By Charles Sacchetti In my neighborhood, Italian families had many traditions. To mention a few, Christmas Eve always included a seafood meal called the feast of the seven fishes, plastic […]
By Joe Cannavo Christmas is a major holiday in Italy, and Italians celebrate with an abundance of great, unique Christmas traditions. All over Italy, Christmas tends to center on the […]
CETRULLO — The word itself is the dialect term deriving from the Italian citriolo, which means cucumber. No particular explanation as to why, but the word cetrullo evolved into a […]
Most of the Italian lessons we publish are for the sole purpose of teaching and/or enriching your Italian language skills. Today’s lesson though has a second purpose. That purpose is […]
By Melissa Cannavo-Marino Do you like to explore? Do you know that there are beautiful places to explore under the ground? Would you like to learn more Italian words? Here […]
Da Susanna Squellerio Le belle giornate di ottobre e l’ultimo sole caldo autunnale se ne vanno in letargo dopo la prima pioggia copiosa e lasciano posto al freddo, all’umidità e […]
By Joe Cannavo Many Americans equate southern Italy with farms and a rural lifestyle, while the north is the land of big cities, fashion, industry and tourism. For […]
By Joe Cannavo This month’s surname column continues with surnames that start with the letter “C,” but with a slightly different twist. Since October is the month that Italian-Americans celebrate […]
This week’s lesson is on conjugating regular Italian verbs ending with –ire in the present tense. These verbs are also referred to as 3rd conjugation verbs. The basic rule for […]
Da Susanna Squellerio L’Unione Radiofonica Italiana, URI, lunghezza d’onda 425 metri, esordì il 6 ottobre 1924, in una sala in Via Maria Cristina a Roma. Maria Luisa Boncompagni diede, alle […]
By Joey Cannavo (and Nonna) Have you ever heard of Sicily? Sicily is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea with many beautiful beaches, cities and small comuni (communities). To […]
By Joe Cannavo CAVALLARI — This surname was passed down to modern-day Cavallari families from ancestors who were most likely associated with horse breeding. This surname is among one of […]
This week’s lesson is on conjugating regular Italian verbs ending with -ERE in the present tense Let’s quickly review the definition of the term “infinitive.” An infinitive is a verb […]
Da Susanna Squellerio Settembre, dal punto di vista astronomico, è il mese dell’equinozio d’autunno: un fenomeno che avviene, nell’emisfero boreale, il 22 o il 23 settembre e che vede il […]
By Jeanne Outlaw-Cannavo We have been to Rome many times over the years and were always amazed with each new visit how much we hadn’t already seen. During a recent […]
Two things of historical significance took place that day By Joe Cannavo Almost every month Italy has a public or national holiday that celebrates a religious or political event. For […]
By Joseph Cannavo CARNEVALE — This surname is thought to have derived first as a nickname from the Latin festival of Carnival, then evolving as a surname, as is often […]
In the last lesson we learned how to conjugate regular –are verbs — or as they are also known, first conjugation verbs. In this lesson we will learn verb usage when […]
Da Susanna Squellerio Feriae Augusti, il riposo di Augusto, così veniva indicata la festività istituita, in onore di Ottaviano Augusto, primo imperatore romano, nel 18 a.C. unendosi così alle antichissime […]
By Joseph Cannavo CAPANNA — This surname derives from the word meaning hut or cabin. It is found in 17 of Italy’s 20 regions, mostly in Lazio. It is not […]
After a short break from our normal lesson format to do a lesson on the Italian festival theme, we return to our work with verbs. When learning Italian, students naturally […]
Stamattina (this morning) Mamma e nonna mi hanno detto che oggi (mamma and grandmom told me that today) we are taking another trip. We are are going to visit un’abbazia […]
By Joseph Cannavo This month we continue with Italian surnames that begin with the letter C. CAMPANELLI — As a nickname from campana, “bell,” or from a place called Campana, […]
As with any foreign language when you don’t keep in practice, you slowly forget to speak and even the basics escape your mind. But don’t worry, we’ll get back to […]
Italian Navy veteran’s dream comes true in Philly Paolo Recchia volunteered at the age of 28 to enlist in the Italian Navy to see “tutto il mondo” (the world). This […]