Sunday Italian Poem: Mattina ‘Morning’ (1917)

Giuseppe Ungaretti was a leading representative of the Hermeticism school of poetry, which believed that punctuation should be erased, meaning obscured, words reduced to essentials and compositions be as brief as possible.  He wrote this in the trenches of northern Italy in 1917 and it is perhaps the most famous modern Italian poem.

M’illumino
d’immenso

It is also a nightmare to translate into English.  This captures perhaps the sense of wonder and hope of the original:

Immensity fills
Me with light.

Or:

I illuminate myself
with immensity

Photo via David Stephens on Flickr.

Love – Naples style

Snapped this on the airport road. The boys on the left zoomed up on their scooter to try their luck with the girls on the right. The seduction continued. At 40 km/h. On a busy dual carriageway.

Italian Cocktail of the Week: Italia Settanta Cinque

When visiting Naples, a friend  introduced us to the classic French 75 cocktail.  This was originally created at the New York Bar in Paris, later Harry’s New York Bar, in 1915.  The potent combination of gin, lemon juice, Champagne, and sugar was said to have a kick like a French 75mm field gun and the name stuck.

There are many recipes around which try and give this classic cocktail an Italian twist.  One adds limoncello instead of the lemon juice; another muddles the gin with basil, before using grapefruit juice and bitters.  One recipe substitutes grappa for gin.

But I think this recipe via Feast best preserves the gin/fruit/fizz intent of the original.  It uses the freshly squeezed, slightly bitter, juice from a blood orange, a fruit native to Italy and the primary orange grown in the country.  And of course Prosecco instead of Champagne.

Modesty

“..it’s like a finger pointing away to the moon..”

Marble sculpture by Antonio Corradini

His “Portrait of Modesty” lives in the Naples museum, Cappella Sansevero, and her posture and accessories make it look like she was made for a church, even though she’s nearly naked through that thin thin veil – standing casually beautiful with eyes closing.

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

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Sunday Song from Naples: ‘A Marechiaro ce sta na fenesta…’

Just along the coast from Naples there is the little fishing hamlet of Marechiaro, reached by a narrow twisty lane that descends from Via Posillipo.  It’s wildly popular at the weekend with sunbathers,  swimmers and boaters due to the clean water, the panoramic views over the Bay of Naples, and the cluster of seafood restaurants along the shore.

Marechiaro

Marechiaro

Marechiaro

Marechiaro

Marechiaro

Marechiaro

It’s also famous for the classic Neapolitan song A Marechiaro which tells of a window in the village, marked with a carnation, at which Caroline appears to be serenaded by a young fisherman-in-love.  The song is sung here by Roberto Murolo, son of the city, classic interpreter of Naples songs with a wonderful voice.

Ravello Days

The beautiful view from the terrace of Hotel Villa Maria, Ravello, Italy.

An Intense Encounter between Lovers

‘But first we must free ourselves
from the strict stinginess that produces us,
that produces me on this chair
in the corner of a café
awaiting with the ardor of a clerk
the very moment in which
the small blue flames of the eyes
across from me, eyes familiar
with risk, will, having taken aim,
lay claim to a blush
from my face. Which blush they will obtain.’

From: My Poems Won’t Change the World: Selected Poems by Patrizia Cavalli, edited by Gini Alhadeff, translated from the Italian by Gini Alhadeff and others, Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

Photo: By Lorenzo Mattotti.

Some last minute Italian slang phrases before the exam on Monday

Studying Advanced Italiano

Thank you Huffington Post for this list.

	Example
Che figata!	“What a cool thing!”	“It’s official. Prada wants to hire me!” “Che figata!”
Che palle!	What a pain!	“Dobbiamosalire1000 gradini per raggiungerela cima!” “Che palle!”
Figurati!	It’s not a problem!	“I’m sorry I spilled red wine on your brand new, white 500€ Gucci shirt.” “…Figurati!”
Mi fa cagare!	It’s awful! (lit. it makes me want to defecate)	That restaurant? Mi fa cagare!” “His tight shirt? Mi fa cagare!” “American coffee? Mi fa cagare!”
Che schifo!	How disgusting	A pigeon poops on your head: “Che schifo!”
Dai!	Come on! (encouragement)	(encouragement) “Let’s go to Sicily.” “No.” “Dai!” OR “One more shot of limoncello, dai!”
Stop it!	(stop it!) ” Someone’s stealing chips from your plate? “dai!”
Meno Male!	Thank god!	Ho finalmente superato l’esame. Meno…

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Gaeta: a precious pearl on the southern Lazio coast

ITALIAN GEMS

Last week I visited Gaeta, a pretty seaport town in southern Lazio. In the morning when I left Rome for my day trip I was a bit apprehensive about whether I would even make it because the town itself does not have a train station, and it was a bank holiday. I caught the Calabria-bound train to Formia, which took about an hour, and luckily a bus arrived outside the station about ten minutes later to drive the last stretch.

Gaeta is situated close to Southern Lazio’s border with Campania. It has played an important role in military history since ancient times, changing hands numerous times over the centuries. Testimony to this is the huge  Aragonese-Angevin castle dominating its skyline.

I had wanted to come here for a while, mainly because I had heard the town was beautiful, as well as its views. It also boasts wonderful natural surroundings, including the

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Sunday Italian Cool: Lamborghini Aventador

Is there anything more Italian than a Lambo?  Dramatic, noisy, flamboyant, operatic, bonkers.

The Aventador, only the fifth flagship V12 that Lamborghini have ever produced, is like a stealth fighter on tyres, powered by a massive 700 horsepower 6.5 litre engine, reaching a top speed of 217mph.  0 – 100 km/h in 2.9 seconds.  Jeremy Clarkson said of it that:

‘It’s a brute of a car. You don’t drive it. You wrestle with it. It’s more refined than Lambos of old and less inclined to want to kill you. But when you open the taps you are no longer driving. You are hanging on.’

Official video below.  And yes, Orange is the new Black.