Tavola italiana

Ecco i bellissimi volti di chi parla italiano!

Ogni martedì alle 11.30 a.m. nella Ivy room dell'Union Building: non solo per pranzare insieme, ma per sorridere all'Italia.

You're welcome!!!

Bella

Jovanotti is the artistic name for Lorenzo Cherubini a popular italian singer, who has been requested on this blog by a student.

This video is not just Italian 'cause on the background you see an American city (maybe N.Y?) and I think everyone will like the simple, but important images used by the singer to describe his girlfriend (maybe useful for the next Valentine's day or even before, hopefully :-).

Enjoy it!



E gira gira il mondo e gira il mondo e giro te
mi guardi e non rispondo perché risposta non c'è
nelle parole
bella come una mattina
d'acqua cristallina
come una finestra che mi illumina il cuscino
calda come il pane ombra sotto un pino
mentre t'allontani stai con me forever
lavoro tutto il giorno e tutto il giorno penso a te
e quando il pane sforno lo tengo caldo per te ...
chiara come un ABC
come un lunedì
di vacanza dopo un anno di lavoro
bella forte come un fiore
dolce di dolore
bella come il vento che t'ha fatto bella amore
gioia primitiva di saperti viva vita piena giorni e ore batticuore
pura dolce mariposa
nuda come sposa
mentre t'allontani stai con me forever
bella come una mattina
d'acqua cristallina
come una finestra che mi illumina il cuscino
calda come il pane ombra sotto un pino
come un passaporto con la foto di un bambino
bella come un tondo
grande come il mondo
calda di scirocco e fresca come tramontana
tu come la fortuna tu così opportuna
mentre t'allontani stai con me forever
bella come un'armonia
come l'allegria
come la mia nonna in una foto da ragazza
come una poesia
o madonna mia
come la realtà che incontra la mia fantasia.
Bella !

Un tuffo nel cinema italiano del passato

Pausa invernale finita si torna a lezione!

This semester some students are taking a class about the Italian cinema.
So for them, but not only, here you are one of the most popular scene in the history of Italian cinema.

It's "Il bagno nella fontana di Trevi" from "La dolce vita", a film of Federico Fellini (one of the best and well-known directors) played in Rome in the 50's.

Enjoy and maybe discover all the film (especially if you are interested in cinema: you can't miss it)

Chatting

Serata al femminile all'Italian Club

We met just to chat together about the differences noticed between American and Italian without any precise ideas, but the discussion became quickly interesting.

The main topic was the men-women relationships (!). Actually we missed a male point of view, but the discoveries are worth mentioning.

In general we drew the conclusion that the relationships in Italy are much more informal. There are no steps of dating, being engaged and above all you can feel free to invite anyone for a coffee without being scared that he/she thinks "she/he likes me" (as suggestion: pay anyway attention girls ;-).
That obviously doesn't mean that the relationships are less complicated! People are people... men are men (as said we missed the male point of view!;-). So the answer at the question "are the Italian men always unfaithful?" was no. It depends of course on the person.

A quite big difference is about marriage. Comparing some facts we realized that in Italy (in the north above all) people marry later or, nowadays, many couples simply live together with or without children.

But the hugest different habit was about PDA. In fact, in the U.S. people think that kissing should be a behaviour to keep privately. In Italy no one cares if you kiss someone, there is not this PDA expression.

So go to Italy and feel free to kiss your lover :-)

Thinking about Milan

Baustelle is an Italian group from Tuscany with a German name chosen for onomatopoeic reasons. It has started to be known after the 2000.

Un romantico a Milano. The video shows some pictures of Milan, but the text is quite cryptic. Anyway in it you can read the names of the most romantic (or bohémienne? maybe in the past) districts, surely the nicest where going and taking an aperitivo with friends.

Every interpretation is welcome!

Mamma Mum
che ne dici di un romantico a Milano? what do you think about a romantic in Milan
fra i Manzoni preferisco quello vero:Piero between the Manzoni (A. Manzoni was a famous author ('Promessi sposi'), but P. Manzoni was an artist; on the other side Manzoni is the name of the theatre of Berlusconi) I prefer the real one
Leggi Read
c'è un maniaco sul 'Corriere della Sera' there's a maniac on the 'Corriere della Sera' (newspaper)
la sua mano per la zingara di Brera his hand for the gypsy who is in Brera (smart and nice district)
è nera is black
Fuggi Run away
cosa fuggi non c'è modo di scappare what are you running away for? There's no way to escape
ho la febbre ma ti porto fuori a bere I am sick but I take you out for a drink
non è niente stai tranquilla è solo il cuore it's nothing, don't worry, just the hearth
Porta Ticinese piove ma c'è il sole Over P. T. (one of the old enter of Milan), it rains, but there's the sun
quando il dandy muore fuore nasce un fiore when the dandy dies outside a flower is born
le ragazze fan la file per vedere the girls stay in line to see
la sua tomba con su scritte le parole his tomb with the words written on it
"io vi amo I love you
vi amo ma vi odio però I love you, but I hate you, but
vi amo tutti I love all of you
è bello è brutto io non lo so it's beautiful, it's ugly I don't know
io vi amo
vi amo ma vi odio però
vi amo tutti
è bello è brutto è solo questo" it's beautiful, it's ugly, it's just this
Scusi che ne pensa di un romantico alla Scala? Excuse, what about a romantic at the Scala (the theatre)?
quando canta le canzoni della mala scola when he sings the mala's songs drains (=drinks)
quasi centomila Montenegro e Bloody Mary almost a hundred thousand M. e B.M.
mocassini gialli e sentimenti chiaro-scuri yellow moccassins and feelings dark and light
Cara Dear
scriverà sulle tovaglie dei Navigli he will write on the tableclothes of the Navigli (canals near which there are restaurants and bars)
quanta gioia, quanti giorni, quanti sbagli what a joy, how many days and mistakes
quanto freddo nei polmoni che dolore how much cold in the lungs, what a pain
non è niente non è niente it's nothing, it's nothing
lascia stare don't care about it
se la Madonnina muore nasce un fiore if the Madonnina (little Madonna on the Cathedral of Milan) dies, a flower is born
lui non vuole che la sua ragazza legga he doesn't want that his girlfriend reads
quelle frasi incise quelle frasi amare those engraved sentences, those bitter sentences
"io vi amo
vi amo ma vi odio però
vi amo tutti
è bello è brutto io non lo so
io vi amo
vi amo ma vi odio però
vi amo tutti
è bello è brutto è un giglio marcio it's beautiful, it's ugly, it's a rotten lily
io vi amo I love you
vi amo ma vi sputo però I love you, but I spit to you, however
vi amo tutti I love you
è bello è brutto è solo questo"
L'erba ti fa male se la fumi senza stile!

First step: COMO

It would be nicer to post something less tourist, but this video offers many aspects of the Como area and has good pictures.

I must admit that the weather is not always so beautiful (magari!/I wish!) and that there is often a quite high percentage of humidity. A part of this, the video shows what you can see... Yes ok: surely it's easier to see a deer in the Nature Park than in Como area...

Enjoy at least the lake and the monuments.

Tonight cinema at the Italian club

Ricordati di me
(Remember me, my love)

Director: Gabriele Muccino

Writers: Gabriele Muccino,
Heidrun Schleef

Release Date: 14 February 2003 (Italy)

Genre: Comedy Romance Drama





Second "official" appointment for the Italian Club: CINEMA.

We watched an interesting Italian movie that well represents the last ten/fifteen year changes in the Italian society. Gabriele Muccino who is the director of the well known movie "The pursuit of happiness" directed this film.

We met in the Women Center and, telling the true, were just a few, but as people say in Italy: "pochi, ma buoni".
Anyway we enjoyed the evening. Thanks for coming guys!