Archive | April, 2014

False friends

30 Apr
Più io studio italiano, meno lo so.The more I study Italian, the less I know. When I took my community college classes in the U.S., I knew that a tutor would be key to any degree of fluency, but I also thought that “a few months” of one-on-one classes while actually living in Italy, would make me fluent. Ha! After 21 months of individual classes with a magnificent teacher, Eleonora, the more complex this language becomes.
Not only must you consider gender, number and how formal or informal you want to be before openinglearn-italian-language your mouth, but conjugating verbs is a nightmare even for Italians. There are fifteen tenses with 6 conjugations in each, plus the gerundio, participio and the infinito (don’t even ask) for a total of twenty-one (21) tenses, therefore about 95 conjugations for each infinitive. My Big Book of Verbs contains 601 infinitives: You do the math! Luckily there are patterns. Sort of. Except for the irregular verbs. È un incubo! (It’s a nightmare!)
Are you stating a fact, giving an order, or rendering an opinion? You’ll conjugate the verb differently. “I want you go to the moon” is conjugated differently than “Go to the moon if you want.” Io voglio che tu vada sulla luna versus Vai sulla luna se vuoi. (Vada and vai are different forms of the same verb “to go.” For that matter, voglio and vuoi are both conjugations of volere, “to want.”)
dsc_0024OK, too much info, but I wanted to give non-Italian learners an idea of the level of confusion I am in daily. Add to that “false friends.” No, I don’t mean traitors, betrayers, and two-faced meddlers. These “false friends” are words in Italian that drive the English learner mad. These are words that sound like something in English but mean something entirely different in Italian. In linguistic circles they are called false cognates.
Allow me to illustrate.
We have some favorite merchants, particularly at the market in Campo dei Fiori: The salumiere (the man who sells us superb fatty pork products from Umbria), the fruttivendolo (greengrocer), and our “snack guy” Manuele. I reduced Manuele to tears one day when I asked for “Mandorle leggermente saltato,” which mean “Almonds, lightly jumped.” I wanted them lightly salted, which is salato.
I present to you a few of the more amusing and tricky falsi amici in Italian:
  • Never go to the salumiere and ask for peperoni. He can sell you salume piccante, but only the fruttivendolo can sell you peppers. In a pizzeria, asking for peperoni pizza will result in a nice vegetarian pie with sautéed red peppers on it. Peperoni = pepper (red, or any other type); salume piccante = Spicy salami, something like what North Americans put on pizza.
  •  If you are fussy about additives in your food, you might be tempted to ask your waitress if the food contains preservativi. She might shake her head in wonderment as preservativi are prophylactics. A conservante is used to keep food from spoiling. Preservativo = condom; Conservante = food preservative.
  • When your friend asks you to non fare rumore she is not accusing you of gossiping, but asking you to be quiet. Rumore = noise; Rumor is pettegolezzo.
  • We go to the tabaccheria (tobacco shop) to buy postage among other things, and one day I heard a tourist asking for “una stampa.” Understandably the tabaccaio (tobacconist) was confused because of all the things they sell printing isn’t one of them. A postage stamp is francobollo, and una stampa is a something printed, like a picture.
  • When the bus is late we are not annoiato, but rather we find the situation fastidioso. Annoiato = bored; Fastidioso = annoying.
  • To borrow a book one must go to the biblioteca, not the libreria. One buys a book at the libreria and borrows one at the biblioteca. 
  • A cadavere is indeed a corpse, but it is not morbido, it is morboso. You might pet a kitty and pronounce it morbido; or a pastry might have a filling that is morbido. Morbido = soft. It took me a long time to get that one!
    Tu sei licenziato!

    Tu sei licenziato!

  • When your colleague says “Sono stato licenziato” he was not just awarded a license, but fired. To license = autorizzare. 
  • When shopping for a hotel, asking for one that is lussuria may land you in the wrong place. A five-star hotel might better be described as lusso. Lussuria = lust while lusso = luxury.
  •  Children who are maleducato are not illiterate, they are badly behaved. Educato = well-mannered or polite, but istruito = educated.
  • One can take a photo of a camera, but you cannot take a photo with a camera. Camera = room; Macchina fotografica = camera.
My head about to explode as I learn the dreaded subjunctive tense.

My head about to explode as I learn the dreaded subjunctive tense.

 Non pretendere does not mean you should give up your flights of fancy, it means you should not make demands. You can fingere (pretend) you speak Italian all you want! Pretendere = demand while fingere = pretend.
 An ingiuria is an insult, while an injury is a ferita.
A fabbrica is a factory, while fabric is tessuto.
At the newsstand when I want something to read, I must ask for una rivista. If I ask for un magazzino I might end up renting a warehouse.
Finally, a person who is sensibile (sen-SEE-bill-ay) is not someone with common sense, but rather someone who is given to being easily upset or emotional, i.e., sensitive. But a person who is sensitivo (sen-si-TEE-vo) is level-headed or sensible.
Is it any wonder I end the day with a glass or two of wine?

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Venice again

15 Apr
Venice Again
We love Venice. We’ve now taken five trips there since October 2010 and we are already discussing the next one…. This time we had the opportunity to see La Serenissima through the eyes of a thirteen-year-old and it was great fun!
Aubrey made us go on a gondola. we are indebted to her!

Aubrey made us go on a gondola. we are indebted to her!

Our friends came from Washington, D.C., and rather than letting them crash in Rome, we whisked them off to Venice on the high-speed train. I think this can be a good way to arrive in Italy from the U.S. We’ve done it twice ourselves: Land in early morning in Milan or Rome and take a Freccia train to Venice, allowing for a catnap and time to lunch on the train, then settling into B&B or apartment and freshening up with a shower. By this time you are sufficiently revived to hit the calli of Venice and take a walk to get your bearings in the daylight before an early (for Italy) dinner about 19:00. After a good night’s sleep you are practically adjusted to local time by the next morning.
You cannot see everything in Venice in a couple of days, but you can get a good taste of this unique locale. We did a pretty good job of covering territory, walking about 6 miles (9.6 km) each day, first through San Marco, San Polo, and Dorsoduro on Day One, then through Murano and Burano on Day Two.
Of course we visited favorites: Frari Church, my jeweler on Murano, the tower at San Giorgio Maggiore. But Ric and I try to do something we have never done before each time we visit Venice. This trip, at the urging of our young friend Aubrey, we added gondola ride to our experience list. I have always thought the gondola a dorky, touristy thing to do, and it probably is, BUT it was really fun to see the city from a different angle and in the back canals. I think it may be even more fun as a group than as the iconic romantic ride for a couple. As a result, we very well might do it again the next time we take friends or family to Venice. Rick and Jane, are you ready yet? 
Below, past the insane cruise ship photo sequence, are a few more pictures of our trip. The following three photos illustrate the insanity of letting cruise hips sail throughu Venice in the Giudecca Canal. 
As we approached San Marco in a vaporetto, this cruise ship was making its way into the Bacino to go out to sea.

As we approached San Marco in a vaporetto, this cruise ship was making its way into the Bacino to go out to sea.

The all-too-big ship pulls alongside our "water bus" or vaporetto.

The all-too-big ship pulls alongside our “water bus” or vaporetto.

These things are just too big. Starting in November, the biggest are suppose to be banned. It was frightening to see how close they can come to other water traffic.

These things are just too big. Starting in November, the biggest are suppose to be banned. It was frightening to see how close they can come to other water traffic.

Click any image below to see a slideshow.

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Motown, Italy

7 Apr
We made a mistake when we visited Torino: we didn’t stay long enough. The trip was a celebration for Ric’s birthday and the goal was to take the longest train trip possible from Rome on a high-speed Frecciarosso.  Torino was a match for that plan, 4 ½ hours each direction, so we set out on the morning of Ric’s birthday expecting to find a pleasant enough city, have a good dinner, then another long train ride back to Rome on Sunday.
No driver! Passengers are free to observe the "view" of a clean tunnel as the train whizzes along.

No driver! Passengers are free to observe the “view” of a clean tunnel as the train whizzes along.

The train is such a joy! Faced with a 4 ½ hour flight I want to slit my wrists, but 4 ½ hours on the train facing my sweetie across the convenient table, gazing out the window, with time to read, nap, and surf the internet, is so fine! The stewards come by with coffee and little snacks, and of course there’s a bar car for light meals and wine. Certainly beats flying.
Torino is indeed a pleasant city. Much of it is new-ish due to heavy damage in WWII, but the predominant architectural style is Baroque. It was the first capital of reunified Italy in 1861 and home of Italy’s royal family, the House of Savoy. Today it is “Motown, Italy:” the headquarters of Fiat, Lancia, Iveco, and Alfa Romeo are here.
With only an afternoon and evening to explore, we had to make a
Happy passenger in the Torino Metro.

Happy passenger in the Torino Metro.

smart choice. After a quick lunch, Ric chose the  Museo Nazionale dell’Automobile (The National Automobile Museum) as our first stop. I was prepared to be bored, but hey, it was his birthday so the agenda belonged to him. After all he succumbed to my whims for my 5-day birthday celebration last month.
The first pleasant surprise was the Metrotorino: sleek, modern, Habittrail-like, no graffiti, no crowding, no noise…and no driver! Metrotorino whisked us to within a short walk of the museum. Boredom was not the emotion I felt upon entering. This is an amazingly well-curated exhibit of over 200 vehicles in 200,000 square feet! The collection includes an 1896 Bernardi and an 1899 Fiat, as well as cars by Rolls Royce, Peugeot, Ferrari, Alfa Romeo, Benz, Oldsmobile, and more. There are Formula One cars, family cars, a mock assembly line, films, WWII vehicles, models, perspective on the changing world of automotive transport, man-machine interaction, etc.
I decided the tube the Metro runs in resembles the hamster set up Derek used to have, a Habittrail.

I decided the tube the Metro runs in resembles the hamster set up Derek used to have, a Habittrail.

I thought the Museo Nazionale dell’Automobile would be a bust and was amazingly surprised. I had looked forward to the Museo Nazionale del Cinema  in the Mole Antonelliana. While it certainly documents the development of film, it was a bit heavy on old equipment and artifacts from the earliest days of the cinema. The building itself is fabulous. As we were there at night, and a rainy one at that, we skipped the panoramic elevator noting we need to return on a clear day.
Click any picture below for a slide show featuring some of the exhibits in the Museo Nazionale dell’Automobile. 
And on that note, we really do need to return to Torino. We missed the Egyptian Museum, the Baroque and Rococo palazzi , not to mention the gardens and shopping. The food was excellent and for our single dinner in the city we were fortunate to select Sotto la Mole. It is very small and intimate with a limited menu, beautifully prepared and served.
Ghost Bike detail

Ghost Bike detail

Ghost Bike sculpture in Torino

Ghost Bike sculpture in Torino

Torino is at the foot of the Alps, close to the French border, and the Piemonte Region is well-known for its food and wine. The Alps here beckon for summer exploration, so we will be back and spend more time in Torino on the way. 

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Villa Borghese goes New Jersey

5 Apr
I traverse Villa Borghese almost every night on my way home from work. In fact I traverse it almost every morning too. It’s a very nice commute.  Last night, in the  pleasant light of the 6 o’clock hour, I happened upon an odd scene: two old cars and a group of strangely dressed people milling about.  Cars are not allowed in this part of the park, and these were clearly 60’s era and not in good shape. The people were dressed in a style befitting conservative working-class Americans of the era: purses, hairdos, men’s jackets all reflective of my childhood. As I approached it became clear I had happened upon a movie set, not uncommon around Rome. I passed the scene then turned to look back for a photo op and this is what I saw:
Where the heck are we?

Where the heck are we?

I have no idea what movie is being filmed.  I think the scene is supposed to look like a couple of cars have broken down or had an incident in the New Jersey woods. Perhaps one of my Italy-based readers can tell me what movie it might be.
Actors - note the hairstyle of the guy on the right. I wish I'd gotten a shot of the women: headscarves, handbags and up-dos.

Actors – note the hairstyle of the guy on the right, I wish I’d gotten a shot of the women: headscarves, handbags and up-dos.

Distant shot of the set

Distant shot of the set

One of the vintage cars on the set in Villa Borghese.

One of the vintage cars on the set in Villa Borghese.

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