - Una magica bionda - Part 12
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Amore is another common term of endearment used in couples and with children.
Su, dai, andiamo! -Certo, amore.
Come on, come on, let's go. -Of course, love.
Captions 56-57, Il Commissario Manara S1EP12 - Le verità nascoste - Part 4
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Amore can have the same -uccio ending as tesoro.
La pappa è quasi pronta, amoruccio di nonna, eh.
Dinner is almost ready, Grandma's little pet, huh.
Caption 61, Questione di Karma Rai Cinema - Part 18
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Of course, one of the best-known terms of endearment is caro (dear) or cara (dear). It is often used in the absolute superlative, carissimo, and often in the plural, carissimi. In contrast to tesoro, which is a masculine noun changing its ending only in number, caro changes its ending according to gender and number.
Carissimi, come va?
Dear ones, how is it going?
Caption 64, Liberi tutti EP6 Caffè e cornetto? - Part 5
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When you call someone amico mio (my friend), it is usually not a friend at all. Here, too, the noun changes its ending according to gender and number.
No, no, amico mio, io faccio questa, poi mi tiro fuori.
No, no my friend, I do this and then I'm pulling out.
Captions 63-64, Liberi tutti EP7 Quanto vale una pera al Milanetto? - Part 1
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Two animals are very popular as terms of endearment. Il passerotto (the sparrow) or la passerotta for females, and topolino/a.
Però adesso non hai nessuna sottomano, povero passerotto solitario!
But now you have no one on hand, poor little lonely sparrow!
Caption 24, Il Commissario Manara S1EP7 - Sogni di Vetro - Part 9
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Those familiar with the show Commissario Manara might remember if Annarita, Questore Casadio's wife, had a pet name for her husband, who was quite short. Please let us know if you come across this pet name, and we will add it to this lesson. Write to us at [email protected] or in the comments section of the video where you find the pet name. And thanks for reading!
Benvenuti In Galera (welcome to prison) is a documentary about a restaurant. It's a special restaurant because it's inside a prison, and the first of its kind. In the first segment, various kinds of food are mentioned so we thought it would be helpful and/or interesting to discover something about the dishes being served.
At the beginning of the film, we see and hear the kitchen crew as they shout orders back and forth. There are some unusual dishes on the menu, and the server-inmates have to deal with some odd names. The customers, too, are curious about the dishes they are about to be served.
Alborelle in carpione
No no, è il carpione d'arborella [alborelle in carpione].
No, no, it's carpione d'arborella.
Caption 22, Benvenuti in Galera Bollate, Milano - Part 1
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Alborella or arborella (Alburnus arborella also called "bleak") is a European fresh-water fish in the carp family.
The dish is typical of the Piedmont and Lombard regions, with their many lakes and streams where fish in the carp family are prevalent. Since the In Galera restaurant is in Bollate on the outskirts of Milan, we can consider it a traditional local dish.
In carpione indicates a particular method, commonly used with carp, of conserving freshwater fish to to be consumed at a later time. It involves a marinade of sautéd onions and peppers seasoned with sage, bay leaves, and other aromatic herbs, with the addition of vinegar which then evaporates. The marinade is added to the fish after it has been cooked (fried). That's the main characteristic of in carpione (carp style). The marinade is also useful for masking the muddy taste carp can have since it feeds at the bottom of streams and lakes.
Here, you can find a recipe in Italian.
And here is a rough English translation:
Clean the fish, wash them, dry and flour them.
Fry them in plenty of oil, drain them and place them to dry on absorbent kitchen paper.
Prepare a mixture with the onion, peppers, garlic and capers.
Take a glass jar large enough to comfortably contain the fish and fill it halfway with extra virgin olive oil
Pour the oil measured in the jar into a large pan; add the anchovies cut into small pieces and the previously prepared chopped mixture, the bay leaf and the mustard.
Heat over very low heat for about 15 minutes, stirring continuously. The oil should not smoke or reach a high temperature.
Add the red vinegar in the proportion of 2 parts vinegar to 1 part oil.
Raise the heat, stirring well until the liquid boils is reduced by a third.
Fill the jar with the fish and cover them with the liquid.
Leave the jar uncovered for a few minutes to eliminate any air bubbles by topping up with the leftover liquid.
Close and store in a cool, dark place for five days before serving.
Salmerino confit.
Mi dici cos'è, Davide, per favore? Il Salmerino confit.
Will you tell me what it is, Davide, please? Confit of char.
Captions 28-29, Benvenuti in Galera Bollate, Milano - Part 1
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Salmerino
It's called Arctic Char in English and is part of the salmon family.
Confit (from the French verb confire (to preserve) is another way of conserving food. In this case, it's in oil, at a low temperature.
Scottadito
Un salmone e un polipo, seguono cinque risi, segue un maiale e uno scottadito.
A salmon and an octopus, followed by five rices, followed by a pork, and a grilled chop.
Captions 41-42, Benvenuti in Galera Bollate, Milano - Part 1
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Scottadito is a fun word. If we take it apart, we get scottare (to burn) and dito (finger). So we are talking about something hot, right off the grill, that someone could burn their fingers on. It implies being eaten right away. The term is traditionally used for abbacchio (suckling lamb chops) because you can hold them by the bone (burning your fingers). The mode of cooking is alla brace (referring to the embers) or ai ferri (referring to the iron grill).
Scottare can also mean "to parboil," "to scald."
Let us know in the comments of the video or write to us at [email protected] if you enjoyed reading background material connected to the video.
In transcribing a recent video, there was one particular word that gave us trouble. When a native speaker finally figured it out, it opened up an entire world of connections. And it brought up the subject of pamphlets, leaflets, brochures, paperbacks, and bookbinding. This lesson will look at the words Italians use to refer to these kinds of publications. We'll also get a closer look at some related words that emerged from our research, as well as a diminutive suffix that hasn't come up before.
Here is the passage that gave us trouble. It's from a video about publishing comic books. The speaker had apparently turned brossura into the adjective/past participle brossulato, likely an informal term employed within the world of commercial publishing.
Rimettendo insieme questi albetti albo d'oro, tre, quattro per volta, si veniva a creare un, eh... una, un, un volume in qualche modo brossulato [sic: rilegato in brossura], dello spessore degli attuali Tex.
Putting these golden albums back together, three, four at a time, it would become a, uh... a, a kind of paperback bound volume, of the same thickness as the current Tex.
Captions 77-80, Fumettology TEX - Part 8
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Once the mystery was solved, there was a second mystery: Why a particular kind of binding (on a book) was called brossura.
Wikipedia provided some information: In traditional bookbinding, especially for hardbound books, sewing is involved, as well as folded paper that then needs separating. But for paperbacks, especially cheap ones, another method is used whereby the edges of the pages are glued to a piece of tape. How many times have you had pages fall out of a paperback if you opened it too wide? So the term brossura has to do with la rilegatura (bookbinding) and is basically used to indicate a paperback book. Wikipedia provided the clue that brossura is from the French "brocher," to pin, to sew. Of course! Brochure! This originally French word is used in both English and Italian.
Guardi, questa è la brochure del nostro atelier.
Look, this is the brochure from our studio.
Caption 41, Sposami EP 2 - Part 5
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The French word brochette also sprang to mind, which is "skewer," the utensil or the result: kebab, or in Italian, lo spiedino. But not only that! We also have "brooch" (sometimes "broach") in English, which is a large pin you wear on a jacket. Una spilla in Italian.
Another word for brochure is depliant or dépliant: Of course, it, too, is a French word adopted into Italian usage. The Italian translation is pieghevole, also used to mean "brochure."
Sì, sta nel dépliant del museo, sta di là.
Yes, it's in the museum brochure, it's over there.
Caption 20, Il Commissario Manara S1EP5 - Il Raggio Verde - Part 3
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Yet another word is opuscolo. We have no examples from Yabla videos, but it's quite common. It comes from "opus" (work) and is a diminutive. Where have we heard this diminutive before? Il brutto anatroccolo(the ugly duckling). The diminutive -olo is used with masculine nouns and denotes small size or petty nature.
We also have volantino (flyer). The word comes from the verb volare (to fly). It can fly, in the sense of distribution. A flyer can also be a sheet inserted into a magazine between the pages (not bound). You can take it out.
Controlla bene le offerte elencate nel volantino che trovi all'ingresso del supermercato o quello che ti hanno messo nella cassetta della posta.
Carefully check the offers listed in the flyer that you find at the entrance to the supermarket or the one they have put in your mailbox.
Captions 8-10, Vocaboliamo Supermercato - Part 3
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The job of distributing these flyers is volantinaggio.
Then there's la locandina. This is usually one sheet describing a show or movie. It can also mean "poster." But where does locandina come from? Clearly, it's a diminutive of locanda. A locanda is a place that rents rooms.
Era una locanda.
It was a small inn.
Caption 59, Anna e Marika Trattoria Al Biondo Tevere - Part 1
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But what's the connection with locandina? It so happens there is a little-used verb locare (to let, to lease, to rent out). The verb comes in turn from Latin, where "est locanda" means è da affittare (it's for rent). The locandina was the announcement posted on a bulletin board or wall for renting out a space. It morphed into the small-sized poster for a movie or show. Although the verb locare is not one you will hear very often, if you ever rent an apartment in Italy, it will say Contratto di locazione (rental contract).
We've given you a potpourri of connected terms. But now when you see these words, hopefully, you'll know what they mean and where they come from.
In an episode of Fino a qua tutto bene (so far so good), a movie about a group of friends that just graduated from the University of Pisa, two people are talking at a party. Marta invites Andrea to a house someone lent her. That house is ai Ronchi. Where?
Senti, Maddalena mi ha lasciato la sua casa ai Ronchi, vuoi venire con me?
Listen, Maddalena left me her house in the Ronchis [seaside places up the coast], do you want to come with me?
Captions 37-38, Fino a qui tutto bene Film - Part 21
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We wanted to know where Ronchi or the Ronchis is located, so we did a little research and learned that according to Wikipedia the village is Ronchi di Massa (in northern Tuscany, on the sea) but was at one time called Marina dei Ronchi di Apuania. We wondered about the name and why it was in the plural. Maybe it's a bit like talking about the Hamptons on Long Island.
Massa-Carrara is a province in Tuscany. Why is there a hyphen?
Massa and Carrara were two cities. Originally Massa was Mazza (which means "club," "stick," or "bat") which makes sense if we look at the city's stemma (coat of arms, emblem) with a club in the middle. Carrara on the other hand, got its name from the pre-Roman (Celtic or Ligurian) element "kar" (stone), through the Latin "carrariae" meaning "quarries." Carrara (previously spelled Carara when it was part of the Duchy of Modena) is known for its marble quarries.
photo of Carrara stemma: MostEpic
-coat%20of%20arms.png)
The two cities made up the Duchy of Massa and Principality of Carrara from 1473 until 1836 (or 1829 according to some historians). They were incorporated into the Duchy of Modena (in Emilia) around 1829 until around 1859, when they became part of Tuscany, heading the province, Massa e Carrara.
During the Italian Fascist period, it was common for the government to merge some towns with others, giving it a new name. One of these was Apuania, which incorporated Massa, Carrara, and Montignoso. The name came from le Alpi apuane (the Apuan Alps), which are the nearby mountains. So the province of Massa e Carrara was accordingly renamed Provincia di Apuania.
Colonnata è un piccolo paesino che è incastonato nelle Alpi Apuane.
Colonnata is a small village that is nestled in the Apuan Alps.
Caption 14, L'Italia che piace Esperienze Gastronomiche - Part 3
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The adjective "Apuan" is linked to the population called Liguri Apuani, who inhabited a part of the Apennine mountain chain on the Ligurian side in pre-Roman times. Apuania was constituted in 1938 but after the fall of fascism and the end of World War II, it was dissolved. Massa and Carrara remained linked with a hyphen to make them co-equal. Massa-Carrara is capo provinciale (the capital city of the province). Montignoso became part of another city.
Both Massa and Carrara are divided into administrative zones including seaside zones. So there is Marina di Massa and Marina di Carrara, both seaside areas. Ronchi is a hamlet (which in Italian is called una frazione) of Marina di Massa.
We haven't yet discovered exactly why Ronchi is referred to in the plural. We did learn that the road in the area that runs parallel to the beach is called lungomare (this is typical) and has two sections: lungomare di levante and lungomare di ponente. This is a fancy way of saying east and west. Levante refers to where the sun comes up. Il sole si leva (the sun rises) and ponente refers to where the sun sets. Il sole si pone (the sun sets itself down). Two beach clubs are Bagno Ronchi di levante and Bagno Ronchi di ponente. That could be a clue. If we learn more, we will update this lesson.
In the process of searching for the answer, we did learn some interesting facts about the Massa-Carrara area and its history!
Sometimes there are unexpected connections between videos that have nothing to do with each other. Maybe there is an actor we’ve seen before or an example of a grammatical point we have covered elsewhere, but this time, it’s about a word we saw for the first time in an episode of Imma Tataranni. The noun was lamione, and it wasn't easy to find out what it was or to find an adequate one-word English translation.
Un po' più sopra ci dovrebbero stare certi lamioni, hai presente? -Sì.
A bit higher up, there should be some "lamioni." Are you familiar with them? -Yes.
Caption 12, Imma Tataranni Sostituto procuratore S1 EP5 Rione Serra Venerdì - Part 4
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But a few weeks later, we transcribed and translated a documentary about architecture and lo and behold, one segment discussed the trullo and the lamia, both unique building types from Apulia.
We figured out that the basic word is likely lamia and that lamione is a variant, possibly implying a large lamia, because of its -one ending, but it might also be simply a local variant of lamia.
La Puglia non è soltanto il trullo come struttura iconica, ma anche la masseria e le lamie.
Apulia is not just the trullo as an iconic structure, but also the farm and the lamias.
Captions 1-2, L'Italia che piace Architettura - Part 8
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So what’s a lamia?
a primitive, abandoned lamia
It’s the shape of the building that makes the lamia stand out (although it's significantly less striking than the trullo). Its walls slope slightly and while the roof is flat, the ceiling is often barrel vaulted. As with the trullo, the building materials are found locally. Even the stone has a name that isn’t always translated. It is sometimes translated as tuff, and is called tufo or tufa in Italian. Tufa is a variety of limestone formed when carbonate minerals precipitate out of water in unheated rivers or lakes. It can also come from a volcanic explosion. In looking for a definition of tufa or tufo, we came across a fascinating article (in English) about this kind of stone as it pertains to wine production, of all things. It all starts to make sense if we go back to ancient Rome, as mentioned in the article!
Here is a link to an article with a drawing of a lamia next to a trullo. The lamia would have been used as temporary quarters for agricultural workers, or to store grain and fodder.
To learn more, here is an interesting article in English, with a detailed drawing of a trullo inside and outside.
If you ever decide to visit Apulia, you can even choose to stay in a trullo, as at least one of our subscribers has done! Matera is practically right next door, and there, you can visit the Sassi, also built using the raw materials found locally. What a fascinating area!
While we are talking about things pugliesi, we want to call your attention to a video you might have missed, where Anna, playing a schoolgirl, has to report on Apulia, where Anna is actually from.
And to connect back with the opening paragraph of this lesson, the actress Anna was discovered in an episode of Imma Tataranni, where she plays a pregnant schoolteacher. She was actually pregnant at the time of filming! It was fun for the staff and seasoned subscribers to discover her in the middle of the episode.
There have been a number of videos on Yabla that refer to fumetti, but what are they? Fumetti are comic books and comic strips. A graphic novel is called un romanzo a fumetti or un romanzo grafico and sometimes the English term "graphic novel" is used for these. They consist of a complete story, not a continuing story as we often have in comic books.
Why do we call comics fumetti? Fumo is smoke, and the speech bubbles or word balloons you find in comics are kind of like puffs of smoke. The suffix -etto means "small" and the puffs of smoke, or speech bubbles, are relatively small. These speech bubbles are sometimes called nuvolette (little clouds).
Senti, tu vedi di fargli leggere almeno un fumetto quest'estate eh.
Listen, you see to it that he at least reads a comic book this summer, huh.
Caption 52, Provaci ancora prof! S2E6 La strana ossessione - Part 22
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Comic books are very popular in Italy. There is an entire convention dedicated to comics, Lucca Comics, the largest in Europe.
Che stai facendo? -Sto leggendo un fumetto. -Com'è? -Fichissimo.
What are you doing? -I am reading a comic book. -How is it? -Super cool.
Captions 18-20, JAMS S1 EP2 - Part 4
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On an Italian quiz show this question was asked about the fumetto Diabolik:
In quale luogo Angela Giussani trovò l'ispirazione per creare il fumetto "Diabolik"?
In which place did Angela Giussani find inspiration for creating the cartoon, “Diabolik”?
Caption 18, L'Eredità -Quiz TV La sfida dei sei. Puntata 2 - Part 12
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Subscribers can find the true answers to this question in this video!
There are two different documentaries on Yabla about fumetti:
Guido Crepax, Cercando Valentina and Fumettology.
Guido Crepax is the pen name of Guido Crepas, whose best-known character was Valentina. She was created in 1965 and her last appearance was in 1996. In the documentary, we discover where the author's ideas came from and what his techniques were in designing the panels and thinking up the stories.
Nel Sessantadue, mettono in piedi una casa editrice che, che si mette a pubblicare Diabolik, il fumetto più scandaloso di quegli anni.
In nineteen sixty-two, they set up a publishing house that, that set to publishing Diabolik, the most scandalous comic book of those years.
Captions 22-24, Fumettology Diabolik - Part 3
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"Fumettology" is a documentary about various popular Italian fumetti.
The first episode is about Diabolik. Read about this fumetto here on Wikipedia. You'll also find the answer to the quiz show question above.
All'inizio, quando loro partirono, non ci fu un distributore che volle distribuire il fumetto.
In the beginning, when they started out, there was no distributor who wanted to distribute the comic book.
Captions 1-2, Fumettology Diabolik - Part 4
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Both Valentina and Diabolik were created for adults, but the second fumetto featured in "Fumettology" is aimed at a general audience, and is an Italian take on the American Wild West. Read about Tex Willer here.
Tex è un eroe capace di modificare il mondo attorno a sé con la sola sua presenza.
Tex is a hero capable of changing the world around him solely by means of his presence.
Captions 1-2, Fumettology TEX - Part 2
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In an episode of Imma Tataranni, we even see her husband, Pietro, on the couch, reading Tex. Whoever watched the episode knowing about Tex probably let out a chuckle. Pietro might have been in "don't bother me" mode.
Italians got some of their ideas from American comics, and had them translated, but during the Fascist period, there were bans, except for Topolino (the Italian version of Mickey Mouse). Italian comics were allowed, but there were restrictions as to content. Once World War II was over, fumetti became very popular once again and that is when Tex was created.
Reading fumetti can be an enjoyable way to learn some Italian! Take it from someone who did that and whose daughter did, too!
Over the years, Italians have changed their eating habits. There are still people who do things the traditional way, especially for special occasions, but since lifestyles have changed, eating habits have changed, too.
It used to be that shops would close for the (long) lunch hour. There would have been time to go home to a full lunch and even a nap before going back to work. Those days are over for lots of Italians. The laws changed, and many shops have orario continuato (open all day), so lunch hours tend to be shorter.
Many bars (read: cafes) now serve not only panini and toast (grilled cheese), but often primi piatti (pasta dishes) or un piatto freddo (a cold lunch), as well. It's usually a pretty quick and inexpensive way to have lunch. A sign outside might say pranzi di lavoro (work lunch).
These quick lunches are in contrast to a full meal, which includes some or all of the following: antipasto (appetizer), primo (pasta, rice, or soup), secondo (meat, fish, or cold plate) with contorno (side dish, usually vegetables or salad), dolce o frutta (dessert or fruit), caffe (coffee), amaro (or something stronger such as grappa).
But what exactly is un amaro? The adjective amaro means "bitter." In herbal medicine, tinctures are a common remedy, made by infusing alcohol with specific medicinal herbs, which are often bitter. One example is tarassaco (dandelion) used as a spring tonic, good for stimulating the liver, helping to eliminate toxins.
L'amaro has its origins in herbal medicine, being produced in monasteries or pharmacies, and has become a noun meaning a mildly alcoholic beverage produced by macerating — in other words, soaking for a lengthy period — herbs, roots, flowers, bark, and or citrus rind in alcohol (of different types), adding sugar at some point, and letting it age for about a month. It's often thought of as being medicinal, aiding in digestion. But lots of people drink un amaro because they like it.
Un amaro is part of a larger category called i digestivi (alcoholic drinks meant to help you digest). Non-Italians often prefer an after-dinner drink or digestivo such as Limoncello to an actual amaro, as it is more attractive, cold, and more sweet/sour than bitter. And of course, there is even a larger category called i liquori (the liqueurs).
Tourists traveling around Italy might be familiar with bright yellow limoncello made from lemon rind (not lemon juice, as you might imagine). The same process is used for an orange liqueur called, appropriately, arancello, since arancia is the word for "orange." In fact, Yabla has a video with the recipe for arancello. The important thing is to have fruit that hasn't been sprayed, since it's the rind you use.
Il prodotto finale sarà questo: l'arancello siciliano, fatto con bucce di arance biologiche.
The final product will be this: Sicilian arancello, made with the rinds of organic oranges.
Captions 49-50, Adriano L'arancello di Marina
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Limoncello and arancello are usually served from the freezer. They don't freeze because of the alcohol, but remain very cold.
One famous after-dinner drink is "Strega" (strega means "witch" as in "witch's brew"). It's made in Benevento, Campania, and involves about 70 different herbs and spices, among them: cannella (cinnamon), ginepro (juniper), menta (mint), zafferano (saffron), and more. It’s the saffron that gives Strega its characteristic yellow color.
You may have heard about the Premio Strega for literature in some of Yabla videos. The name of this literary award comes from the company that produces Strega, whose owner helped create this award in the 1940s. Learn more about the Strega award here, with a list of all the winners over the years. Maybe you'll find a book in Italian you want to read!
In the following example, a Strega award winner tells a story about taking someone's suggestion seriously (to drink plenty of Strega).
"Mi raccomando, bevi tanto Strega, bevi tanto Strega, festeggiamo bevendo tanto Strega".
"Please, drink a lot of Strega [digestive bitters] drink lots of Strega, let's celebrate by drinking lots of Strega."
Captions 33-35, Romanzo Italiano Lazio - Part 10
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Although this type of digestive liquore is made in many different countries, amaro is a word used uniquely in Italy.
One famous brand of amaro is L'amaro del Capo. Marika mentions it in her tour of a typical Italian supermarket.
Qui trovi una vasta scelta di liquori nazionali, come il Limoncello e L'amaro del Capo.
Here, you will find a vast selection of national liqueurs, like Limoncello and L'amaro del Capo [digestive bitters from Calabria].
Captions 11-12, Vocaboliamo Supermercato - Part 5
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Some people make their own amaro. If you have a walnut tree (un noce), for example, the still-green hulls can be used to make nocino. A homemade liqueur can make a great Christmas present.
When you want something alcoholic after the coffee you have after a meal, it can be called a "coffee killer": un ammazzacaffè.
It's not necessarily un amaro and might be something stronger such as grappa.
Va be', che, che, che, che fa? -Ah, alle venti ha cenato alla trattoria Da Mimmo's. Spaghetti, cotoletta. -Caffè e ammazzacaffè, commissario.
OK, what, what, what, what does he do? -Ah, at eight P.M. he had dinner at Mimmo's eatery. Spaghetti, breaded cutlet. -Coffee and coffee killer [after-dinner drink], Commissioner.
Captions 43-44, Il Commissario Manara S1EP12 - Le verità nascoste - Part 5
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Whether you drink alcoholic beverages or not, it's good to know what they are, especially when being entertained or going to dinner in Italy.
La Ciociaria is mentioned in Pier Paolo Pasolini's poem: 10 Giugno from 1962, and in the documentary about him. La Ciociaria is not the name of a road, as we discussed in another lesson, but rather the name commonly used, in modern times, for some impoverished territories southeast of Rome, without defined geographical limits. It corresponds, roughly, to the area around Frosinone, to the southeast of Rome.
Le mattine su Roma,
Sulla Ciociaria, sul mondo
The mornings over Rome
Over the Ciociaria [area near Frosinone], over the world
Captions 10-11, La super storia Via Pasolini - Part 1
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The name ciociaria comes from the kind of humble footwear shepherds would wear, called cioce as seen in this 1883 painting of a shepherd boy wearing cioce by Antonio Mancini.
From Wikipedia:
The footwear called ciocie (the singular is ciocia) are made with large leather soles, tied to the leg by straps (strenghe or curiole) bound between the ankle and the knee. Rather than socks, a large piece of loose cloth (pezza, pl. pezze) was placed around the feet, ankles, and calves under the ciocie.
Calling someone un ciociaro or una ciociara was considered derogatory.
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Some might remember the famous 1960 movie with Sophia Loren called La Ciociara. It is based on a 1957 novel by Alberto Moravia.
Here is a short clip from the movie:
There was a remake in 1989 in the form of a TV mini-series. Sophia Loren stars again.
This is an 1889 painting by Enrique Simonet called Ciociara
There is a new documentary on Yabla about poet and filmmaker Pier Paolo Pasolini. It opens with some lines from a 1962 poem:
Giro per la Tuscolana come un pazzo
Per l'Appia come un cane senza padrone
I wander along the Tuscolana like a madman
Along the Appian like a dog without an owner
Captions 7-8, Via Pasolini La super storia - Part 1
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Italians and people who live in Rome know exactly what Pasolini was referring to in these lines, but viewers might not know and will be curious to find out.
La via Appia, or Via Appia Antica, known in English as the Appian Way, is one of the oldest and most important Roman roads of the ancient republic. It connected Rome with Capua to the south, and later with Brindisi in Puglia. The road was named after Appius Claudius Caecus who was responsible for building the first part of it around 312 BC. A new road with the same name was constructed in the 16th century: La via Appia Nuova.
The via Tuscolana, or la Tuscolana, is less well-known, perhaps because it wasn't built by the Romans. It was built in medieval times and connected Rome with Tuscolo, now called Frascati. In Rome, it intersects with la via Appia and then runs parallel to it. There is a quartiere (district) named for it, called Tuscolano, and la Tuscolana also happens to run through Cinecittà on the outskirts of Rome.
The Italian noun via means several things, such as "street," "road," or "way." It can also be used figuratively to mean "way" or "pathway." When referring to roads, Italians often leave out "via" and just use la (the article of the feminine noun via) plus the actual name of the road. So via Appia becomes l'Appia. Via Tuscolana becomes la Tuscolana. In English, it's traditional to use the noun "way," to translate via, so we have "Appian Way." Roads can be named for where they go or after someone famous, or someone, such as in the case of some Roman roads, who headed the building project. In other cases, the name has a different source, as we shall see.
There are other old Roman roads featured in Yabla videos, so let's have a look, just for fun.
L'Aurelia is one of the oldest Roman roads and goes up the coast from Rome, all the way to Mentone, on the border of Italy and France. It was built around 241 BC under the supervision of Gaius Aurelius Cotta (hence the name).
Purtroppo l'abbiamo trovata dietro una piazzola sull'Aurelia.
Unfortunately, we found her behind a rest area on the Aurelia.
Caption 54, Il Commissario Manara S2EP12 - La donna senza volto - Part 5
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This road (as many other old roads) has undergone many changes since Roman times, and is now also called Strada Statale 1, usually abbreviated to SS 1. Strada Statale stands for "state (national) road." In many places, it is bordered with pine trees, and is quite beautiful, but narrow. Newer, wider stretches of road have been built parallel to it (and with access to it) in parts of Italy, keeping basically the same name (Aurelia and the number 1). This can cause confusion, especially since the road follows the coast and is very popular with tourists. Locals often call the new road simply, la variante (the variant or bypass).
The Via Salaria owes its name to the Latin word for "salt," since it was the route the Sabines (ancient Italic population) would take to carry salt from the marshes at the mouth of the river Tiber. It is referred to as La Salaria, but its official name is Strada Statale 4 Via Salaria (SS4) and is now a modern state highway that maintains the old road's name and runs on the same route from Rome to the Adriatic Sea, another ancient source of salt.
La Salaria, il salario, il sale è la più antica moneta del mondo.
The Salaria [Roman road], the salary, salt is the oldest currency in the world.
Caption 4, La rotta delle spezie di Franco Calafatti Il sale - Part 1
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This road went from Rome to the ancient port city of Ostia on the coast. Later, the marshlands near it were reclaimed and a new neighborhood (Ostia, now part of Rome) was built toward the end of the 19th century.
E dove sarebbe avvenuto questo scambio di cappotti? In quale ristorante? Al Biondo Tevere. È sull'Ostiense. -Ah, lo conosco benissimo. Fanno un'amatriciana...
And where did this swapping of coats occur? In what restaurant? At the Biondo Tevere. It's on the Ostiense. -Ah, I know it well. They make a [great] Amatriciana...
Captions 49-51, Provaci ancora prof! S2E5 Vita da cani - Part 9
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Did you notice the name of the restaurant in the previous example? Al Biondo Tevere refers to the river the restaurant looks out upon: il Tevere (the Tiber). It's called Biondo (blond) because at one time, at least, the river's color was yellowish, owing to the sand and limestone mixed in with the water. It just so happens that Anna and Marika had lunch at that very restaurant and made a video for Yabla to prove it. They even interviewed the owner.
Sì, perché siamo ovviamente a Roma, su via Ostiense, una via molto antica di Roma. E qua sotto c'è il fiume Tevere.
Yes, because obviously we're in Rome, on the via Ostiense, a very old Roman road. And there below is the river Tiber.
Captions 17-19, Anna e Marika Trattoria Al Biondo Tevere - Part 1
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We've enjoyed finding these examples of roads around Rome, and we hope you have enjoyed reading about them and playing the examples. We'll be adding other roads to the list as we find them.
On Yabla there is an animated series featuring two maialini (piglets) who are brothers. In each short episode, the younger one, Piggeldy, always has a new question for his older brother, Federico.
Although Yabla has recorded new Italian narration, the original version of this animation was in German, and this is evident in a recent episode in particular. The primary hint is that one of the crops in the fields the brothers walk past or through is segale (rye). Italians, except in the northern parts of Italy where German is spoken, don't commonly eat a lot of rye bread, although it does exist and has become more popular in recent years. In countries such as Germany, Poland, Russia, and Austria, it's much more common, and rye is also cultivated there. But more importantly, the topic of the episode is erbaccia, a good word to know.
In this episode, Piggeldy wants to know what erbaccia is.
"Federico, che cos'è l'erbaccia?"
"Federico, what is a weed?"
Caption 3, Piggeldy e Federico L'erbaccia
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Let's look at this word. We can detect the noun erba, which means "grass," but not only. As a collective noun erba does mean "grass," but as a countable noun, it means herb. We think of herbs and spices, but in Italian, erbe (in the plural, usually) refers to wild greens, either edible or medicinal.
Some of us have already learned that the suffix -accio or -accia is pejorative, indicating a lower quality of something. So we could easily equate erbaccia with "crabgrass." Although crabgrass does have a botanical name and is technically a specific kind of grass, we do use "crabgrass" generically to describe a kind of creeping, invasive grass that's hard to get rid of. We could also call it "a weed" or "weeds," although weeds are not necessarily a kind of grass.
E se no ci sarebbe stata tutta erbaccia, perché prima passava un pecoraro [pecoraio], Belardo se [si] chiamava, no? Nel settanta, co e passava co ste [queste] pecore, mangiava... era tutto pulito era na [una] bellezza.
And otherwise there would have been weeds all over, because before now a shepherd would pass by, Belardo was his name, right? In [nineteen] seventy, with, and he'd passed by with these sheep, they would eat... it was all tidy, it was beautiful.
Captions 53-56, Anna e Marika Trattoria Al Biondo Tevere - Part 3
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The -accio or -accia ending implies that the plant with this suffix is unwanted. Of course, one person's weed is another person's wildflower, or spontaneous plant.
The plant that Piggeldy sees, the cornflower, il fiordaliso in Italian, is a beautiful blue wildflower, considered by farmers to be a weed when we're talking about crops. It used to be a common sight in fields of wheat and corn. Its botanical name is Centaurea cyanus L.
In the real world, cornflowers got their name because they used to be a common weed in cultivated fields [of corn or wheat]. They're native to Europe, but while they can now be found distributed quite widely across the world, they're actually endangered in their native habitat by the mass use of weedkillers on European farms. In some parts of Austria, the fiordaliso is still visible as a beautiful contrast to the golden wheat.
As a little aside, if we then look at a recent episode of the series JAMS, there is a scene where a student is being questioned about the story of Achilles. It's interesting to note that the plant that healed his heel from the poisoned arrow is the cornflower!
So-called "weeds" are an important part of Italian rural culture. There are plenty of edible greens for the taking, and Italians are famous for making the most of them. Old folks remember well the times (such as during World War II) in which any cultivated green vegetable was hard to find, so foraging was the way to go. Even now, in Italy, if you see an abandoned field or a roadside, chances are you will see someone taking advantage of the free food there. There is always something edible coming up.
Poi, conoscevo le erbe selvatiche no, e andavo per queste fiumare bellissime dove c'erano piantagioni di erbe spontanee, guarda, una cosa meravigliosa.
Besides, I knew about wild greens, right? And I would go to these beautiful streams, where there were patches of wild herbs, look, a marvelous thing.
Captions 40-42, In giro per l'Italia Pentidattilo - Part 2
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So the upshot is that erba does mean "grass," but erbaccia indicates weeds and erbe can mean "herbs" (for seasoning, often specified as erbe aromatiche — aromatic herbs) or "wild greens" (for eating). Buon appetito!
Sometimes, while translating a video for Yabla, a word crops up that leaves us perplexed. It doesn't appear to be in a dictionary, and even if it is, it doesn't make enough sense to be able to translate it correctly. So we start researching it on our preferred search engine. We might find the answer and that's that, but sometimes we go down some interesting rabbit holes. So this week, we'd like to share what we learned, because it relates to some good-to-know euphemisms people use when talking about money.
We're talking about the documentary series called L'Italia che piace (the Italy people like), which has recently focused on Novara, a city in northern Italy, not far from Milan. You will hear about its history in the video, but one thing gets mentioned only briefly, so we set out to learn more.
Viene costruita dalla cittadinanza, con i soldi che vengono raccolti proprio con la tassa del sesino, la tassa sull'acquisto della carne.
It's built by the citizenry, with the money that is collected, actually, by way of the "sesino" tax, the tax on buying meat.
Captions 5-8, L'Italia che piace Territori - Part 9
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The documentary mentions the building of the dome on top of the basilica in the middle of the city. It ended up being paid for in a particular way. Citizens contributed voluntarily to the project, but there was also a special tax called l’arbitrio del sesino or l'imposta del sesino. We wondered, "What's a sesino?"
A little research revealed that un sesino is a particular coin. Why is it called sesino? We might be able to guess it has something to do with the number 6 — sei. And we would be right! With a little more searching, we found, on a numismatic website:
The name of the coin un sesino indicates that the coin is equal to 6 denari.
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Along with the sesino, there were: la trillina (3 denari) and il quattrino (4 denari). These coins were used from the 14th to the 18th century in various cities.
It all starts to make sense, because whoever has lived in Italy has heard people use quattrino or quattrini to mean "money."
Se proprio vogliamo chiamarla debolezza... era un poco tirato nei quattrini, ecco.
If we really want to call it a weakness... he was a bit tight-fisted with money, that's it.
Captions 73-74, Il Commissario Manara S1EP11 - Beato tra le donne - Part 3
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In fact, in Renaissance times, un quattrino was a quarter of a fiorino in Florence. We often translate it as "a farthing." But unless you studied Italian history, you might not make that connection.
Still today, il denaro is another word for "money." Sometimes it's called il danaro. And in playing cards, denari is a suit in a Neapolitan deck of cards.
We learn in the video that this particular sesino tax was on meat. On a website about Novara, we further learn that it was un'imposta per ogni libbra di carne non bovina acquistata in città (a tax on each pound of non-bovine meat purchased in the city).
So, in short, it would seem that people had to pay one sesino for every pound of meat that wasn't beef. This was to pay for the dome of the basilica. We do wonder why the tax was just meat that wasn't beef. That will remain for another day of research.
Note there are two spellings for libra: with one b or two. Did you ever wonder why the abbreviation for pound is "lb"? The English word "pound" comes from pondo meaning "body." A unit of measure in Roman times was "libra pondo," which meant "a pound by weight." The abbreviation "lb" is derived from the libra part of the expression.
There you have it. A little extra information, which, si spera (hopefully), will whet your appetite to watch the video!
Even though crime is the name of the game on Wednesdays, there's always plenty to learn that has nothing to do with crime and everything to do with culture.
This lesson refers to a mini-episode of I Bastardi di Pizzofalcone.
When Paolo and Lojacono are at Lojacono's favorite trattoria da Letizia for dinner, she brings them a pasta dish. How could we not mention it? It's called lo scarpariello.
Ecco qua lo scarpariello. -Grazie. -Prego.
Here is the "scarpariello." -Thanks. -You're welcome.
Caption 49, I Bastardi di Pizzofalcone - EP2 Rabbia
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When we see a long word ending in ello, there is a good chance it's an elaboration of a pre-existing word. Can you detect the noun scarpa in there?
What do shoes have to do with pasta you might ask? Legend has it that the origins of this pasta dish be traced to the Quartieri Spagnoli ("Spanish" neighborhoods) of Naples, where shoemakers tended to reside, in earlier times. Although the Italian word for "shoemaker" is il calzolaio, lo scarparo is a regional (Southern) form of lo scarpaio, a variant of il calzolaio. Their day off — il giorno di riposo — was lunedì — Monday. So Monday was "leftovers day." The leftover pasta sauce from Sunday dinner was recycled to make a delicious pasta dish on Monday.
In addition, some of the ingredients, such as the pecorino or Parmigiano might have been given to the shoemaker in place of payment for shoe repair. But over time, as often happens with humble recipes, the dish has risen from its status as un piatto di recupero (leftovers) to a simple but elegant favorite, made with the simple, fresh ingredients available locally: pomodorini (cherry or other small-sized tomatoes), basilico (basil), peperoncino (chili peppers), aglio (garlic), and olio di oliva (olive oil) with the addition of grated pecorino romano and/or Parmigiano.
Here is a great and fun video recipe for this dish. Attenzione! Luca parla molto veloce (Luca speaks very fast) but he shows you what he is doing, which makes it easier to understand.
Yabla has been featuring a documentary series about famous Italian women. One of these women was Margherita Hack, who was a renowned scientist and astronomer. Her story is pretty fascinating.
Margherita grew up during the Italian fascist period and then got married in 1944 when the war was still going on. The war years were very rough for Italians. There was little food to go around, and money was scarce. In fact, when they got married, both Aldo and Margherita had coats that were "turned inside out." What did that mean?
Tutti e due con un cappotto rivoltato,
Both with a coat turned inside out,
perché allora i soldi veramente erano molto pochi.
because at the time there was really very little money.
Captions 38-39, Illuminate - Margherita Hack
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It took a little research to figure out what rivoltato really meant in this context. It's actually kind of interesting.
Margherita and Aldo, like many Italians in the 1940s, likely had coats made of wool — lana, with a silk lining — una fodera di seta. In those days, when a coat became too shabby to be presentable, it would not be thrown away. Heaven forbid! Instead, a seamstress or someone in the family who knew how to sew (which was fairly common), would open up all the seams — scucire, then turn the woolen part inside out, and resew — ricucire the lining back on. The coat at that point was like new, or close enough.
Italians have traditionally been attentive to clothing and keeping it nice. Nowadays, it frequently costs less to buy a new item of clothing, but years back, when a collar of a shirt would get frayed, it would be turned around and resewn, or even removed completely, rather than anyone buying a new shirt. If a wife and/or mother knew how to sew, she would make shirts for the men and boys in the family and blouses and skirts for the women and girls. But clothes had to be taken care of and they had to last.
When il tessuto (the fabric) has been consumed to the point of being unsightly, the Italian word is liso (frayed, worn, threadbare). Another, more common adjective is sciupato (ruined), from the verb sciupare.
The parts of a shirt that are frequently turned inside out and re-sewn are:
We'll report here some explanations of this tradition from the WordReference Italian only forum: (We've also translated it into English for you.)
Quando c'era molta miseria ed il cappotto era liso non lo si buttava. Semplicemente lo si faceva rivoltare ad una sarta in modo che la parte esterna, sciupata, andasse all'interno e scomparisse alla vista.
When there was a lot of poverty and a coat was frayed, it wasn't thrown away. It was simply turned inside out by a seamstress so that the outside part, all worn out, would go on the inside and disappear from view.
La fodera è seta cucita sulla lana. Una sarta può scucirla e ricucirla sulla parte opposta. Poi si fa lo stesso con le tasche; si rovescia il colletto, e voilà, il padre di famiglia aveva risparmiato qualche soldino per la famiglia!
The lining is silk sewn onto the wool. A seamstress can take the stitches out and sew it on the other side. Then the same is done with the pockets; [then] you turn the collar inside out, and voilà, the father of the family had saved up a little money for the family!
-Sì, era molto comune all'epoca. E si faceva soprattutto col colletto delle camicie. Quando diventava liso, lo scucivi e lo rovesciavi per cucirlo dalla parte ancora intatta. Pensa che i prezzi dei cappotti - e dell'abbigliamento in generale - erano proibitivi all'epoca: in proporzione con i prezzi di oggi un cappotto semplice poteva costare anche mezzo stipendio.
-Yes, it was very common at the time. And it was mostly done with the collar of a shirt. When it became worn out, you took the stitches out and turned it inside out to sew it on the still intact side. Just think that the prices of coats - and of clothing in general - were prohibitive at the time: in proportion to today's prices, a simple coat could cost even half a paycheck.
A word that is related to rivoltare is risvolto. We're still talking about something turned over. For more about the root verb voltare, see this lesson. Ri often means "again" and voltare means "to turn." Il risvolto is commonly used to mean "lapel" but can also refer to the cuff on a pant leg or shirt. This word came up in another Yabla video.
In the wonderful Yabla series based on a true story Non è mai troppo tardi (It's never too late), Alberto is teaching in a reformatory and wants to sneak in some pencils for the boys to write with. The kids have plenty of experience pilfering things, and show him where to hide the pencils: in the lapel or flap.
Mae' [maestro], qui, nel risvolto della giacca,
Teach, here, in the lapel of the jacket,
le metti qua dentro. -Qui?
you put them in here. -Here?
Captions 65-66, Non è mai troppo tardi - EP1
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If you haven't watched this series yet, non è mai troppo tardi!
Something else Italians like to flip or turn over is la frittata (the omelet), either literally or figuratively.
...perché lo conosco.
...because I know him.
Lui ha una capacità nel rivoltare le frittate
He's very capable of flipping the omelet [turning the tables]
che non ci puoi credere.
like you wouldn't believe.
Captions 36-37, Sposami - EP 1 - Part 4
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There are different ways to travel. It can be for pleasure or work, it can be for multiple days, weeks, or months, or it can be a day trip or an overnight, an excursion.
So, let's look at an interesting alternative to the true cognate, escursione (that works just fine, too):
la gita, una gita, andare in gita.
So the noun is la gita. But where does it come from? It originally comes from the verb ire (to go). People don't use this verb much at all, in fact we could say they never use it in converstion, as it is literary (we mostly use andare), but those of you who know Latin, Spanish, or other Romance languages, will most likely recognize it.
A dialectical version of ire has a g sound in front of it, turning it into gire. We can trace it to the feminine past participle: andata — ita — gita. You don't need to know this, but some of us enjoy knowing where words come from.
In practical terms, una gita implies traveling somewhere, not necessarily sleeping over, but maybe.
For example, kids in school might go on una gita scolastica (a class trip).
E perché? -Partono, per la gita scolastica!
And, why? -They're leaving on a school trip!
Fuori di casa due giorni da soli.
Away from home for two days, all alone.
-Mamma, siamo in trentadue!
-Mom, there are thirty-two of us!
E quattro insegnanti.
And four teachers.
Captions 5-8, Acqua in bocca - Allarme gita
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Erica works at the tourist office of Palaia in Tuscany. She's talking about her job.
E quindi è un po' il punto di arrivo,
And so it's kind of the point of arrival
eh, di tutte quelle persone che vengono qua in vacanza,
uh, for all those people who come here on vacation,
o anche semplicemente per fare u', una gita o una, una breve sosta
or even just to make a, a day trip, or a quick stop
qui, in questo territorio, che è la Valdera.
here, in this area, which is the Valdera.
Captions 14-17, Professioni e mestieri - Erica - archeologa
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Check out this Yabla mini-series about a girl who goes on an outing — Una gita al lago (a day trip to the lake).
The verb gire sounds kind of like the verb girare, which means "to go around." Girare and gire don't have the same root, but they are related through one definition of girare:
andare qua e là, andare in giro, vagare, con o senza uno scopo determinato
(to go here and there, to go about, with or without a specific purpose).
Firenze è una città piccola, si può girare benissimo a piedi.
Florence is a small city, you can go around very easily on foot.
Caption 9, In giro per l'Italia - Firenze
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The noun form is il giro. Un giro can be a bike ride, a walk, a ride in a car... anything really, even a swing, or one of the machines at a gym.
Continuando il mio giro in bicicletta sulle mura di Lucca,
Continuing my bike ride around the Lucca walls,
mi sono fermata davanti a questo bellissimo palazzo.
I stopped in front of this very beautiful villa.
Captions 1-2, In giro per l'Italia - Lucca
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Fare un giro can mean "to take a turn."
Let's say I am on the treadmill at the gym, and there is someone waiting. I can ask, ci vuoi fare un giro (do you want to take a turn on it, do you want to have a go)?
Italians love diminutives, so we also have un giretto, or un girettino (or some say una girata or giratina) more like a brief stroll, synonymous with passeggiata, or passeggiatina.
E nonna, ho fatto un bel giretto nel bosco.
Well Grandma, I had a nice walk around the woods.
Caption 5, Anna e Marika - in Cappuccetto Rosso e la nonnina
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Note that we use the verb fare (to make, to do) with the noun una gita, — fare una gita or the noun un giro — fare un giro. Or we use the verb andare (to go) and the preposition in (on a) before gita or giro. Andare in gita, andare in giro. Tuscans often say andare a giro. It means the same thing.
Sono sicura che passeremo una bellissima giornata in giro per la città.
I'm sure we'll have a great day going around the city.
Caption 6, In giro per l'Italia - Firenze
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There is plenty more to say about in giro, but that will be for another lesson. Meanwhile, let's try to assimilate the meanings we have talked about here by looking at some questions and some possible answers. Feel free to write to us with your attempts. Mistakes are welcome. That's how we learn.
E tu? Che fai oggi? Vai in gita? Fai un giro? Fai una passeggiata? Vai in giro?
And you? What are you doing today? Are you going on an excursion? Are you going to go out and about? Are you going to take a walk? Are you going to cruise around the area?
Here are some possible answers:
Facciamo una gita turistica. Viviamo a Pisa, e andremo a visitare Siena.
We're going on a day trip. We live in Pisa and we're going to go and see Siena.
Andiamo in gita, che bello!
We're going on an outing, how great!
Facciamo il giro dell'isolotto.
We're going to walk around the block.
Facciamo un giro.
Let's go and have a look around.
Facciamo un giro in bici.
We're going on a bike ride.
Ho fatto una passeggiata vicino a casa.
I took a walk close to home.
Siamo andati in giro per la toscana.
We went for a ride around Tuscany.
Feel free to send us some of your own examples. If they work, we'll add them to this list. write to us at [email protected].
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