My Personal Italian Notes

Today is unique in many parts of the world, including Italy, where is celebrated Befana's day. It's a public holiday that ends the Christmas period. In this time events are organized in many cities, and the most important happens in Rome at Piazza Navona with numerous temporary stalls where you can buy local delicacies, figures of Befana or gift socks. The program is also full of  music and theater and the biggest attraction is the living nativity scene. Is also famous the festival in Urbania, which lasts from 2 to 6 January. This year, due to the epidemic, all events were canceled. Of course, you can take part in some of the attractions, like performances, online. But for Italians it's a sad time without a magical  and happy atmosphere.      The Epiphany at Piazza Navona   (source: https://www.tgtourism.tv/2017/11/piazza-navona-pubblicate-le-graduatorie-la-festa-della-befana-50553/ Who is Befana and what is her story? Befana is a good witch who c...

In a Christmas atmosphere, I would like to share the most interesting Italian recipes of this period. As for the Italian Christmas Eve, it consists of 13 dishes without meat and is eaten after a 24-hour fast. On the table there are mainly fish and seafood - obbligatory are dishes made of eel and cod. Anchovies, squid, octopus and mussels, for example in salads, are also popular. Then is served pasta, which is very different from region to region. Certainly the Christmas Eve dinner is great, but the day of the real feast is December 25th. Italians prepare the best olives, baked peppers, cheeses, prosciutto, salami, lasagne, tortellini and meat. As you can notice, this dishes are usually based on regional products that are difficult to find in Poland. Fortunately, there are also great desserts, which are my inspiration.  The cakes that are true symbols of the Italian holidays are: il panettone - a cake with raisins and candied fruit. There are also variations with chocolate or d...

Today I would like to present a very fascinating figure in my opinion, who is especially close to me because I dedicated to her one of the subsections in my bachelor thesis. When I found her biography, I was surprised that she's so little known to the public. I think her life, very turbulent, is a ready script for a movie.  Luisa Casati Stampa di Soncino (23 January 1881 – 1 June 1957) is one of the most painted and photographed people of the time. She comes from the richest family in Italy. In the portraits of her youth we see a modest and serious girl in love with art and drawing, who visits very often italian galleries and museums. She's getting married very quickly but it's not a happy marriage. Everything changes because of the meeting with Gabriele D'Annunzio, an italian writer and famous womanizer. He is so fascinated by beauty and original character of the marquise, that in the one of the novel he creates the main protagonist Isabella Inghirami based on the woma...

In Italy, non-verbal communication is very important and often used. Italians are a hand-communicating nation. Gestures help them better express what they mean. They also make the conversation more dynamic. Sometimes help express anger or joy, other times they save time, because one well-chosen gesture can tells us more than a long sentence. On an italian street, a hand movement is enough for the interlocutor to understand what it is about. However, you have to be very careful when using these gestures, because some of them are difficult to decode and if you use them incorrectly, you can make a faux pas. For example, when we start massaging our stomach after dinner, every Italian will be worried because it means stomach ache. To say that the dinner was delicious, you should "drill a hole in the cheek with the finger", which means that it was delicious. At this point, I would like to present a graphic which explains a few gestures. I also invite you to watch a short tutorial o...

  Hello everyone on the first post on this blog which will focus on Italian culture, art and language. Through this website, I would like to share information that I learned from philological studies, travels to the Apennine Peninsula and what fascinates me personally in Italy.  I would like to start by reflecting on the phenomenon of this country.  For a long time, I was wondering why I chose italian studies, although I would like to learn other languages ​​as well.  In Europe, including Poland, we can notice a special sympathy for this corner of the world. Why is this happening? As an example, will serve me antoher Mediterranean country, Greece. Just like Italy, has a long history, or even longer, because i t was ancient Athens that was the model for Rome , for example in the case of art and religion. Both countries are known for their smiling and friendly locals, delicious food, wonderful views and extraordinary historical monuments. There are many greek companies...