Best of Italy

Love Letters - Pietro Bembo to Lucrezia Borgia

noreply@blogger.com (Mirella Sichirollo Patzer) — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 07:37:00 +0000

Lucrezia Borgia was the daughter of the Spanish Cardinal, Rodrigo Borgia, who later became Pope Alexander VI. Much scandal regarding incest and murder surrounds her. She entered into a passionate affair with Pietro Bembo, (1470-1547), a respected poet and scholar who became a Cardinal in the Vatican who became enraptured by her.

Born of an aristocratic Venetian family, Pietro Bembo wrote many adoring poems to Lucrezia, and they carried on a long correspondence that continued well after they parted. Theirs was an affair of great affection and respect.

Venice
October 18, 1503

Eight days have passed since I parted from f.f., and already it is as though I had been eight years away from her, although I can avow that not one hour has passed without her memory which has become such a close companion to my thoughts that now more than ever is it the food and sustenance of my soul; and if it should endure like this a few days more, as seems it must, I truly believe it will in every way have assumed the office of my soul, and I shall then live and thrive on the memory of her as do other men upon their souls, and I shall have no life but in this single thought. Let the God who so decrees do as he will, so long as in exchange I may have as much a part of her as shall suffice to prove the gospel of our affinity is founded on true prophecy. Often I find myself recalling, and with what ease, certain words spoken to me, some on the balcony with the moon as witness, others at that window I shall always look upon so gladly, with all the many endearing and gracious acts I have seen my gentle lady perform--for all are dancing about my heart with a tenderness so wondrous that they inflame me with a strong desire to beg her to test the quality of my love. For I shall never rest content until I am certain she knows what she is able to enact in me and how great and strong is the fire that her great worth has kindled in my breast. The flame of true love is a mighty force, and most of all when two equally matched wills in two exalted minds contend to see which loves the most, each striving to give yet more vital proof...It would be the greatest delight for me to see just two lines in f.f.'s hand, yet I dare not ask so much. May your Ladyship beseech her to perform whatever you feel is best for me. With my heart I kiss your Ladyship's hand, since I cannot with my lips.

San Nicola - Italy's Original Santa Claus

noreply@blogger.com (Mirella Sichirollo Patzer) — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 17:36:00 +0000

Saint Nicholas (270 A.D. to 346 A.D.) was really Nicholas of Myra, a saint and bishop in Turkey. Many miracles have been attributed to him. He is also known as Nicholas the Wonderworker. He had a reputation for secret gift-giving, such as putting coins in the shoes of those who left them out for him. Because of this, he became the model for Santa Claus. After his death, his relics were brought to Bari. That is why is also known as Nicholas of Bari.

Saint Nicholas is the patron saint of sailors, merchants, archrs, and children. For his help to the poor, Nicholas is the patron saint of pawnbrokers; the three gold balls traditionally hung outside a pawnshop symbolize the three sacks of gold.

He was born into wealth, and using his inheritance, would give anonymous gifts. People began to suspect he was the gift giver. After he died, people in the region continued to give to the poor anonymously, and such gifts were still often attributed to Saint Nicholas. How many of us initiate a Secret Santa project in our work places and schools?

His original tomb can be found the Basilica of Saint Nicholas in Myra in Turkey, but the Italians acquired his relics in the 11th century. Some say his relics were taken by thiefs or pirates. Others believe they were taken in response to a vision by which Saint Nicholas himself appeared and commanded that his relics be moved in order to preserve them from an impending Muslim conquest.At the tomb of Saint Nicholas in Bari, some observers have reported seeing myrrh exude from his relics and when using this myrrh for annointing, resulted in numerous miracles. Vials of myrrh from his relics have been taken all over the world for centuries, and can still be obtained from his church in Bari. Currently at Bari, there are two churches at his shrine, one Roman Catholic and one Orthodox.

There is also a Venetian legend that most of the relics were actually taken to Venice (where a great church to St. Nicholas, the patron of sailors, was built on the Lido), and only an arm was left at Bari. This tradition was overturned in the 1950s when a scientific investigation of the relics in Bari revealed a largely intact skeleton.

In Myra, the relics of Saint Nicholas exuded a clear watery liquid which smells like rose water, called manna (or myrrh), which is believed by the faithful to possess miraculous powers. After the relics were brought to Bari, they continued to do so, much to the joy of the new owners. Even up to the present day, a flask of manna is extracted from the tomb of Saint Nicholas every year on December 6th (the Saint's feast day) by the clergy of the basilica. It is however worth noting that the actual relics are entombed several feet below the floor, at sea level in a harbor town, so the occurrence of watery liquid may be explained by several theories. However, this does not stop many believers from holding to the presence of the liquid being a miraculous manifestation..

One legend surrounding Saint Nicholas tells of how a terrible famine struck and a malicious butcher lured three little children into his house, where he slaughtered and butchered them, placing their remains in a barrel to cure, planning to sell them off as ham. Saint Nicholas, visiting the region to care for the hungry, not only saw through the butcher's horrific crime but also resurrected the three boys from the barrel by his prayers. Another version of this story, possibly formed around the eleventh century, claims that the butcher's victims were instead three clerks who wished to stay the night. The man murdered them, and was advised by his wife to dispose of them by turning them into meat pies. The Saint saw through this and brought the men back to life.

The most famous legend, however, describes a poor man who had three daughters, but could not afford a proper dowry for them. This meant that they would remain unmarried and probably, in absence of any other possible employment would have to become prostitutes. Hearing of the poor man's plight, Nicholas decided to help him but being too modest to help the man in public, (or to save the man the humiliation of accepting charity), he went to his house under the cover of night and threw three purses (one for each daughter) filled with gold coins through the window opening into the man's house. One version has him throwing one purse for three consecutive nights. Another has him throw the purses over a period of three years, each time the night before one of the daughters comes "of age". The third time the father lies in wait, trying to discover the identity of their benefactor. In one version the father confronts the saint, only to have Saint Nicholas say it is not him he should thank, but God alone. In another version, Nicholas learns of the poor man's plan and drops the third bag down the chimney instead; a variant holds that the daughter had washed her stockings that evening and hung them over the embers to dry, and that the bag of gold fell into the stocking.

The Roman Catholic Church has allowed for one scientific survey of the bones. In the late 1950s, during a restoration of the chapel, it permitted a team of hand-picked scientists to photograph and measure the contents of the crypt grave. In the summer of 2005, the report of these measurements was sent to a forensic laboratory in England. The review of the data revealed that the historical St. Nicholas was barely five feet in height (while not exactly small, still shorter than average, even for his time) and had a broken nose.

Among the Greeks and Italians he is a favourite of sailors, fishermen, ships and sailing. As such he has become over time the patron saint of several cities maintaining harbours.

Today, Saint Nicholas is still celebrated as a great gift-giver. Medieval nuns used the night of December 6 to anonymously deposit baskets of food and clothes at the doorsteps of the needy. Also in medieval times, on December 6 sailors and ex-sailors would flock to the harbour towns for church celebrations. On the way back they would stop at one of the various Nicholas fairs to buy some goods, gifts for their loved ones and invariably some little presents for their children. While the real gifts would only be presented at Christmas, the little presents for the children were given right away, courtesy of Saint Nicholas. This and his miracle of resurrecting the three butchered children, made Saint Nicholas a patron saint of children and students as well.

In Roman Catholic iconography, Saint Nicholas is depicted as a bishop, wearing the insignia of this dignity: a red bishop's cloak, a red miter and a bishop's crozier.

The episode with the three dowries is commemorated by showing him holding in his hand either three purses, three coins or three balls of gold.

Depending on whether he is depicted as patron saint of children or sailors, his images will be completed by a background showing ships, children or three figures climbing out of a wooden barrel (the three slaughtered children he resurrected).

Saint Nicholas (San Nicola) is the patron of the city of Bari, where he is buried. Its deeply felt celebration is called the Festa di San Nicola, held on the 7-8-9 of May. On May 8, his relics are carried on a boat on the sea in front of the city with many boats following (Festa a mare). On December 6 there is a ritual called the Rito delle nubili. The same tradition is currently observed in Sassari, where during the day of Saint Nicholas, patron of the city, gifts are given to young brides who need help before getting married.

In Trieste St. Nicholas (San Nicolò) is celebrated with gifts given to children on the morning of the 6th of December and with a fair called Fiera di San Nicolò during the first weeks of December. Depending on the cultural background, in some families this celebration is more important than Christmas. Trieste is a city on the sea, being one of the main ports of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and is influenced mainly by Italian, Slovenian and German cultures, but also Greek and Serbian.

Alessandro Cagliostra - 18th Century Count

noreply@blogger.com (Mirella Sichirollo Patzer) — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 16:57:00 +0000

Count Alessandro di Cagliostro (2 June 1743 – 26 August 1795) was the alias for the occultist Giuseppe Balsamo (also called Joseph Balsamo), an Italian adventurer. Alessandro Cagliostra was born to a poor family in Albergheria, which was once the old Jewish Quarter of Palermo, Sicily. Despite his family's precarious financial situation, his grandfather and uncles made sure he received a solid education, He was taught by a tutor and later became a novice in the Catholic Order of St. John of God, from which he was eventually expelled.

During his period as a novice in the order, he learned chemistry as well as a series of spiritual rites. In 1764, when he was seventeen, he convinced Vincenzo Marano, a wealthy goldsmith, of the existence of a hidden treasure buried several hundred years prior at Mount Pellegrino. Alessandro's knowledge of the occult, Marano reasoned, would be valuable in preventing them from being attacked by magical creatures guarding the treasure. In preparation for the expedition to Mount Pellegrino, however, Cagliostra requested seventy pieces of silver from Marano.

When the time came for the two to dig up the supposed treasure, Cagliostra attacked Marano, who was left bleeding and wondering what had happened to the boy—in his mind, the beating he had been subjected to had been the work of djinns. The next day, Marano paid a visit to Cagliostra's house in via Perciata (since then renamed via Conte di Cagliostro), where he learned the young man had left the city. Cagliostra, accompanied by two accomplices, had fled to the city of Messina. By 1765–66, Cagliostra found himself on the island of Malta, where he became an auxiliary for the Sovereign Military Order of Malta and a skilled pharmacist.

Cagliostro claimed to be the son of the Prince and Princess of the Anatolian Christian Kingdom of Trebizond, orphaned and reared by the Grand Master of the Knights of Malta and, for several years, in the household of the Sheriff of Medina, who raised him as a Christian.

In early 1768 Cagliostra left for Rome, where he worked as a secretary to Cardinal Orsini. The job proved boring and he soon started leading a double life, selling magical "Egyptian" amulets and engravings pasted on boards and painted over to look like paintings. Of the many Sicilian expatriates and ex-convicts he met during this period, one introduced him to a fourteen-year-old girl named Lorenza Seraphina Feliciani, whom he married.
The couple moved in with Lorenza's parents and her brother in the vicolo delle Cripte, adjacent to the strada dei Pellegrini. Cagliostra's coarse language and the way he incited her to display her body contrasted deeply with her parents' deep rooted religious beliefs. After a heated discussion, the young couple left.

At this point Cagliostra befriended Agliata, a forger and swindler, who taught him how to use his talent for drawing to his advantage. This meant he would teach him how to forge letters, diplomas and a myriad of other official documents. In return, though, he sought sexual intercourse with Balsamo's young wife, a request to which he acquiesced.

The couple traveled together to London, where he supposedly met the Comte de Saint-Germain. He traveled throughout Europe, especially to Courland, Russia, Poland, Germany, and later France. His fame grew to the point that he was even recommended as a physician to Benjamin Franklin during a stay in Paris.

He was prosecuted in the affair of the diamond necklace which involved Marie Antoinette and Prince Louis de Rohan, and was held in the Bastille for nine months but finally acquitted, when no evidence could be found connecting him to the affair. Nonetheless, he was asked to leave France, and departed for England. Here he was accused by Theveneau de Morande of being Giuseppe Balsamo, which he denied in his published Open Letter to the English People, forcing a retraction and apology from Morande.

Cagliostro left England to visit Rome, where he met two people who proved to be spies of the Inquisition. Some accounts hold that his wife was the one who initially betrayed him to the Inquisition. On 27 December 1789, he was arrested and imprisoned in the Castel Sant'Angelo. Soon afterwards he was sentenced to death on the charge of being a Freemason. The Pope changed his sentence, however, to life imprisonment in the Castel Sant'Angelo. After attempting to escape he was relocated to the Fortress of San Leo where he died not long after.

He was an extraordinary forger. Giacomo Casanova, in his autobiography, narrates an encounter with Cagliostro who was able to forge a letter of Casanova despite being unable to understand it.

Occult historian Lewis Spence comments in his entry on Cagliostro that the swindler put his finagled wealth to good use by starting and funding a chain of maternity hospitals and orphanages around the continent.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alessandro_Cagliostro

A Bloody Good Cruise by Diana Rubino

noreply@blogger.com (Mirella Sichirollo Patzer) — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 14:10:00 +0000

Who doesn’t want to board an Italian luxury cruise ship and sail down the west coast of Italy? That’s what romance author, Mona Rossi, believes and so she organizes such a voyage for her fellow colleagues of the romance fiction industry.

Now, Mona isn’t your typical romance author. A woman of Italian heritage, she is in love with a handsome, stalwart, vampire named Fausto Silvius, who wants to make her his wife. But Mona isn’t certain she wants to enter into a life of vampirism, even if eternal life is one of the benefits. As the cruise departs, treachery plagues Fausto and Mona in the form of a husband and wife team of vampire hunters.

Murder and mayhem and, of course, blood drinking soon ensues. Trouble in the form of Fausto’s ex-wife adds conflict. And who is this terrible ex-wife? Why Lucrezia Borgia herself, who follows her vampire husband through the centuries and refuses to relinquish her claim of him!

In this light-hearted, often comical, paranormal romance, Diana Rubino spices up the pages with sprinklings of her southern Italian backgrounds. From the Catholic Church to rings of garlic, from nefarious members of the mafia to olio e aglio pasta, she truly brings a strong Italian flavour to this novel. Plenty of passionate love scenes add spice to the story.

A Bloody Good Cruise is an entertaining tale with a contemporary, unique plot and zany, colourful characters.

Quel Mazzolin di Fiori

noreply@blogger.com (Mirella Sichirollo Patzer) — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 22:20:00 +0000

Some of my earliest memories are of this beautiful Alpini song. I remember after weddings or family get togethers, entire tables of people singing and harmonizing this song, while staff urgently cleared tables around us.

My uncle, Pietro Basso, comes from near the Bassano della Grappa region of Italy. My father, Dolfino Sichirollo, is also from the area around Venice, and so these songs were popular in their paese.

It is definitely a mountain song, traditional to the Alpine soldiers there. The words are so simple, yet so beautiful, their poignancy stirs emotions every time I listen to it.

It brings back some of the happiest memories of my childhood. It is such a poignant song and I was thrilled to find a version of it on You Tube for your enjoyment.

Now I will sit back and let this beautiful song transport me into the past.

A Soldier Away From Home

noreply@blogger.com (Mirella Sichirollo Patzer) — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 19:18:00 +0000

A SOLDIER AWAY FROM HOME

Written by Glen Gregory Kelly at the age of 11

As I run across the fields of grey,
Will I make it, I hope, I pray.

And now and then I think of home.
The beautiful streets I used to roam.

The house I built by the sea,
There a child waits for me.

A loving mother by her side,
Along the beach we used to stride.

But now I know my uneasy fate.
As I listen,
watch,
and wait.

About Glenn Gregory Kelly
Glenn Gregory Kelly is a young poet and burgeoning author from Calgary, Alberta, Canada. His first work, "A Soldier Away From Home, was written for Remembrance Day and published at age 11. Glenn believes his poetry and literary works are inspired by the beauty that is found in everyday life, expressed by the subtle eb and flow of language.

Those of you who know me, are aware that the Battle of the Moro River near Villa San Leonardo in Abruzzi Italy occurred amidst my maternal grandfather's grapevines, land my family still owns and cherishes today. Due to my grandfather's diligence, his entire family survived the bombing of their home and the warfare in their back yard by fleeing to nearby caves that flanked the banks of the Moro River. There they lived for 8 long, hungry months, surviving on the charity of Canadian and U.S. soldiers and whatever else they could forage from the land.

When I first heard this poem, it moved me deeply, especially because the young talent behind it was only 11 years old when he wrote it. I am grateful to him for allowing me to publish it on my blog.

By virtue of this poem, and in honor of Rememberance Day, we pay homage to the many civilians and soldiers who found themselves together in such a tiny, unlikely village in cold rainy month of November of 1943.

My sincerest thanks to Glenn Gregory Kelly, who willingly allowed me to publish his beautiful words and to permit me to use it in my own, personal way on behalf of my family. It is a priceless gift and a wonderful treasure, a fitting tribute to the valiant.

We shall never forget.

Sacred Hearts by Sarah Dunant

noreply@blogger.com (Mirella Sichirollo Patzer) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 17:40:00 +0000

Ever since I was a child, I've been fascinated with women who choose to live a life of seclusion and sacrifice in a convent or monastery. So when I saw this novel by Sarah Dunant, one of my favourite authors, I immediately ordered it.

The novel explores how many women were forced to enter monasteries in Renaissance Italy, and its effects on the cloister and the individuals who lived therein. Meticulously researched, I found the entire novel fascinating. It is a tale well told and one I will definitely keep on my book shelf as an all time favourite.

The making of a Ferrari

noreply@blogger.com (Mirella Sichirollo Patzer) — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 16:08:00 +0000

Who hasn't dreamed of owning or driving a Ferrari these days? I certainly have. I stumbled across this video on the making of a Ferrari and thought it would be fun to share it with you. As usual, the Italians never do anything half-well. Their attention to detail and meticulousness is evident here.

The Miracles of Santo Fico by D.L. Smith

noreply@blogger.com (Mirella Sichirollo Patzer) — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 11:34:00 +0000

I just finished reading this novel last night. It's a wonderful, heartwarming story of Tuscany and the people in a tiny forgotten village. I loved this story for its brilliant characters and the emotions it draws from you as you read it. A gentle, comfortable read, the authors prose is brilliant and often humorous.

Back Cover Blurb:

A magical story of love...and miracles.
After twenty years, Leo Pizzola has come back to the Tuscan village of Santo Fico, still single and still looking for a way to get rich. The town is as poor as it was when Leo left, yet some things have changed. Of Leo's childhood companions, only little guido whom everyone calls "Topo," embraces him. His best friend is long dead. The woman he once adored refuses to talk to him. And worse of all, the kindly old town priest seems to have lost his faith. Perhaps what Santo Fico needs is a miracle - even if Leo and Topo have to manufacture one themselves. Now, as one botched scheme after another unravels, something completely unexpected happens, and wonders indeed begin to transform this Italian town, including the greatest miracle of all.

Published around the world, this debut novel sparkles with the Italian spirit and emotions that will dance off the page and into your heart.

The First Line:

Sleep was the enemy.

Mafia - Death by Crocodile

noreply@blogger.com (Mirella Sichirollo Patzer) — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 15:37:00 +0000

How would you like to be invited to dinner and then find out that you are the dinner. Well, that's exactly what happened to a few unsuspecting businessmen invited over for dinner by a local Mafia boss in Italy.

While searching for weapons at the home of this particularly hard-nosed mob boss, the anti-Mafia police squad stumbled upon a Caiman crocodile on the man's terrace. The creature weighed 88 pounds and was almost 6 feet in length. The mob boss kept the croc well-fed on a diet of live rabbits and mice. Apparently, the mob boss would take his invited guests up to the terrace and threaten to set the beast loose on them if they didn’t pay him extortion money and give him whatever favours he requested. Nice!

That particular species of crocodile originates from South America. No one knows how the man managed to smuggle the creature into Italy, although I'm sure the Italian police will try to find that out. Needless to say, charges are pending.

The creativity of the Mafia is often shocking. I once learned of a man who was told by the mafia to kill himself or be killed by them. The man did as told and dived headfirst into a well.

Mukka Express

noreply@blogger.com (Mirella Sichirollo Patzer) — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 14:46:00 +0000

Okay, so I got my Mukka Express in the mail this week. To tell you the truth, when I first opened up the package, I felt a little intimidated. This is because of the DVD that came enclosed with it. Having made espresso all my life with a stove top Moka, also from Bialetti, needing a DVD to make a coffee did scare me somewhat.

So I watched the DVD and followed the instructions to the letter. For ceran top stoves, it recommended setting the heat to medium-high, which I did, and it said it should take 5 to 10 minutes to brew. It also recommended slightly more water and slightly more milk. However, stoves differ and I must have a super fast one, because in less than 2 minutes, it had brewed and spewed milk out over my stove.

Even so, the capuccino was pretty darn good. In fact, they say that you should just make espresso in the maker for the first 3 times and discard it because the coffee won't taste very good.

So today, I tried again, this time with the lower minimum setting for the water and the milk. And I kept the heat down to a medium. It worked splendidly and I'm enjoying a nice mug of capuccino right now.

So far so good. I know it will take a few days to get it just right. Making capuccino from the Mukka Express is a little more delicate and fussy, but I think once I get it right, it will become a daily habit.

Pope Joan by Donna Woolfolk Cross

noreply@blogger.com (Mirella Sichirollo Patzer) — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 16:03:00 +0000

Synopsis:

For a thousand years her existence has been denied. She is the legend that will not die - Pope Jon, the ninth century woman who disguised herself as a man and rose to become the only female ever to sit on the throne of St. Peter. Now in this riveting novel, Donna Woolfolk Cross paints a sweeping portrait of an unforgettable heroine who struggles against restrictions her soul cannot accept.

Brilliant and talented, young Joan rebels against medieval social strictures forbidding women to learn. When her brother is brutally killed during a Viking attack, Joan takes up his cloak - and his identity - and enters the monastery of Fulda. As Brother John Angelicus, Joan distinguishes herself as a great scholar and healer. Eventually, she is drawn to Rome, where she becomes enmeshed in a dangerous web of love, passion, and politics. Triumphing over appalling odds, she finally attains the highest office in Christendom - wielding a power greater than any woman before or since. But such power always comes at a price.

In this international best seller, Cross brings the Dark Ages to life in all their brutal splendour and shares the dramatic story of a woman whose strength of vision led her to defy the social restrictions of her day.

Opening sentence - Prologue:

It was the twenty-eighth day of Wintarmanoth in the year of our Lord 814, the harshest winter in living memory.

Opening sentence - Chapter One:

Thunder sounded, very near, and the child awoke. She moved in the bed, seeing the warmth and comfort of her older brothers' sleeping forms. Then she remembered. Her brothers were gone.

Pope Joan is one of those remarkable novels that evokes images of a spectacular time and period. Pope Joan's achievements, in the face of social oppression against women punishable by death, are remarkable, even in today's world. How a impoverished child, abused, ignored, and trod upon, achieved the greatest throne in Christendom is truly a marvel. But that is not the only reason why this story is so endearing. It is the impeccable research and details into the Dark Ages that makes this novel resound with vibrancy.

The novel is rich with intrigue, murderous plots, deadly secrets, adversity, religious zealots, and power mongers. Add to this, a secondary plot of love and loss, and you have a tale that is truly riveting. It is no wonder the novel will soon be made into a major motion picture.

Cappuccino with the Bialetti Mukka Express

noreply@blogger.com (Mirella Sichirollo Patzer) — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 17:41:00 +0000

The Italians have done it again! They've invented a simplied way to make a cappuccino! I learned about the Bialetti Mukka Express from a colleage of mine, Lucy Bertoldi the owner of one of my favourite blogs, Enchanted by Josephine at http://www.enchantedbyjosephine.blogspot.com. She emailed me the information and I immediately went online. I couldn't resist ordering it. Now I can't wait for it to be shipped so I can try it out.

Here is the video advertisement:

Italy's Anglo-Italiano Invasion

noreply@blogger.com (Mirella Sichirollo Patzer) — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 04:45:00 +0000

I recently read an article written by an English gentleman who works for a company dealing in Italian Real Estate. He congenially allowed me to share his entertaining view on Anglo Italian colloquialisms with my readers. I hope you enjoy his article as much as I did.

* * * * *

Brits don’t do other languages very well – which perhaps explains why we spent centuries making the rest of the world speak ours.

As a 40-something-year-old Englishman, the four years I’ve spent trying to master Italian haven’t been the easiest. At times I’ve half-wished that a couple of hundred years ago we stopped off in Italy to colonise that too.

Low points that still make me shudder? Confusing ho scoperto (“I discovered”) with ho scopato (“I ******”). It was only our second meeting – but I hope my future mom-in-law guessed what I was trying to say. Don’t even get me started on the time I tried to ask a waitress in Forte dei Marmi about leaving la mancia (the tip)…but instead asked her what to do about la minchia (a crude term for penis).

So with all I’ve gone through to learn the world’s most romantic language, it’s a slap in the face to see half of Italy now hell-bent on replacing it with an ugly hotch-potch of Italian and English.

Looking for somewhere to stay on that vacation to Venice? If gli hotel are fully booked, lo staff might suggest un bed and breakfast. Staying in town for longer? Try un loft with un big open-space or un residence. In between sightseeing, you can fare lo shopping at un shopping centre nearby – full of i fashion outlet and i discount shop.

Among the worst offenders are the media – with le news that i VIP and le showgirl have been using il private jet di Silvio Berlusconi to attend i party at his mansion – where the Italian Prime Minister allegedly slept with una sexy escort.

It’s not the first time he’s made un gaffe and the scandal has left il feeling between il tycoon and his voters at an all-time low. No wonder he’s complaining about lo stress and il suo privacy.

Following il summit di G8 in Italy – attended by altri leader such as Barack Obama and le first ladies – Berlusconi has called un meeting of his cabinet to tie up un nuovo budget. But a newspaper has un gran scoop – during un briefing, Berlusconi blamed Il Ministro del Welfare for the budget hitting un record.

Some trade unionists have gathered outside to hurl gli slogan and to put uno stop to his proposals. But Berlusconi’s more concerned about what they think in il settore dei business. That and un nuovo poll showing most Italians think his fiscal plans will be un flop.

Or perhaps you’re more interested in soccer? La Gazzetta dello Sport has a report on il derby at il weekend between i due club di Milan, Inter and AC Milan. I fans couldn’t buy i ticket as il match era sold-out. David Beckham was il matchwinner for AC Milan a goal from un corner. It led to scuffles among gli hooligan, which gli steward soon sorted out. Leonardo, il mister di AC Milan, was simply relieved to have won.

Even worse are the beauty and gossip magazines, where you learn Madonna non è piu single and now has un nuovo boyfriend. She and il suo partner have been holidaying in un resort. Or read about Victoria Beckham – reputed to be una snob – wolfing down un snack while il suo bodyguard eats un sandwich.

A few pages on, una showgirl from un reality show is sipping i cocktail in un bar. She later enjoyed a spot of il clubbing before going home with un pop star from un boyband.

But is it really that difficult to say albergo instead of hotel, va bene, not OK, spuntino rather than snack?

Last year the Dante Alighieri Society began a campaign to limit the use of English in Italian. They’ve got their work cut out, now that Anglo-Italiano is il nuovo trend…

******************************************************

Ainsley Okoro works for the property for sale in Italy website Homes and Villas Abroad.com and specialises in Calabria property and Tuscany property.

Bread, Olive Oil and Grapes

noreply@blogger.com (Mirella Sichirollo Patzer) — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 04:44:00 +0000

Ah, the memories of summer. When I was a child, my mother used to often interrupt our play to bring us snacks. She made bread once a week and on that day, she would slice a fresh loaf, spread it with a light brushing of olive oil and a tiny bit of salt. Then she would either slice grapes on top of it or bring the grapes to us in a small side dish.

I can't tell you what it is about this snack, but the three ingredients together are outstanding. It is a marriage of taste that explodes on your tastebuds.

To this day, I make myself this snack, even though it's never as good as my mom used to make.

But it's healthy and simple and quick. It's a wonderful taste of Italy that is sure to impress!

Panettone (Bread Machine)

noreply@blogger.com (Mirella Sichirollo Patzer) — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 04:43:00 +0000

Panettone is a traditional Italian bread that is most prevalent during Christmas and Easter. My mother's kitchen always emitted the beautiful aroma of this bread before these holidays and she would make them to give away as gifts to friends and neighbors.

Here is my favourite recipe for the breadmaker.

3 1/2 cups flour
1/4 cup golden raisins
1/4 cup candied mixed peel and citron
1/2 cup milk
3 eggs beaten
2 egg yolks beaten
1/2 cup butter softened
1 teaspoon anise extract
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 teaspoons each of grated orange and lemon peel
2 teaspoons yeast

Mix 1 tbsp of the flour with raisins, candied peel and citron. Add milk, eggs, butter, anise, sugar, salt, orange and lemon peels in bread machine pan or proceed as per manufacturer's instructions. Turn on machine and set to normal/basic bread setting, choosing light colour setting if available. Sprinkl reserved fruit mixture into machine when fruit alarm sounds or just as second kneading is ending. Makes one 1 1/2 lb. loaf.

The Silent Duchess by Dacia Maraini

noreply@blogger.com (Mirella Sichirollo Patzer) — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 04:42:00 +0000

Winner of the Premio Campiello (Italy's equivalent of the National Book Award)

I'm always excited to get my hands on translated Italian novels. I stumbled across this book while surfing an on-line book store. So I ordered it and just finished reading it the other night.

The writing is beautiful and very, very rich with details. The story is compelling and entertaining. It is no wonder it won Italy's most prestigious literary award.

Here is the cover blurb synopsis:

Winner of the Premio Campiello (Italy's equivalent of the National Book Award), short-listed for the Independent Foreign Fiction Award upon its first English-language publication in the U.K., and published to critical acclaim in fourteen languages, this mesmerizing historical novel by one of Italy's premier women writers is available in the United States for the first time.

Set in Sicily in the early eighteenth century, The Silent Duchess is the story of Marianna Ucrìa, the daughter of an aristocratic family and the victim of a mysterious childhood trauma that has left her deaf and mute, trapped in a world of silence. Set apart from the world by her disability, Marianna searches for knowledge and fulfillment in a society where women face either forced marriages and endless childbearing or a life of renunciation within the walls of a convent. When she is just thirteen years old, Marianna is forced to marry her own aging uncle. Her status and wealth as a duchess cannot protect her from many of the horrors of that time: she witnesses her mother's decline due to her addiction to opium and snuff and her father's cruelly misguided religious piety as he participates in the hanging of a young boy. She watches helplessly as her four-year-old son dies of smallpox and her youngest daughter is married off at the age of twelve. It is not until the death of her "uncle-husband" that Marianna at last gains freedom from her life of subservience: she learns to manage her estates and to love a man as she had never loved her husband, and she also learns of the unspeakable events that led to her lifelong silence. In luminous language that conveys both the keen visual sight and thedeep human insight possessed by her remarkable main character, Dacia Maraini captures the splendor and the corruption of Marianna's world and the strength of her spirit. The Silent Duchess is the timeless story of one woman's struggle to find her own voice after years of silence.

Interview with Diane Hales - Author of La Bella Lingua

noreply@blogger.com (Mirella Sichirollo Patzer) — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 04:42:00 +0000

Welcome, I’m so glad to have this opportunity to chat with you. Can you share with my readers the essence of your book and why you penned it?

Twenty-some years ago I started studying Italian simply to be able to speak with Italians on our travels. I never expected to fall in love with the language, but I did. La Bella Lingua celebrates this love by recounting the adventurous tale of how Italian became Italian, civilized the West and enriched every aspect of culture and life.

You’ve chosen a very interesting title. What inspired the title? What inspired the book?

“La Bella Lingua” means the beautiful language, and that’s how I view Italian. I worked as a journalist for many years, and I know a great story when I see one. The story of Italian has everything: history, drama, courageous heroes, beautiful women, music, art, fashion, food and, of course, love! I couldn’t resist telling it.

What makes this book special to you?

It’s a true opera amorosa, or labor of love. I’ve written dozens of trade and text books but none has meant so much—or brought such joy and satisfaction to my life.

What makes this a book that people MUST read and WHY?

There’s a bit of Italian in every soul—the part that loves passionately, that appreciates beauty, good food, friends and family, that lives in and savors the moment. This is a book for your inner Italian. Even if you never visit Italy and never say so much as “ciao!”, if you love pizza, pasta or just an armchair adventure you’ll find something to love in La Bella Lingua .

What sparks your creativity? Any tips to help others spark their own creativity?

I interviewed a lawyer-turned-chef in Florence and asked her what had sparked her passion for food. “Signora,” she said, “we do not so much choose our passions as much as they choose us.” Italian seized my imagination and my heart. I would say open yourself up to a wide range of experiences and pursue the one that stirs you the most.

What has been the biggest stumbling block in your writing? Can you share some tips to help others get past similar problems?

At times I thought I was “tutta matta” (completely crazy) to write about a language other than my own. Italian, as many of you know, is easy to love but hard to learn, so I struggled mightily to master it. Yet, as with any other obstacle, I found help by turning to experts for guidance and support—and by simply persevering day by day, treating every iota of progress as a victory.

Tell me about the most unusual things you have done to promote your book?

Well, I haven’t done it yet, but I bought a shower curtain decorated with Italian words, and I plan to offer it as a prize for an online contest. Any takers?

Each author is different in the way they write. Please describe for us the steps you took to plan your book.

First, I had to study Italian -- not just its grammar and vocabulary but its history. In addition to years of classes, I worked with a private tutor in San Francisco and took a course in the history of Italian at the Societa Dante Alighieri in Florence. Since I’m trained as a journalist, I then followed the steps I use for articles and books: I identified authoritative sources and interviewed them. All the while I kept reading everything I could about every aspect of the language.

Authors are very unique in the way they write, the tools they use, when they write, etc. Please describe a typical writing day for you? How do you organize your day?

My best writing days are in Italy. I let my husband sleep in and creep down the stairs to the matchbox kitchen of the summer house we rent each year. I make myself an espresso as my pet cat (yes, she lives here) begs to be petted and fed. Then she and I go up a lovely flower-lined path to the little cottage where I write. It’s like Butterfly’s house in the opera, with a long porch open to the sky and a view of the sea. I set up my laptop on a rickety wooden table and write for several hours. My husband comes up mid-morning with cappuccino and biscotti. Then I write only lunchtime. The rest of the day I swim, walk, talk, explore, etc.

In California, I simply go down to my office, turn on the computer and start plugging away. When I run into a dead end, I fantasize about being back in my casetta in Italy.

What is your current work in progress?  

When I got here ten days ago, I thought I’d never have another book idea. But the atmosphere here is so nourishing that my husband describes it as amniotic fluid. In this creative womb, sure enough, I’ve found inspiration. The idea is too fragile and new for me to dare put it out in the world. But it will be about Italy, I assure you.

Can you tell us where to find more information about you and your books and how readers can reach you?  

Yes, please visit my website at www.becomingitalian.com or www.labellalingua.org. There is an excerpt of the first chapter posted there. I do a blog on Italian three times a week at www.becomingitalianwordbyword.typepad.com.

I love getting feedback and hearing from readers who share my love of all things Italian. I look forward to hearing from you.

What would you like our readers to know about you and your writing?

An Italian friend once told me that I had unlocked “the Italian secret.” When I asked what that was, he said, “You know how to make the soul smile.” I like to think that’s true, and I hope La Bella Lingua does the same for readers.

La Bella Lingua by Diane Hales

noreply@blogger.com (Mirella Sichirollo Patzer) — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 04:41:00 +0000

La Bella Lingua by Dianne Hales

Little did Dianne Hales know that when she went on her first vacation to Italy, it would become a life altering experience. But that’s exactly what happened. Not only did she fall in love with the country, its culture, its people, she took it one step further. She decided to BE Italian in every sense of the word.

Her first hurdle was the language barrier. Most people try to learn a language word by word, through repetition and trial and error. But not Dianne. She began at the very beginning and went back into history to understand how Italian came to life.

Dianne takes us on a true Italian journey. Chapter by chapter, she explores how some of Italy’s most famous personages, writers, artists, and musicians helped shape the language from its vulgar vernacular into the beautiful harmonic language that it is today.

Sprinkled throughout, is Dianne’s humor as she stumbles verbally and sends the wrong message as she begins to speak basic words. But as her skill develops, so does her keen sense of analysis and she is able to give her take on how Italians communicate through their coloroful words, complex hand gestures, and rich food and drink. She met with experts from some of the country’ s leading educational organizations for her research and even explored Italy’s many dialects.

To say her journey and her book was captivating would be an understatement. The uniqueness of her story, the vibrant prose contained within this non-fiction book, and her tales of some of her mishaps as she learned to speak Italian, kept me turning the pages, eager to learn more. Her book honors Italy and Italians everywhere. A highly recommended read – but beware – it will make you want to vacation there yourself. Brava Dianne! Encore!

Italian Pastry Cream

noreply@blogger.com (Mirella Sichirollo Patzer) — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 04:41:00 +0000

If there is one taste that reminds me of my Italian childhood, it is Italian pastry cream. I remember as a child hovering at the stove with my mother or aunt as they carefully made this cream, a recipe handed down to them from my grandmother. They would make a big batch and divide it into three. With drops of food coloring they would tint one batch red and another green. They always left the last batch untouched. Red, white, and green are the colors of the Italian flag. They would then slice a sponge cake into three layers, drench each layer in espresso and sambucca, and then slather each of the colored creams on each layer.

I have to admit, I make this pastry cream and serve it to my own family instead of pudding. It is the one recipe I have that comforts, that brings good memories, that makes me die with delight with every mouthful.

In a pinch, if you want to make tiramisu and don't have mascarpone cream on hand, this is an excellent substitute. It is a nice variation.

Italian Pastry Cream ingredients:

4 egg yolks
1 cup flour
1 cup sugar
4 cups milk
1 lemon rind
1 cinammon stick

Place sugar, egg yolks flour, lemon rind (if using it), and vanilla in a sauce pan and mix together well.

In a separate sauce pan, scald milk.

Very slowly pour milk over egg yolk mixture, in a thin stream, beating constantly with rotary beater.

Continue cooking on low heat, stirring with a wooden spoon, until mixture reaches the boiling point.

Cook 4 minutes longer, stirring constantly.

Pour into bowl and let cool, stir occasionally to prevent skin from forming over the top.

If using it as a cake/pastry filling, chill (with plastic wrap pressed onto the surface to prevent a skin from forming) until very thick at least 3-4 hours.

But if you're anything like me, I like it while it's still hot.

Italian Hand Gestures

noreply@blogger.com (Mirella Sichirollo Patzer) — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 04:40:00 +0000

If you're Italian, at least once in your life, you have been accused of speaking with your hands. I know I often have. But it wasn't until I went to Italy and spent time with my grandparents and cousins that I learned many of the gestures and their meanings.

I often visit the website: http://www.italyfromtheinside.com. It has to be one of the best websites about the Italian culture on the web. They've given me permission to promote their site on my own site. If you haven't visited them before, please stop by.

Now enjoy the video on hand gestures.

Medieval Food

noreply@blogger.com (Mirella Sichirollo Patzer) — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 04:39:00 +0000

In my research for my medieval novels, I'm always looking for examples of medieval food. Not all of what we eat today was available in medieval times. So I've had to be very careful in choosing what foods to mention in my novel.

In Italy, the Restaurante Zeffirino recreated some medieval recipes and videod the entire episode. I very much enjoyed watching this video and learning from it. Italians took their food as seriously back then as they do today. Good food is truly a passion embedded in the heart of every Italian.

Maria Montessori 1870 - 1952

noreply@blogger.com (Mirella Sichirollo Patzer) — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 04:39:00 +0000

Maria Montessori was born in the town of Chiaravalle in the province of Ancona, Italy in the year 1870 in an era where it was not common to treat children with respect. The old adage applied – Children should be seen and not heart. Her father, Alessandro Montessori, worked in an official capacity for the Italian government and was a respected member of the bourgeois civil service. Her mother, Renide Stoppani, came from a wealthy, well-educated family known for their devotion to the liberation and unity of Italy.

It was her mother who encouraged Maria towards advanced education and convinced her to register at the Regia Scuola Tecnica Michaelangelo Buonarroti in engineering studies at the age of thirteen. She disliked it greatly and knew that this was not a model for an ideal school. She decided to drop out of her engineering program. Her family, friends, and especially her father, all cheered the decision for they were shocked that she would choose such an unlady-like profession.

Much to their chagrin, Maria decided to go to the University of Rome and become a student of their medical program. She graduated with a score of 100 out of 105 in 1896, the first female doctor in Italy’s history.

A month after her graduation, she was chosen to represent Italy in a Women's International Congress in Berlin, Germany. When she returned to Rome, she was appointed as a surgical assistant at Santo Spirito, worked at the children’s hospital, and maintained a private practice.

By 1897 Maria came to the realization that the children she worked with could not be adequately treated in the hospitals and should instead be educated in schools. Towards this goal, she began to devote more and more of her time towards perfecting education. In 1912 she developed The Montessori Method – a method of learning that used nature to meet the real needs of children.

In 1900 she became a director of a small school for 'challenged' youth. Her methods were hailed as experimental, but miraculous. She believed that children should be taught “how” prior to executing a task.

While working there, Maria had a love affair with a colleague, Dr. Montesano. In 1898, Maria gave birth to her only child, Mario Montessori. They vowed to keep their relationship and the identity of the father of her son a secret. They pledged that neither of them would ever marry another person. Montesano failed to live up to his end of the bargain, however, and fell in love with and married another woman while still working with Montessori in daily contact. The pain of this betrayal caused her to leave the school. She sent her son to a wet nurse and later to a boarding school.

In 1907 Montessori actively began to emphasize her theories and methods of pedagogy. She became the director for a group of daycare centers for children of the working class in one of the worst neighbourhoods in Rome. Her pupils were labelled as “wild and unruly”. Yet, under her guidance and methods, they began to respond. She respected the children and always held them in the highest regard and insisted that the teachers she employed did the same.

The success of their work was amazing. Children younger than three and four years old began to read, write, and initiate self-respect. Her method encouraged these underprivileged children to “absorb their culture”. But they absorbed much more than mere reading and writing – they soon progressed to botany, zoology, mathematics, geography, with great ease and spontaneous energy.

Critics complained her methods were too rigorous and harsh. But instead she argued, “I studied my children, and they taught me how to teach them." To hear such a statement today, would not turn heads. In Maria Montessori’s day, however, everyone was left agape and shocked. Because she believed that the learning environment was just as important as the learning itself, her school was the first to have child-sized tables and chairs made for the students. Her schools were often peaceful, orderly places, were the children valued their space for concentration and the process of learning.

Her methods completely contradicted traditional forms of educational. For example, adults often reprimand children about runny noses, but never take the time to teach them how to take care of it themselves. Maria said, “I decided to give the children a slightly humorous lesson on how to blow their noses. After I had shown them different ways to use a handkerchief, I ended by indicating how it could be done as unobtrusively as possible. I took out my handkerchief in such a way that they could hardly see it and blew my nose as softly as I could. The children watched me in rapt attention, but failed to laugh. I wondered why, but I had hardly finished my demonstration when they broke out into applause that resembled a long repressed ovation in a theater. When I was on the point of leaving the school, the children began to shout, 'Thank you, thank you for the lesson!'"

On one occasion, a teacher was late. The eager students actually crawled through the window and got right to work while they waited. Maria created the game of silence, a brief period of meditation that allowed the children to start the day with a sense of peace and focus.

In the latter years of her life, from around 1907 to the mid-1930's, Maria devoted all of her time and energy in founding schools that taught her method throughout Europe and North America. She also traveled to India and Sri Lanka, and until 1947, she trained thousands of teachers in the Montessori curriculum and methodology.
Maria Montessori died in 1952 in the Netherlands after a lifetime devoted to the study of child development. She also worked for women’s rights and social reform. Her success in Italy led to international recognition, and during her lifetime she traveled the world lecturing and training. ‘Educate for Peace’ was her guiding principle which influenced her every deed.

Her work lives on through the Association Montessori Internationale (AMI), the organization she founded in Amsterdam, Netherlands, in 1929 to carry on her work.

Maria made numerous memorable quotations. Following is a collection of her most famous ones:

Casa Braccio by F. Marion Crawford

noreply@blogger.com (Mirella Sichirollo Patzer) — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 04:38:00 +0000

Casa Braccio is the first, but not the last, novel of F. Marion Crawford that I have and will read.

It is the compelling story of a young nun who flees the convent with her lover, a Scottish doctor/nobleman. He used a young woman's corpse, the victim of suicide, to create the impression that the nun has died in a fire, instead of going over the cloister's walls and disappearing.

Twenty years later, the nun dies and her husband and daughter, Gloria, live in Rome.

In a maze of intricate twists and turns, the novel goes on to explore the intrigues and triangles and passions of Gloria and her circle. Eventually, she commits suicide and her father is left to contemplate how his sacriligious deed of long ago has ruined many lives.

It is literally unputdownable and has hooked me on this newly discovered author. It is my very favourite kind of book.

The book is in two volumes . I downloaded it free Manybooks where it is available in many different electronic formats.

F. Marion Crawford - Italian American Author

noreply@blogger.com (Mirella Sichirollo Patzer) — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 04:37:00 +0000

Every once in a while we discover a new author who fast becomes one of our favourites. Recently, I discovered such an author. Like any new discovery, I’m suddenly very excited about it.

I’m always searching for all things Italian to blog about and always on the prowl for novels set in Italy. Through the magic of e-books and my new found passion for reading e-books on my smartphone, I have been able to search for books, published long ago, that are free. This is how I stumbled upon the books of F. Marion Crawford, aka Francis Marion Crawford.

Crawford was born at Bagni di Lucca, Italy, on the 2nd of August 1854. He was the son of American sculptor Thomas Crawford, and the nephew of the poet, Julia Ward Howe.

He attended university in Cambridge, Heidelberg, and Rome. In 1879 he travelled to India to study Sanskrit and became an editor. He returned to the United States to study Sanskrit at Harvard University.

In 1882 he wrote his first novel, Mr. Isaacs, about Anglo-Indian life touched with a bit of Oriental mystery. This book saw great success. In 1883 he wrote Dr. Claudius then returned to Italy where he made it his permanent home. Each year thereafter, he published another novel – each one successful, several of them being in the genre of historical fiction.

Here is a picture of Crawford at his home in Sorrenta in front of a small fountain in his back yard. The caption reads: In the garden of his house in Sorrento, Italy, where he writes in the summer. The tablet over the fountain to which Mr. Crawford points, bears a verse in Greek, beautiful in form and sentiment, which the novelist's wife composed, and had cut in the tablet as a birthday thought for her husband.

He is considered a most talented narrator, and his books of fiction, full of historic vigour and memorable characters became hugely popular. He could spin a story in a dramatic way and set his plots against charming backdrops.
He died at Sorrento on the 9th of April 1909.

Following are a list of his books. I’ve already been able to find several of them in e-book format and am very excited about reading them.

Mr. Isaacs (1882, novel)
Dr. Claudius (1883, novel)
A Roman Singer (1884, novel)
An American Politician (1884, novel)
To Leeward (1884, novel)
Zoroaster (1885, novel)
A Tale of a Lonely Parish (1886, novel)
Marzio's Crucifix (1887, novel)
Saracinesca (1887, novel)
Paul Patoff (1887, novel)
With the Immortals (1888, novel)
Greifenstein (1889, novel)
Sant Ilario (1889, novel)
A Cigarette-makers Romance (1890, novel)
Khaled (1891, novel)
The Witch of Prague (1891, novel)
The Three Fates (1892, novel)
The Children of the King (1892, novel)
Don Orsino (1892, novel)
Marion Darche (1893, novel)
Pietro Ghisleri (1893, novel)
Katharine Lauderdale (1894, novel)
Love in Idleness (1894, novel)
The Ralstons (1894, novel)
Casa Braccio (1895, novel)
Adam Johnstons Son (1895, novel)
Taquisara (1896, novel)
A Rose of Yesterday (1897, novel)
Corleone (1897, novel)
Ave Roma Immortalis (1898, history)
Via Crucis (1899, novel)
In the Palace of the King (1900, novel)
Rulers of the South (1900, history)
Marietta (1901, novel)
Cecilia (1902, novel)
Whosoever Shall Offend (1904, novel)
Soprano (1905, novel)
Gleanings from Venetian History (1905, history)
A Lady of Rome (1906, novel)
The White Sister (1909, novel)