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Archive for the ‘Italian Culture’ Category

The Most Interesting Man in Orvieto

Posted in Italian Culture, Italy, Orvieto, Umbria, tagged , , on October 11, 2011| 4 Comments »

He keeps company with movie stars, famous athletes, powerful politicians and royalty. Children love him but dogs are a little intimidated by his strength and confidence. He’s very charming and blessed with a certain “savoir faire” that draws beautiful women to him – they vie for a chance to stand next to him, but he prefers that they not muss his hair. He is always gracious, if not just a bit aloof.  He tries never to refuse an admirer’s request to take a photograph with him because he doesn’t want to disappoint or appear snobbish. His reputation precedes him. He is the most recognized, popular and interesting man in Orvieto.

“Il cinghiale” (the boar) holds court everyday outside Carraro, C. Cavour 101 (☎0763 34 28 70; carraro@orvieto.tin.it), just a few meters down the Corso from where the Via Del Duomo intersects with the Torre del Morro.

Dog v. Boar – Photographed by A. Teich; http://www.pbase.com/al309/italy

Photo of Viola and Paloma by Linda Martinez



by Toni DeBella

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Learning Italian by Osmosis

Posted in Americans Abroad, Culture, Expat in Italy, Italian Culture, Italian-Americans, Italians, italo americano, Living abroad, Living in Europe, Living in Italy, Orvieto, Travel, Umbria, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , on September 24, 2011| 12 Comments »

“I find television to be very educating.  Every time somebody turns on the set, I go in the other room and read a book.”  –Groucho Marx

Television as a way to learn a foreign language is by no means a new concept.  Since its inception in the late 1940s, newcomers have been using TV as a means to help them absorb their new language, and more importantly, to assimilate into their new culture.  The conventional wisdom of linguists is there’s no relationship between watching television and mastering a language.  I beg to differ.  Based on only nonscientific anecdotal evidence (me), I assert that watching TV is a super supplement to other means of learning because it gives the viewer verbal as well as visual cues.  You can look at it as a “workbook” in a box.  With respect to colloquialisms that are spoken in everyday life, what better place to soak up slang than from a reality show or afternoon soap opera?  After all, if it’s your intention to fit in and become part of your community, you’ll want to become familiar with the common vernacular.

Pantofolaio (Couch Potato) Beware!

Of course, it’s important to take an interactive role in your “boob tubing”.  Passively sitting back and letting the information wash over you isn’t going to cut it.  Obviously television alone cannot replace formal training in grammar and vocabulary.  However, if used deliberately and thoughtfully, TV can be an effective way to enhance your proficiency in three particular areas: pronunciation, commonly used expressions/vocabulary and popular trends.

Italian All day, every day

Wake up and turn on your television set.  You don’t necessarily have to be watching it to get the benefit – the background noise of Italians in conversation is seeping in.  By bombarding your brain with the spoken word, you can train your “ear” to the musical rhythm and cadence of this beautiful language, and repeating words and phrases out loud helps with pronunciation.  It’s like gymnastics for your tongue – reminding you of the importance of enunciating each and every letter to avoid changing a word’s meaning entirely, i.e., penne (a kind of pasta) and pene (penis).  Otherwise, dialogue at the supermarket could get pretty interesting.

Are you listening to me?

Eavesdropping in public places – awkward.   Watching a talk show in your living room – a much more relaxing way to pick up idioms in context (and with the accompanying hand gestures).  Once I’d heard a phase used over and over, I would ask a friend its meaning and how to use it.  For example, “Secondo me” came up a lot on political talk shows.  I learned that it meant “in my opinion/in my view”.  Once it made sense to me in its proper context, I could begin using it with confidence in my own conversations.

Around the Water Cooler

You get a pretty good idea of the political climate of the country, its mores, values and attitudes with a healthy diet of current affairs programming.  Who and what are in fashion can easily be gleaned from entertainment news and nighttime talk shows.

 

CATEGORICALLY SPEAKING…Types of Shows that give you the most “bang for your buck”:

#1 – Trivial Pursuit (Trivia Shows)

Millionario is one of my favorites.  Gerry Scotti, (the Ryan Seacrest of Italy) hosts this country’s version of “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire”. The beauty of this show is that along with the questions posed to the contestant, you can read the question and possible answers on the screen. Are you a genius in English and Italian?

#2 -Games People Play (Game Shows)

La Routa della Fortuna is the Italian “Wheel of Fortune”.  Enrico Papi is clever and better looking than Pat Sajak, but the real fun is kooky Victoria Silvstedt, a former Swedish Playboy Playmate ( “Vanna White‘s” counterpart).  It turns out crossword puzzles are a lot easier in your native tongue.   This show is a surprising mixture of trash TV and educational programming rolled into one crazy format.  A wacky way to learn vocabulary!

#3 – Series, Seriously (Episodic Series)

There’s a plethora of serial dramas and sitcoms – many imported from America – that are broadcast weekly (Commissario Montablano, CSI, Law and Order, House, Friends, etc.).  I discovered that you can set most televisions to the closed captioning mode which allows you to watch and read the programs in Italian at the same time.  It really works!

Television Tower of Babel

It all comes down to one thing: communicating.  It seems television has become our modern day Tower of Babel that works to promote understanding by uniting people while acting as a sort of cultural equalizer. TV can make the world seem not just smaller, but downright miniscule.  So, stay tuned!
by Toni DeBella

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Grandma versus The Evil Spirits

Posted in Culture, Italian Culture, Italian Superstitions, Italian-Americans, Italians, italo americano, Italy, Living abroad, Living in Europe, Living in Italy, Orvieto, Rome, Sicily, Travel, Umbria, tagged , , , , , , , , , on September 3, 2011| 4 Comments »

I have never been overly-superstitious and take great pride in my healthy cynicism.   I don’t throw salt over my shoulder or avoid black cats.  As a muralist, I walk under ladders frequently and don’t believe I have ever fallen victim to the evil eye.  Thinking or saying something out loud does not make it come true.  If it did, I’d be a size 6, rich and living in a palazzo in Orvieto.  But I digress.

My grandmother was normally a very serious and solemn woman.  One day a year she would transform into a madwoman, wielding a broom and running in circles shouting and screaming like a banshee in an effort to ward off the evil spirits who had apparently taken up residence in our cellar.  It was spring cleaning run amok.  I don’t know much about the tradition that had this small, fragile and shy lady fearlessly take on a bunch of ghosts in the basement of our house.  I wonder if it was folklore passed down from her childhood in Contessa Entellina, a small Sicilian town 80km from Palermo.  I did a little research and found quite a few references to sweeping away evil spirits with a broom — a common practice especially among southern Italians, but was unable to find any mention of the “screaming and running around” part.  Perhaps that was my grandmother’s own personal stamp on the custom.

Superstitious Minds

A superstition is a belief in something that has no rational foundation in science and is most often based on the prevailing religion or culture that contains these otherworldly beliefs.  The word comes from the classical Latin superstitio, meaning “a standing over [in amazement]”.  Greek and Roman pagans were believed to have scorned men who displayed a fear of the gods and thus, the behavior came to be referred to as superstition. This could explain why Greeks and Italians are famously known for their mythology and have a common legend in the “evil eye” – Malocchio in Italian, Mati in Greek.

Hope-On-A-Rope

When I wrote earlier that I am not particularly superstitious, I wasn’t being completely honest with you.  The fact is that in the last few years I have come to believe a certain necklace I own has developed supernatural powers that, if worn daily, will someday bring me good luck.

It started out as a simple chain with a silver bar hanging from it.  One afternoon while in St. Peter’s Square I looked down to see something glittering in the sun.  I removed it from between the cobblestones to discover it was a tiny medallion of the Madonna.  Convinced this was an omen, I instinctively hung it onto my necklace.  A birthday present of a charm with the word “Friend” engraved on it followed — then a Chinese coin and a 4-leaf clover.  On one arrival in Rome I wrote the message to my friend Angelo, “Io sono in Italia…mi sento come una farfalla” (I am in Italy…I feel like a butterfly).  When he presented me with the gift of a tiny crystal butterfly dangling from a pink heart of course I had to add it to my collection.  This “chain of fortune” is getting rather heavy!

Out of the 365 days in a year, I probably wear the necklace 360 of them.  The other 5 days I just don’t feel quite right without it.  Could I have inherited from Grandma this propensity to make weak associations of cause and effect where there are none?  What can I say? I don’t like tempting fate.  Writer Judith Viorst said it very well: “Superstition is foolish, childish, primitive and irrational — but how much does it cost you to knock on wood?”
by Toni DeBella

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7 Tastes of Italy

Posted in Italian Culture, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on August 29, 2011| 7 Comments »

I’ve got my cappuccino, my laptop and a perfect view of the street. Sometimes I close my eyes and listen to the sounds of the city.  Three old guys behind me are arguing about the state of politics in Italy. No wait, now it’s something about a soccer match. I open my eyes and readjust to the bright sunlight and to the reality: I’m not in Italy, I’m in North Beach, San Francisco’s Italian neighborhood.

Columbus Avenue, lined with lampposts painted with the Italian flag, stretches from Broadway all the way to Fisherman’s Wharf. I often myself coming here to get my much-needed, Italian “fix”.  It’s not a cure for what ails me, but spending time here provides temporary relief.  North Beach is a unique place full of history, weird characters and Italians – lots and lots of Italians.  The following are my 7 favorite tastes of Italy…

Taste No. 1: Caffe’ Trieste

In 1956 (years before Starbucks was a twinkle in Jerry Baldwin’s eye), Giovanni Giotta opened Caffe’ Trieste.  “Papa Gianni” is credited with bringing espresso to the West Coast and starting what has become today’s coffee craze.  Trieste was a meeting place for famous authors, artists and hipsters like Beat Generation writers Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg.  Francis Ford Coppola wrote The Godfather, and Luciano Pavarotti performed arias from this little coffee house on the corner of Vallejo Street and Grant Avenue.

http://www.caffetrieste.com; 609 Vallejo Street, SF 94133 (415)982-2605

Taste No. 2: The National Shrine of St. Francis of Assisi

On the corner of Vallejo Street and Columbus Avenue sits a replica of “Porziuncola” the small chapel where Saint Francis found his vocation and rejected all his worldly possessions. La Porziuncola Nuova was dedicated in 2008, and declared the Fifth Holy Site of the Catholic Church by Pope Benedict XVI. Engraved into the steps outside the entrance are the words of the city’s namesake, “Voglio Tutti in Paradiso” (“I want all in Heaven”).

624 Vallejo Street, SF 94133; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WMxDdB2ElB8

Taste No. 3: Biordi Art Imports

Exit the gate of the Shrine and hang a right, but don’t blink or you might pass it.  You have arrived at another North Beach institution (est. in 1946), Biordi Art Imports.  Gianfranco Savio was 33 years old when he arrived from Florence, speaking Italian (naturally) and French, but not much English. He landed his first job at Holy Names School as an Italian teacher, then in 1977, he went to work for Emilio Biordi. Back then the store sold mostly Italian cookware (Chuck Williams of Williams-Sonoma bought pots from Biordi) and when Emilio decided to retire, Gianfranco made him an offer to take over the shop. With the “made in Italy” movement in its infancy, “Gian” siezed the opportunity to be the first to import Italian majolica ceramics to the U.S.  Biordi’s exquisite artisan pottery has been featured on cooking shows such as Jacques Pepin and The Frugal Gourmet, and has donned the covers of hundreds of books and magazines.  His daughter, Sonia, has worked in the store since the age of 7, and is now its photographer and website/catalog designer.

http://www.biordi.com/; 412 Columbus Avenue, SF 94133 (415)392-8096

Taste No. 4: Saints Peter and Paul Church (Ss. Pietro e Paolo)

Located on Filbert Street, across from Washington Square Park, this Roman Catholic Church is sometimes referred to as La cattedrale d’Italia ovest (The Italian Cathedral of the West). Generally considered the geographical center of North Beach, the church’s steeples can be seen from miles away. In 1999 Joe DiMaggio‘s funeral was held in the Church, and movies such as Dirty Harry, The Ten Commandments and Sister Act 2 were all filmed on location here.

666 Filbert Street, SF 94133

Taste No. 5: Molinari Delicatessen

Molinari’s homemade Salami is legendary, as are their made-to-order sandwiches. This classic delicatessen is a cornucopia of smells and tastes – a feast for your eyes, as well as your stomach.  In the shop you can find products that you can’t find anywhere else in the city!

http://www.molinarisalame.com/; 373 Columbus Avenue, San Francisco (415)421-2337

Taste No. 6: Ristorante Ideale

There are two kinds of Roman trattorias: One has mean or indifferent waiters who fling plates of pasta at you before you’ve finished your appetizer.  Ideale is the other kind.  Owner and Chef Maurizio Bruschi created an authentic Roman experience just off buzzy Grant Avenue. The mouth-watering pastas and thin-crust pizzas are prepared with simple and fresh ingredients, and the sleek, contemporary interiors combine to make Ideale, ideal.

http://www.idealerestaurant.com/; 1315 Grant Ave, SF 94133 (415)391-4129

Taste No. 7: Caffe’ Greco

Modeled after the historic coffee bar near  Piazza di Spagna in Rome, this Caffe Greco’s espresso and cappuccinos are almost as delicious (and half the price).  Keats and Shelly were regulars at the Eternal City’s establishment, so it makes you wonder if one of the computer-pounding, Facebook-using bloggers sitting in the window will one day be a famous novelist or poet?

http://www.caffegreco.com/; 423Columbus Ave, SF 94133 (415)397-6261

I not only love this neighborhood, I need it.  North Beach is a sovereign state-of-mind, a pseudo country contained within a 6-square mile radius.  For those early settlers who built this neighborhood as their home-away-from-home, I doubt they ever imagined it would become a sort of sanctuary to many looking for a “little slice of Italy” in her own backyards.

by Toni DeBella

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