Italian Phrases We Use EVERY Day!® Let’s Talk About… An Italian Christmas Celebration

Photo of two Conversational Italian for Travelers books downloaded on smart phones with smiling snow man next to the books.

December 7, 2021July 14, 2023 ~ stellalucentellc ~ 3 Comments

Kathryn Occhipinti, MD, for *Conversational Italian for Travelers* books

Buon Natale a tutti voi!

Christmastime is a magical time in Italy. The colorful decorations and holiday lights that adorn every Italian town bring with them a feeling of celebration that inspires children and adults alike. Italians of Jewish faith celebrate Chanukah in December as well, with glowing candles that bring their own special beauty to the December evenings. Chanukah was celebrated earlier this month, and if you’d like to learn more about how Chanukah is celebrated in Italy, please visit the blog “Our Italy — Celebrating Chanukah in Italy.

But what really makes the December holidays special,
both in Italy and around the world? For most, it is the gathering of family and friends.

For 2021, my hope is that all people who celebrate the Christmas holiday (le vacanze di Natale) or another holiday of their faith this December, can gather with their loved ones. As of this writing, there is a good possibility that the new normal will continue to expand to include Christmas parties (le feste di Natale) and gatherings for Chanukah dinners, instead of online meetings where people are together, yet distant. Extended families and friends should be able to celebrate the joy of being in each others’ presence and even have the opportunity to introduce new friends to old ones during the holidays for 2021.

This post is the 51st in a series of Italian phrases we have been trying out in our Conversational Italian! Facebook group. If you’d like to read the earlier posts in the series, “Italian Phrases We Use EVERY Day!” just click HERE.

Many “commonly used phrases” in Italian

are used during the
Christmas Holiday Season

See below for how this works.

As we all master these phrases, so will you. Try my method and let me know how it works. What sentences will you create with these phrases?

Please reply. I’d love to hear from you! Or join our Conversational Italian! group discussion on Facebook.

The basics of the Italian language are introduced in the Conversational Italian for Travelers textbook and reference books Just the Verbs and Just the Grammar

found on amazon.com and Learn Travel Italian.com.

The rights to purchase the Conversational Italian for Travelers books in PDF format on two electronic devices can also be obtained at Learn Travel Italian.com.

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Christmas in Italy

There are several important holidays that Italians celebrate during the Christmas season (periodo di Natale), which begins on December 8th with L’Immacolata and ends on January 6th with L’Epifania. The feast of Santa Lucia on December 13th is also an important holiday in northern Italy and this saint day is celebrated with candles, special pastries, and presents for children who have been good during the year.

Young girl with ring of candles on her head celebrating Santa Lucia Day — Young girl celebrating Santa Lucia Day

See the table below for a list of the important celebrations that take place in Italy during the Christmas season and some common phrases that Italians use to wish each other “happy holidays.” We first encountered these phrases in our blog What I wish… for the holidays!

L’Immacolata	Feast of the Immaculate Conception: Catholic holiday that celebrates mother Mary.
Vigilia di Natale Natale	Christmas Eve Christmas
Buon Natale! Buone Feste!	Merry Christmas! Happy Holidays!
Auguri di buon Natale!	Best wishes for a merry Christmas!
Tanti Auguri! / Auguri!	Best wishes!
Il biglietto di auguri Natalizi Regalo di Natale	Christmas greeting card Christmas gift

L’ultimo dell’anno	New Year’s Eve
La notte di San Silvestro	December 31st is the feast day of San Silvestro for the Catholic church.
Capodanno	New Year’s Day
Buon anno nuovo! Buon anno!	Happy New Year! (used most often)
Felice anno nuovo!	Happy New Year!
L’Epifania	Epiphany: Catholic holiday that celebrates when “Wise Men” visited the baby Jesus. In Italy, gifts are exchanged on this day. Italian tradition holds that a friendly witch, La Befana, brings gifts to children on this day, although Santa Claus is also celebrated.

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An Italian Holiday Party Conversation

When at a holiday party where Italian is spoken,
one will surely encounter the introductory phrases and polite responses below.

Introductions:

The most common Italian introduction at a gathering is a familiar phrase — a phrase used when a person introduces one of their friends to another. For example, let’s assume Pietro and Caterina are friends. Pietro wants to introduce Caterina to another of his friends, Paolo. He will do this with the simple sentence, “Caterina, ti presento il mio amico Paolo.” Pietro uses the informal “ti” since he is already friends with Caterina, the person to whom he is speaking.

In a more formal situation, Pietro may want to introduce someone he does not know well to one of his friends. In this case, if Pietro is addressing either a woman or a man, he will need to use “Le” (“polite you” indirect object pronoun). To stay in the polite mode of conversation, Pietro will likely introduce one guest to another using their last names with a polite title, such as il Signor (Mr.), la Signora (Mrs.), or la Signorina (Miss).

Keep in mind that in English we do not use the same sentence structure as in Italian, so the English translation of these phrases will not follow the Italian word for word. We may start out with “Let me” or “I would like to” and then add “introduce you to…” Also, in an informal situation, English speakers in America tend to omit the “Let me introduce you to” altogether! Instead, an English speaker might just say something like, “Kathy, meet my friend Paul.”

Several options to use when making an introduction are listed below. Remember to use the direct article before the title for a formal introduction!

Caterina, ti presento il mio amico Paolo.	Kathy, let me introduce you to my friend Paul. Kathy, meet my friend Paul.
Signor Rossi, Le presento il Signor Manzini.	Mr. Rossi, let me introduce you to Mr. Manzini.
Signora Rossi, Le presento il Signor Manzini.	Mrs. Rossi, let me introduce you to Mr. Manzini.
Signorina Rossi, Le presento il Signor Manzini.	Miss Rossi, I would like to introduce you to Mr. Manzini.

Responses:

At first glance at the table below, the responses to an Italian introduction may seem a bit complicated, because they have several variations. The most important key to understanding which of these variations to choose is the formality of the situation.

In the initial phrases in this table, “Piacere di conoscerla“ and “Piacere di conoscerti,“ the difference between the two phrases will depend on whether one is speaking in the polite (pol.) or the familiar (fam.). The polite phrases are given first in our example list, as it is the norm in Italy to use the polite form with a new acquaintance. The familiar form of this phrase is often be used between younger people, who tend to be less formal, and may also be appropriate among older adults of the same age or social status. If you need a refresher on when to use polite and formal Italian phrases, please refer to our blog Italian Phrases We Use EVERY Day! – Getting from polite to familiar with “Dare del tu.”

The other reason there are so many variations to learn when introductions are made is the Italian use of masculine and feminine nouns and adjectives. Every Italian student learns early on that nouns and adjectives must agree in gender and number.* At first, it may not be obvious that one is using an adjective at the beginning of the sentence, “Lieto(a) di conoscerla/ti,” since these phrases are used so often in Italy that the subject and verb of the sentence, “I am…” have been left out! The full sentence, “I am delighted to meet you,” though, makes it clear that the verb essere (to be) is in use, and of course the ending for the adjective lieto(a) for delighted must reflect back to the gender of the speaker to make sense.

The easiest thing for the Italian student to do, of course, is to pick out the phrase that corresponds to their own situation and memorize the endings. But these phrases provide a good opportunity to learn how to change Italian endings quickly and easily and can provide a pattern for more complicated sentences. For the examples below, the nouns, adverbs, and prepositions are black, the verbs are green, the polite/familiar pronouns red, masculine adjectives blue, and feminine adjectives brown.

Piacere di conoscerla. Piacere di conoscerti.	Pleased to meet you (pol.). Please to meet you (fam.).
Piacere mio.	The pleasure is mine.
Lieto di conoscerla. Lieta di conoscerla. Lieto di conoscerti. Lieta di conoscerti.	Delighted (masc. speaker) to meet you (pol.). Delighted (fem. speaker) to meet you (pol.). Delighted (masc. speaker) to meet you (fam.). Delighted (fem. speaker) to meet you (fam.).
Molto lieto! Molto lieta!	Delighted! (masc. speaker) Delighted! (fem. speaker)
Sono molto contento di vederla. Sono molto contenta di vederla. Sono molto contento di vederti. Sono molto contenta di vederti.	(I) am very happy (masc. speaker) to see you (pol.). (I) am very happy (fem. speaker) to see you (pol.). (I) am very happy (masc. speaker) to see you (fam.). (I) am very happy (fem. speaker) to see you (pol.).
Sono felice di rivederla. Sono felice di rivederti.	(I) am happy to see you (pol.) again. (I) am happy to see you (fam.) again.

*Italian nouns are assigned a gender, either masculine or feminine. Italian adjectives, which modify nouns, will change their endings to match the noun modified. In general, Italian nouns will end in -o if masculine and -a if feminine. A noun that ends in -e can be either masculine or feminine. There are, of course, many exceptions to these rules!

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Below is an excerpt from the Conversational Italian for Travelers story found on the website www.learntravelitalian.com. This short dialogue will allow us to put together all we have discussed about what to say when introducing and meeting others at an Italian holiday party. In this dialogue, Pietro introduces his cousin Caterina to his friends Luigi and Paolo. This simple conversation uses phrases that are repeated over and over again at Italian gatherings of every type.

At the end of the dialogue printed here is a common transition phrase that takes Caterina into the familiar form with Pietro’s friends, “Diamoci del tu, per favore!” We have discussed this phrase and others used to make the transition from a polite to a formal situation in a previous blog, “Getting from Polite to Familiar in Italian with ‘Dare del tu!'” With this simple line, a friendly conversation can truly begin! To listen to the remainder this conversation in its entirety, just click on the link It’s a Party!

Pietro:	Caterina, ti presento il mio amico Paolo.
	Kathy, (I) introduce to you (fam.) my friend Paul.

Caterina:	Piacere di conoscerla.
	(It is a) pleasure to meet you (fam.).
	(Caterina uses the polite form for a person she has just met, even though Paolo is Pietro’s friend.)

Pietro:	E questo è il mio amico Luigi.
	And this is my friend Louis.

Caterina:	Piacere.
	(It is) a pleasure.

Luigi:	Piacere mio. Io sono professore dell’italiano, come Pietro.
	Paolo è un medico.
	(The) pleasure is mine. I am (an) Italian professor, like Peter.
	Paul is a physician.

Caterina:	Molto interessante.
	Very interesting.

Paolo:	Io sono di Novara, una città vicino a Milano.
	Diamoci del tu, per favore!
	I am from Novara, a town near to Milan.
	Let’s use the familiar form of you with each other, please!
	(Paolo officially asks if he can use the familiar, or “tu” form with Caterina.)

Caterina:	Va bene. Volentieri!
	O.K. Gladly!

Warm wishes for a Merry Christmas
and a Happy New Year
filled with treasured time
together with family and friends!

Auguri a tutti voi!

Italian Phrases We Use EVERY Day!® Getting from polite to familiar in Italian with “Dare del tu!”

Burano in Venice, Italy and Everyday Italian phrases

June 2, 2021July 25, 2023 ~ stellalucentellc ~ 2 Comments

Ciao a tutti! We are on our way to speaking Italian more easily and confidently by the end of 2021!

I have been trying to help you with this goal by posting a new blog every month in the series “Italian Phrases We Use EVERY Day!”® With these blogs, I discuss how Italians use their language on a daily basis and in so doing help you to “think in Italian.”

When visiting another country, it is important to understand how to be polite. If one wants to “fare una bella figura” in Italy, that is, “make a good impression,” it is important to know a few polite words in Italian. For those staying in Italy for an extended visit or settling in Italy permanently, it is equally as important to know how to express one’s feelings friendship.

Italian has a special way to bridge the gap linguistically from between two people who start out as acquaintances and become friends. A simple phrase is relayed from one person to the other: “Dare del tu.” If accepted, is a true sign of friendship!

As I’ve said before, I believe that “commonly used phrases” are the key for how we can all build fluency in any language in a short time.

If we learn how to build on the “commonly used phrase” “Dare del tu,” which is Italian for, “Let’s be friends and use the familiar form with each other,” we will be able to communicate the closeness we feel with a friend, just as we do in our native language!

This post is the 45th in a series of Italian phrases we have been trying out in our Conversational Italian! Facebook group. If you’d like to read the earlier posts in the series, “Italian Phrases We Use EVERY Day!” just click HERE

The “commonly used phrase” in Italian

Dare del tu?
is used to ask,
Let’s be friends and use the familiar form with each other!

See below for how this works.

As we all master these phrases, so will you. Try my method and let me know how it works. What sentences will you create with these phrases?

Please reply. I’d love to hear from you! Or join our Conversational Italian! group discussion on Facebook.

The basics of the Italian language are introduced in the Conversational Italian for Travelers textbook and reference books Just the Verbs and Just the Grammar

found on amazon.com and Learn Travel Italian.com.

The rights to purchase the Conversational Italian for Travelers books in PDF format on two electronic devices can also be obtained at Learn Travel Italian.com.

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Let’s Talk About…

Getting from Polite to Familiar in Italian with
Dare del Tu

Italian has three subject pronouns with three different verb conjugations in the present tense for conversing with acquaintances and friends. Reflexive verbs include a reflexive pronoun as well. This is less complicated than it may seem at first.

Let’s look at the conjugation table for chiamarsi, the reflexive verb that means “to be named,” or “to call oneself.” This verb is one of the first verbs an Italian student learns to conjugate and contains all the elements to understand polite and familiar verb tenses. A refresher, from our Conversational Italian for Travelers book, “Just the Important Phrases” is given in the section below.

How do we conjugate an Italian verb into the polite or familiar form?

First, let’s conjugate chiamarsi the way we would any other –are verb. Chiamarsi (to call oneself/to be named) will have the same stem and endings as chiamare (to call someone — directly, or on the phone). The stem for both chiamare and chiamarsi is chiam. Add the -are endings to the stem chiam to form the new verbs below. The stress will fall on the second syllable for our first three forms and the loro form. The stressed syllable has been underlined in the table.

Chiamare – to call someone

io	chiamo	I call
tu	chiami	you (familiar) call
Lei lei/lui	chiama	you (polite) call she/he calls

noi	chiamiamo	we call
voi	chiamate	you all call
loro	chiamano	they call

To complete the conjugation of chiamarsi, add a reflexive pronoun before each conjugated verb. Notice that in English the reflexive pronoun goes after the verb, so this may take a little getting used to.

Chiamarsi – to be called, as in a name/to name oneself

io	mi	chiamo	I call myself
tu	ti	chiami	you (familiar) call yourself
Lei/lei/lui	si	chiama	you (polite)/she/he calls yourself, herself, himself, itself

noi	ci	chiamiamo	we call ourselves
voi	vi	chiamate	you all call yourselves
loro	si	chiamano	they call themselves

How do we use an Italian verb in the polite form?

From the translations in both tables in the last section, we see the the “Lei” form is called the polite form of the verb; this means one addresses someone they have not met before as “you” with “Lei” and the polite verb conjugation. In the case of chiamarsi, one would ask, “Come si chiama?” “What is your name?” in a polite way during introductions.

As with all social conventions, there are rules to follow regarding when one should be polite to another.

The polite form Lei is used between adults when they first meet
and to show respect for others.

Using the Lei form of Italian shows that one is a educated person who follows proper social norms.

Lei is especially important to show respect when addressing someone who is older than the speaker or who is in an important social position, such as a boss at work, a professional such as a teacher, doctor, or lawyer, or a government official. When professionals and government officials who are not friends speak with each other, Lei is also required.

The easiest way to train your ear to listen to the polite form is to watch an Italian TV series where the characters are shown in their place of work. In the popular series “Commissario Montalbano” or “Detective Montalbano” the detective always replies to his superior, the “Questore,” or “Chief of Police,” with the Lei form and usually speaks calmly, with a measured tone. But when the same detective is talking to the policemen that work for him, he uses the tu form and colors his sentences with any number of colloquial exclamations.

An important note about being polite in Italy: remember that children are never addressed with Lei! Even a child that you meet for the first time.

The question comes up, then, when one is “adult” enough to be addressed with the Lei form. This, of course, will vary, but the other person should have attained at least the age of the speaker. Also, keep in mind that in Italy children are called bambini, which we translate into English as “babies” until about 12 years of age and then are ragazzi, or “girls and boys,” until long after the teenage years!

If both speakers have reached the age of 21, is probably safe to start using the Lei, although, in this case the situation should also be considered.

Younger people tend to be informal with each other in social gatherings, and sometimes even at work! While I was visiting Italy, my older Italian friend once politely reprimanded a 20-something shopkeeper for using the tu form with customers by asking the shopkeeper to revert back to using Lei. (See the last section of this blog for how this is done.)

Keeping all of the above in mind, when entering a shop, it is polite to say, “Buon giorno,” and most shopkeepers will politely greet those entering with a “Buon giorno,” in return and continue the conversation by speaking to the customer with the Lei form. Therefore, it is useful for the Italian student to recognize the polite verb endings for the present tense -are, -ere, and -ire verbs that will be used, which are: (-a, -e, -e).

It will be appreciated if the traveler also speaks to the shopkeeper in the Lei form, but understood if the traveler replies in the tu, or familiar form, given the difficulty of this concept for the non-native speaker. The tu form for all present tense verbs has a single ending, of course, which is “-i.”

A common polite line the shopkeeper may ask the customer after the usual greeting is, “Posso aiutarla?” for “How may I help you?” If you as a customer don’t need anything in particular, but would like to “just look around,” you can answer politely with “No, grazie, Sto solo dando un’occhiata.”

To learn more about shopping in Italy, visit our blog “Quanto costa?” For more phrases you need to know when conversing at an Italian shop, check out our pocket travel book Conversational Italian for Travelers “Just the Important Phrases” or download Conversational Italian for Travelers “Just the Important Phrases” into your phone at www.learntravelitalian.com.

How do we use an Italian verb in the familiar form?

From the translations in both tables in the first section, we see the the “tu” form is called the familiar form of the verb; this means that one addresses people they know well, such as family members or friends with the tu form. As we mentioned in the last section, children are always addressed with tu.

Someone the speaker has just met, who is the same age as the speaker and they feel a friendly connection with can also be addressed as “you” with “tu” and the familiar verb conjugation. In the case of chiamarsi, one would ask, “Come ti chiami?” “What is your name?” in a familiar way during introductions.

As with all social conventions, there are rules as to when one should be familiar with another.

The familiar form tu is used between family members, friends,
and anyone the speaker has met who is their same age or younger
to whom they feel a friendly connection.

Using the tu form of Italian shows a warmth for an individual the speaker feels close to.

So, in what situation would someone use chiamarsi to ask another’s name in the tu form? This statement seems like a contradiction; if I am using the tu form, I must already know this person, right? So, then why would I be asking their name? As mentioned before, the tu form is always used with children, even if you’ve just met a child. So to ask a child’s name, use, “Come ti chiami?” If you ask the child’s name with the formal Lei, you will seem overly polite and may elicit a chuckle from the parent or even the child themself!

The expression “Come ti chiami?” is also helpful between adults. In the adult world, we may meet someone superficially as part of a group on a routine basis, such as in a required business meeting or in the classroom. So when two people know each other superficially, but have not been formally introduced, one may ask another directly, “Come ti chiami?” This assumes, of course, that the two individuals have the same position in the group and are of similar age and feel a connection due to their shared experience.

According to Italian convention, to use the familiar tu with someone you have not officially met is a sign that you feel yourself better than them or that you simply don’t care about being polite. The movie, “The Nights of Caibiria,” by Federico Fellini, is a study in this type of personality. In the beginning of the film, a “famous movie star” character consistently addresses others with the tu form when he is out for the evening visiting night clubs in Rome. After he uses the tu form, others respond with the Lei. When interacting on a personal level with a women he meets that night, he uses the familiar tu form from their first conversation; she knows that he is famous and does not reprimand him. The self-centered, “famous actor” drives this woman to another night club in Rome before he brings her to his home, and, after several hours finally asks her, “Come ti chiami?”

However, the traveler who is not Italian and has limited knowledge of the Italian language, any attempt to speak Italian is usually appreciated. It is not normally taken as a sign of disrespect if the traveler replies in the more easily remembered tu familiar form.

Are there other ways to be polite and familiar in Italian?

Also important to remember are the polite and familiar ways to say “hello” and ” good bye” in Italian. For instance, the Italian word “Ciao!” is now commonly used in America with acquaintances. But Italians only use this expression among close friends, and it is good to remember this social convention when one is a visitor to Italy.

The correct translation of “ciao” is “hi” or “bye,” and not “hello” or “good bye.” This translation shows how informal this Italian expression really is! So when entering a shop keeper’s store, it is proper to say a polite, “Buon giorno!” for “Good day!” and when leaving, “Arrivederci!” for “Good bye!” and not simply, “Ciao!” When Detective Montalbano speaks with the chief of police on the telephone, and the conversation ends, he uses the ultra formal, “Arrivederla.”

Below is a table reproduced from the book Conversational Italian for Travelers “Just the Important Phrases,” with the many (but not all) expressions of meeting and greeting that are used in Italy today.

Buon giorno.* Good morning. (lit. Good day.) used all day into evening

Buona sera.* Good evening. early night–time greeting

Buona notte.* Good night. used when leaving/bedtime

Buona giornata. (Have a) good day. to wish someone a nice (entire) day

Ciao! Hi!/Bye! informal greeting family/friends

Salve. Hello._________________________________both familiar and polite

Ci vediamo! (Until) we see each other (again)! for family or for a friend you

hope to see again soon

Arrivederci. Good bye. familiar polite

Arriverla. Good bye. polite, with respect

ArrivederLa. Good bye. formal written form

Come va? How (is it) go(ing)? a slang greeting used often

Ciao bella!/Ciao bello! Hey, beautiful girl!/Hey handsome! for someone you know (well)

A dopo! (See you) later! good-bye between friends

A più tardi! (See you) later! good-bye between friends

A presto! (See you) soon! good-bye between friends

*Can be written as one word: buongiorno, buonasera, buonanotte.

How do I change from the polite to the familiar in Italian?

Since Italian has created a situation where two people can be polite (to show respect for each other) or familiar (to show caring between family and friends), there is also a need for phrases that will take people from a polite relationship to a familiar one.

The verb dare, which means “to give,” is used in important expressions that allow the change to be made from a formal conversation, using the polite verb form for “you” (the Lei form), to a familiar conversation, using the familiar verb form of “you” (the tu form).

Imagine, for instance, that a conversation starts up at a gathering between two people who are of the same age and have just met. At some point in the conversation, one will say to the other, “Diamoci del tu,” which does not have a good literal translation, but roughly means, “Let’s use the familiar form of you (the tu form) with each other and address each other familiarly.” The reflexive pronoun ci is added to the end of the verb diamo in order to refer to each other. This is a familiar way to ask the question, and assumes a level of comfort that the feeling of familiarity will be reciprocated.

An even more familiar way to ask the same question is to use the command familiar form of this phrase, which is, “Dammi del tu!” for “Give me the tu!” The use of this phrase emphasizes the closeness that the speaker already feels toward the other individual just in the way the question is asked, as familiar command phrases are normally only used between family and close friends.

There are other ways to make this request. If the person making the request wants to continue in the polite way of speaking when the request is being made, and switch only after consent is given, he or she could use the verb potere and the very useful phrase of politeness we have come across many times before in the Conversational Italian for Travelers books: “Mi può…” In this case, the phrase would be, “Mi può dare del tu,” for “You can use the familiar form of “you” with me.”

Or, perhaps one is speaking to an older individual and is not sure the feeling of familiarity will be reciprocated. They can use the same phrase in a question form, as in, “Le posso dare del tu?” which means, “Can I use the familiar form of ‘you’ with you?” Or, alternatively, “Possiamo darci del tu?” for “Can we use the familiar form with each other?”

Finally, as noted earlier in this blog, Italians use the polite form of “you” in conversation as a way of showing respect to older individuals, professionals, or those in government. Between Italians, then, a situation may arise where someone of importance might feel another individual is not showing proper respect or has become too familiar with them by their use of the familiar tu in conversation. In this case, a conversation may start in the familiar, but revert to the polite at the request of a superior with the polite command, “Mi dia del Lei!” which means, “Use the polite form of “you” with me!

The many ways to ask someone to have a friendly conversation with you are summarized below.

“Diamoci del tu.” ___________________________________________ informal request

“Dammi del tu!”____________________________________________ informal command

“Mi può dare del tu.” _______________________________________ polite request

“Le posso dare del tu?” ____________________________________ polite question

“Possiamo darci del tu?” ___________________________________polite question

If you feel that someone is being too friendly or acting familiar in a formal situation, you can say:

“Mi dia del Lei!” ____________________________________________ polite command

If you’ve tried to switch from polite to familiar with friends you’ve made
in Italy, leave a comment describing your method and let us know how it worked!

Remember how ask, “Can we speak in the familiar with each other?” in Italian with
“Dare del tu?” and I guarantee
you will use this phrase every day!

Conversational Italian for Travelers books are shown side by side, standing up with "Just the Verbs" on the left and "Just the Grammar" on the right — Conversational Italian for Travelers “Just the Grammar” and “Just the Verbs” books: Available on amazon.com and Learn Travel Italian.com

The cover of Conversational Italian for Travelers "Just the Important Phrases" book is viewed on a smartphone — Conversational Italian for Travelers “Just the Important Phrases” book downloaded onto a cell phone from www.learntravelitalian.com

Our Italy — Tropea, Calabria: Italy’s Most Beautiful Village, by Karen Haid

A white castle in the city of Tropea, Calabria, sits atop a sheer cliff of white stone. There is a small park behind the castle and at the foot of the cliff a beach with people enjoying the sun and sea.

May 18, 2021May 17, 2021 ~ stellalucentellc ~ 2 Comments

Ciao a tutti! Since 2020, I have been posting the series of blogs, “Our Italy.” In this series, I share bloggers’ experiences of Italy, a country whose culture has captivated the world for thousands of years. I think now is the time to share these memories, knowing that one day we will all be able to return, inspired anew by the Italian people and their land.

Today I am happy to share a guest blog entitled: Tropea, Calabria: Italy’s Most Beautiful Village — It’s Official! from the blog “Calabria: The Other Italy,” written by author, blogger and tour guide Karen Haid.

Karen Haid is a multifaceted person, who was raised by parents who had lived in Italy for 5 years after their marriage and returned to the United States as Itaophiles. They transferred their love of Italian cuisine and culture to their children. Karen’s primary focus was the world of classical music prior to her immersion in Italian language when she visited Italy as an adult. Karen remained in Italy, where, on her way to becoming fluent in Italian, she has earned the Dante Alighieri Society’s certification of mother-tongue equivalency and a diploma in the teaching of Italian language and culture.

Several years ago, Karen’s primary focus became the regions of Basilicata and Calabria. Karen lived in Calabria and so she was able to experience the Italian culture in that region firsthand. Given her advanced level of Italian, when she now returns to Calabria as a tour guide, she is able to have many meaningful and wonderful conversations with locals, in which nothing gets lost in translation. Karen now promotes and has written about Calabria in her blog and book of the same name, Calabria: The Other Italy. The explanation for Karen’s fascination with Calabria, from her blog:

…from the moment she set foot on Calabrian soil, the author was intrigued by the characteristic determination of the Calabrese people, the wealth of its history and art, the beauty and variety of its landscape, and its rich culture, most often celebrated in terms of extraordinary culinary offerings. Calabria: The Other Italy grew out of her four-year immersion, observing, interacting and absorbing the wonders of the people and the place.

Recently, the rest of Italy has recognized Calabria’s beauty as well. From Karen’s blog:

Tropea, Calabria has just been voted the Borgo dei Borghi, the Village of the Villages, in a contest that asked Italians to choose the most beautiful amongst the Borghi più belli d’Italia, or Italy’s most beautiful villages. A difficult choice, to be sure, but Tropea isn’t called la Perla del Mediterraneo for nothing. Let’s have a look at this Pearl of the Mediterranean!

Click on the link below to read more about Tropea and view photos of one this picturesque village, built into sheer cliffs overlooking the Mediterranean sea: Tropea, Calabria: Italy’s Most Beautiful Village — It’s Official!

Italian Phrases We Use EVERY Day!® Let’s Talk About… How Much Does it Cost? “Quanto Costa?”

April 14, 2021July 25, 2023 ~ stellalucentellc ~ 8 Comments

Kathryn for learntravelitalian.com — Kathryn Occhipinti, MD, for Learn Travel Italian.com

Ciao a tutti! We are on our way to speaking Italian more easily and confidently by the end of 2021!

When visiting another country (and I am sure travelers will one day be able to visit Italy again), it is important to understand the ins and outs of making a purchase. Whether you are dining at a restaurant, visiting an important historical site, or purchasing a souvenir of your trip, knowing a few words in Italian is always helpful to understand the cost. And if you like to barter, you can pepper your English with a few friendly Italian phrases to help the deal go through!

As I’ve said before, I believe that “commonly used phrases” are the key for how we can all build fluency in any language in a short time.

If we learn how to build on the “commonly used phrase” “Quanto costa,” which is Italian for “How much does it cost?” we will be able to communicate what we want to purchase, just as we do in our native language!

This post is the 43rd in a series of Italian phrases we have been trying out in our Conversational Italian! Facebook group. If you’d like to read the earlier posts in the series, “Italian Phrases We Use EVERY Day!” just click HERE

Many “commonly used phrases” in Italian

are used to ask
Quanto costa?
How much does it cost?

See below for how this works.

As we all master these phrases, so will you. Try my method and let me know how it works. What sentences will you create with these phrases?

Please reply. I’d love to hear from you! Or join our Conversational Italian! group discussion on Facebook.

The basics of the Italian language are introduced in the Conversational Italian for Travelers textbook and reference books Just the Verbs and Just the Grammar

found on amazon.com and Learn Travel Italian.com.

The rights to purchase the Conversational Italian for Travelers books in PDF format on two electronic devices can also be obtained at Learn Travel Italian.com.

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Let’s Talk About…

How Much Does it Cost?
Quanto Costa?

How do I use the verb costare?

In order to ask how much something costs in Italian, we will first need to conjugate the verb costare, which sounds very much like its English counterpart “to cost.” Costare is a regular -are verb, so the verb conjugation should be easy to remember. When making purchases, the third person singular “it costs,” which is “costa,” and the third person plural “they cost,” which is “costano,” are the two forms of this verb necessary to know.

Since we leave out the word “it” in conversational Italian, we simply need to put the word for “how much,” which is “quanto,” before costa or costano. This gives us the short sentences, “Quanto costa?” and “Quanto costano?” Remember that there is no need to insert the words “do” or “does” into your phrase when asking a question in Italian, although these words are necessary in English.

Let’s see how this works.

First off, it is polite to say, “Buon giorno!” to the shopkeeper when entering a shop in Italy. The shopkeeper will most likely be standing behind a counter near the doorway, and you will receive a polite “Buon giorno!” in return. Also, most shops in Italy have an unspoken rule — or sometimes an actual sign by the merchandise that says, “Non toccare, per favore” — requesting that customers do not handle fragile items themselves.

If you would like to have a closer look at an item, you can start by asking the shopkeeper, “Posso?” for “May I…” and point to the item you would like to pick up.

If you are in a shop in Florence, and see a lovely handmade wallet in a display case, if want to know the price, you can simply say, “Quanto costa?” for “How much does it cost?”

And if you want to purchase several silk scarves to bring home to your friends, you can ask, “Quanto costano?” for “How much do they cost?”

Quanto costa?	How much (does) (it) cost?
Quanto costano?	How much (do) (they) cost?

When asking a shopkeeper in Italy how much something costs, the easiest thing to do is to point to the item or items and use the simple sentences above. Most Italian shops are small and the salespeople are usually helpful and accommodating, regardless of one’s knowledge of Italian. But it is also easy to add the Italian word for the item you are interested in at the end of these sentences. Notice the verbs costa and costano are highlighted in green to emphasize how the verb costare will change depending on the number of items under consideration.

Quanto costa il portafoglio?	How much (does) the wallet cost?
Quanto costano le sciarpe?	How much (do) the scarves cost?

As a substitute for the name of the item, you can also point and use the adjective “this” for one item near you or “that” for another item further away. The adjectives “these/those” are used for more than one item. Remember to change the endings of “questo” (this) and “quello” (that) to reflect the gender of the item you want to purchase!

In the table below that the adjectives questo and quello are in blue, with their endings highlighted in red to match the endings of the nouns each corresponds to. If you need a more in-depth explanation of how to use the adjectives questo and quello, you will find this in the Conversational Italian for Travelers book “Just the Grammar.”

Quanto costa questo? (portafoglio)	How much (does) this cost?
Quanto costa questa? (sciarpa)	How much does this cost?
Quanto costano questi? (portafogli)	How much do these (wallets) cost?
Quanto costano queste? (sciarpe)	How much (do) these (scarves) cost?

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How do I spot a sale in Italy?

If you visit Italy at the end of June, and certainly in July and August, shops that sell clothing and accessories will be preparing for the fall season by putting their current items on sale. Large signs appear in shop windows, that say, “In Saldo” or “Saldi” and often list the percentage reduction, such as 25%, 50% or even 75%. Some additional words and phrases you may see in shop windows are given in the table below.

in vendita/ in saldo, saldi	on sale/ on sale for a reduced price
in svendita	in a closeout sale
sconto/ scontato	discount/ discounted
a prezzo basso	at low/ lowered price

Shop window in Rome with Italian dresses for sale up to 50% off.

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How do I barter in Italian?

The price of most smaller purchases in Italian shops is not negotiable, especially when the owner is not on site. But, many of the owners of the leather and jewelry shops in Florence actually expect you to barter with them! Bartering is also expected by many artisans that sell their work in the piazzas of Italy. Learn some of the phrases below. It may be fun to try out your bartering skills when Italy opens its doors to the world again!

Start a conversation with a shopkeeper by asking:

Quanto costa…

How much is…
(literally: How much costs…)

Of course, the listed price will be:

troppo caro	too expensive
costoso	expensive, costly
proprio costoso	really expensive
Costa un occhio della testa!	Costs an arm and a leg! (lit. Costs an eye out of the head!)

And here we go with bartering…

Quanto costa?	How much (does it) cost?
Venti euro.	(It costs) 20 euro.
Troppo caro! Facciamo quindici euro!	(That is) too expensive! Let’s make it 15 euros!
Non è in saldo… ma, diciannove va bene.	(It) is not on sale… but 19 is good.
No, è costoso! Può andar bene diciassette?	No, (it) is expensive! Perhaps 17?
Diciotto. Non posso fare più sconto!	18. (I) can’t discount it any more! (lit. I can’t make it (any) more discounted!)
Va bene!	Very well!/Agreed.

If you’ve tried bartering in Italy, leave a comment describing your method and let us know how it worked!

Remember how ask, “How much does it cost?” in Italian with
“Quanto costa?” and I guarantee
you will use this phrase every day!

Available on amazon.com and Learn Travel Italian.com

Our Italy — Tuscany’s Wine Windows blog from Italofile, by Melanie Renzulli

Print Wine doors of Florence Robbin Ghessling 2019 and 2020

February 24, 2021September 14, 2021 ~ stellalucentellc ~ Leave a comment

Today I am happy to share a guest blog entitled: “Tuscany’s Wine Windows – An Architectural Curiosity Makes a Comeback,” from the Italofile blog written by former Italian resident, author and Italian travel blogger Melanie Renzulli. Prior to 2020, these small stone windows scattered among various buildings in Tuscany had largely been overlooked by residents and tourists alike. If anything, they were only a momentary curiosity to residents out for a stroll through Florence, and easily passed by by the throngs of tourists on their way to see the many other treasures Florence holds. But, as it turns out, these now ornamental windows had an important function during the years of the plague in Tuscany and have now been receiving a bit of attention.

According to Melanie Renzulli, “The Wine Windows Association has discovered more than 250 wine windows throughout Tuscany, most of which are located in the historic center of Florence (149) and outside its walls (24). There are 93 documented wine windows in the rest of Tuscany, from Arezzo to Siena, Pistoia to Pisa.” Click on the link to read about this architectural curiosity from Melanie’s blog, “Tuscany’s Wine Windows – An Architectural Curiosity Makes a Comeback.”

Banner photo: Print – Wine doors of Florence by Robbin Gheesling 2019 and 2020. To purchase the print featured in the banner photo, click here.

Your Italian-American Gardening Tips – Fall Clean Up, An Autumn Soup, and Planting for Spring

oval plot of swiss chard plants growing after zucchini have been removed

December 5, 2020April 3, 2021 ~ stellalucentellc ~ Leave a comment

Ciao a tutti! I can’t believe that my last gardening blog was so many months ago in August! Actually, there hasn’t been much to report about maintaining the garden in the early fall, and I have mainly spent these last few months harvesting, cooking with fresh tomatoes, and posting what I’ve cooked on Instagram. In short, maintaining a garden in early fall is relatively easy in northern Illinois. Simply harvest what you can and clear away the plants that have given their all or die off with the oncoming frosts.

Speaking of freezing temperatures, I did post on my Conversationalitalian.french Instagam when it was time to take in my herb pots. Was it really as early as October 5 this year?

Anyway, little by little, I have been clearing out my garden beds of the annual vegetables of summer. For my cold-hardy leeks and leafy greens, like Swiss Chard and cavolo nero (Italian “black” kale), I have been weeding (this job never seems to end) and harvesting sparingly so they will continue to grow.

I have also taken the opportunity this fall to plant an essential Italian ingredient — garlic — which came up faithfully every year in my old garden when I was living in Peoria. I always look forward to garlic scapes (green shoots) in springtime, and of course, harvesting the bulbs later in the season. I also love shallots, and have planted these bulbs as well this year, so hopefully they will be ready to harvest in the summer. The enjoyable part of my fall garden duties this year has involved planting for next spring!

As I have mentioned in my previous Your Italian-American Gardening Tips blogs, this year I have been focusing on my raised gardens, and all the wonderful Italian vegetables that can be grown in the suburbs, even in a small space.

My hope is that you will enjoy the tips I’ve learned about gardening through many years of experience and be encouraged to start an Italian garden yourself — be it large or small, in a yard or on your porch, or even indoors in pots near a sunny window — after reading the blogs in this series “Your Italian Gardening Tips.”

Check out my Instagram account, ConversationalItalian.French to see photos of my garden as it progresses.

Below are my insights on how to clean up and prepare your garden beds for fall, caring for herbs over the winter, and what to plant for next spring.

And remember the Conversational Italian for Travelers series of books on Amazon.com and Learn Travel Italian.com if you want an easy, step-by-step way to learn the Italian of today. Free Cultural Notes, Italian Recipes, and Audio to help you practice your Italian are also found on Learn Travel Italian.com.

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Putting Garden Beds to Rest,
Harvesting Leeks and Planting Garlic

Fall 2020

As I mentioned in the introduction to my blog, during these past fall months, I did manage to complete the boring and labor intensive but necessary part of gardening — putting my garden beds to rest. Little by little, when a sunny day would appear, I took the opportunity to pull out my old and spent tomato and bean plants. I also finally cleared out my lettuce patch.

The soil in the raised beds that grew these annual vegetables all summer was then amended with compost and mulched leaves. I also added crushed egg shells to provide calcium for the tomato plants next year. I planted garlic bulbs in the perimeter of the beds where I will grow tomatoes next year. Some gardeners believe that garlic planted by tomatoes is beneficial and although I am not sure this is true, the particular location in my garden works for both plants for me and I will be able to harvest the garlic in mid summer before the tomato plants become too large and take over .

To plant garlic, simply separate the cloves and plant as you would any bulb, with the pointy side up. I like the Italian hard neck garlic best, of course. Homegrown garlic is said to be more flavorful, and I do love the garlic shoots (scapes) in the springtime.

Finally, I covered the garden beds that I don’t expect to produce until I plant again in spring with black landscape fabric, which I hope will keep weeds from growing in the meantime.

I had a small fall harvest of leeks from my garden beds as well. In the center of the lettuce bed, leeks had grown up nicely during the cool weather, just in time for me to harvest two for my family’s favorite “Thanksgiving Leek and Potato Soup.” I have not mentioned that I have been growing leeks up until now, as this year was my first attempt, and I wasn’t sure how things would go. Actually, although the initial planting was a bit difficult (the young seedlings I bought were grown together in one pot), after each seedling separated and placed in the soil, my leeks grew pest-free and virtually weed-free. The only activity required was to mound up the soil around each plant periodically as it grew. Here is how my gardens looked in the early fall and today, with the leeks still happily growing in the center of my mulched plot in early December.

Two rows of leek plants growing in a raised garden bed — Young leeks growing in early fall 2020

December leeks are growing in the middle of a plot with leaf mulch — December leeks 2020. Self-seeded borage growing to the left of the raised bed.

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Thanksgiving Leek and Potato Soup

Leek and potato soup is simplicity itself. Just two ingredients boiled together in a little salted water and then puréed, with a bit of cream added, yield a light, delightfully complex oniony flavored soup. Leek and onion soup is the most requested soup for Thanksgiving that I make, over mushroom and butternut squash. Below is my Instagram post from this year’s version.

My leeks were smaller than the grocery store leeks, but so flavorful that just two worked perfectly. Whether store bought or homegrown, the only trick is to remember to continuously clean the leeks of the bits of dirt that hide in between the layers. The white, long “bulb” part of the leek is used in cooking, along with the tender green portion of the bulb at its top. The long green leaves can be discarded into the compost bin.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Kathryn Occhipinti (@conversationalitalian.french)

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How to Overwinter Herbs

Overwintering herbs is one of the most tricky things about gardening. One has to know which herbs will survive the particular winter climate where they are gardening. Herbs that are said to be perennial (come up on their own each year) in one region may have to be grown as annuals in a another, colder region. Here is a short run-down of what I have found to work in northern Illinois.

Since I find fresh herbs essential to good cooking
I’d love to hear more helpful tips on how to overwinter,
so please feel free to leave a comment at the end of this blog!

Rosemary and Bay leaf: Each year I plant rosemary and bay leaf in pots so I can take them indoors to overwinter. Although their woody stems and tough leaves make it seem like they should be cold hardy, both plants will die with the first frost, so it is essential that they be moved indoors early. Rosemary and bay leaf are an important ingredient in Italian winter roasts and stews, so I find it wonderful to have easy access to these herbs in a sunny corner of my kitchen. The fresh bay leaf in particular has so much more flavor than the dried supermarket bay leaves that I will only use fresh bay leaves from my own plant, or those that I have dried myself the year before.

This is the second overwinter for my bay plant, and this year has been responding will to the blue spectrum of my new grow light, making many new leaves since I have brought it indoors. It is also the second year for my rosemary plant, which is particularly finicky, and needs good, cool air circulation and therefore to be kept away from any heating vents. Both plants will die if given too much water, so it is best to keep the soil dry.

Parsley: Parsley is a biennial, which means that it will grow into a plant every other year (setting seed in the year in between). Parsley does not always grow easily from seed easily in Illinois, so I take a large pot of parsley indoors every year and keep it as long as it will last. I will obtain new plants in spring from the gardening store.

Basil: Basil, of course, will flower and die back right afterward, and needs to be cut back several times over the summer. My mother and grandmother always clipped a few bunches of basil that would happily grow roots in water glasses on the window sill.

Marjoram and Oregano: Marjoram, which is also called “summer oregano” (and I think far more complex-tasting and fragrant than Italian oregano) is a tender perennial, meaning it will not survive a winter in Illinois. I have had Italian oregano bushes outgrow everything else in my herb garden over the years, though! Italian oregano will die back in the winter and come back year after year.

Mint and Catnip: The mint I planted 2 years ago came up again this year, overtook much of the perennial herb garden, and continued to seed flower beds on the other side of my yard! No need to worry at all about mint surviving the winter! I have had a similar experience with catnip as well.

Ancient Roman Herbs: I love rue for its delicate, finger-like leaves and borage for it’s beautiful pink and blue flowers. The Romans favored these herbs in their cooking, even floating the borage flowers in their wine! Both rue shrubs and individual borage plants and come back year after year in my gardens. Rue even grew well during the 3 weeks of consecutive days over 100 degrees last summer. The borage I planted this summer has already seeded out of its original pot and this fall another crop is growing happily along the southern side of my raised garden.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Kathryn Occhipinti (@conversationalitalian.french)

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The Zucchini Plot turns into a Swiss Chard Bed

As I’ve discussed in the last blog in this series, Tomatoes, Zucchini, Italian Beans, Brussels Sprouts, Swiss Chard, by late August my zucchini plants were growing valiantly outside their original garden plot, despite being infested by the squash-vine borer. I cleared out the old plants and harvested a few more zucchini flowers from the newer vines before removing all of the zucchini plants for the season. I specifically did NOT put the vines and leaves into my compost bin, so as not to spread disease. Instead, I bagged them up for the weekly neighborhood garbage collection.

This clean-up revealed the Swiss chard plants I had planted from seed in the summer, which were growing in the perimeter of the bed.

Unfortunately, as the Swiss chard plants had been deprived of sunlight, they had not grown very large by the end of August. (See photo to the right.)

I did find a few additional Swiss chard plants that also had not grown to maturity on a visit to the garden store. So I weeded, amended the soil in my old zucchini bed with compost, and planted additional plants in the center of the garden bed. All my Swiss chard plants have grown nicely in the cool weather and sunlight, and, despite several episodes of frost, one light snow, and a few of my harvests, they continue to do well. A recent photo is below from early December. I expect they will continue to do well as long as the late temperatures stay on the milder side. To harvest Swiss chard and other leafy greens like Italian cavolo nero (“black kale”), which I plan to plant next year, just take a few older leaves from the outer portion of each plant; more leaves will continue to grow in the center.

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Strawberry Plants with Rhubarb

My strawberry patch was newly planted this year, so I let it grow freely and have many healthy plants in the perimeter of this garden bed growing into the late fall. Rhubarb is in the center of the same garden bed, since it is said to be a classic companion plant for strawberries. There are a lot of myths that have grown up and been repeated over the years regarding companion planting, and often not much science applied, but to my mind this combination makes sense. Rhubarb and strawberries both come back to life in the early spring, need an open, sunny location to grow, and last into the fall. And, of course, the flavor of the rhubarb stalk and the strawberry fruit blend beautifully together in the classic strawberry rhubarb pie, which was the pie that got me hooked on pie making when I moved to the Midwest!

The strawberries in my previous garden in Peoria did well year after year with a sprinkling of compost in the late fall and strawberry fertilizer in the spring. This year I am a little further north, and I have straw reserved for the coldest days of winter. I plan to cover the strawberries with a thick layer of straw when the temperature drops to -20° for consecutive days, as it usually does in the last two weeks in January. Another precaution I always take is to cover strawberries with old sheets during a springtime frost, to protect the plants during their time of new growth.

Asparagus and Strawberries

My newly planted asparagus also did well growing in their new beds this year. I love asparagus, so have two raised garden beds with asparagus growing in the center. I plan to plant strawberries in the perimeter of each bed this spring, which love to grow partially sheltered from the summer sun under the asparagus fronds. The broad leaves of the strawberry plants in turn provide good ground cover in the perimeter of the asparagus, which grow tall but do not spread.

I will not be able to cut asparagus for the next 2-3 years, but will instead allow them to grow into high, lovely, fern-like plants. Asparagus should be cut back after the fronds turn yellow in the fall and a nice layer of compost applied over the crowns, so the roots can absorb nutrients through the winter and be ready for the springtime sprouts. This year, they developed pretty red berries before I was able to achieve this task. So, I’ll find out in the spring if the birds were able to spread asparagus plants throughout the garden!

Close up of a fern-like asparagus plant with red berries — Asparagus in the fall with red berries

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Until it is time for spring planting, when I will revisit this series,
please follow my Instagram account, Conversationalitalian.french
for the many ways to cook with Italian winter vegetables and herbs!

An Italian-American Turkey Recipe for Thanksgiving 2020

Kathryn holding a platter with a turkey roll that has been cut in half and the swirl of sausage and mushroom ragù filling visible.

November 25, 2020November 25, 2020 ~ stellalucentellc ~ 5 Comments

Ciao a tutti! Since we in America are all celebrating Thanksgiving a bit differently this year, I thought I would post a turkey recipe I’ve made before for small gatherings.

My Italian-American turkey recipe uses a full, boneless turkey breast, which is flattened, spread with a ragù of Italian sausage and cremini mushrooms, and then rolled up to form a log. When the log is cut into slices it makes an elegant presentation and a satisfying main course for 6 -8 people. I plan to use half the log for Thanksgiving and freeze the other half for an easy dinner later in the year.

I based my Italian sausage and mushroom ragù filling on the Bolognese ragù that my children have requested as their birthday dinner for years. Actually, the Bolognese ragù I make is by far my most requested dish all around (I have to admit, even though I am Sicilian and make a variety of southern Italian sauces). If you are interested in a true ragù recipe, here is the link to my blog: Italian Sauce Recipe: Bolognese Meat Ragù.

Check out my Instagram Conversationalitalian.french to watch the video when I cook my version of sausage and mushroom ragù filling and make the roasted turkey breast for my family to enjoy this Thanksgiving. Then read on for the recipe below.

If you’d like, leave a comment about your Thanksgiving celebration this year, and the traditions that are celebrated where you live.
I’d love to hear from you!

And by all means stay safe and have a wonderful Festa del Ringraziamento, however you celebrate this year.

Italian -American Thanksgiving Turkey Roll

Kathryn Occhipinti holding an oval platter with the Turkey Roll ready to serve — Kathryn Occhipinti with Turkey Roll ready to serve

Ingredients
(Serves 4 -8)

1 (4 lb.) whole turkey breast, deboned

For the Ragù Filling: Sausage

2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 Tbsp. butter
1 small shallot (or 1/2 onion) chopped finely
1/2 carrot, chopped finely
1/2 celery stalk, chopped finely
1/4c finely diced pancetta
Italian sausage meat from 2 links, casing removed
3/4c whole milk

For the Ragù Filling: Mushrooms

4 Tbsp. butter
2 Tbsp. olive oil
8 oz. cremini mushrooms, small dice

Procedure

For the Ragù Filling: Sausage

Use a medium size frying pan. Add the olive oil and butter and heat over medium high heat.

Add the finely chopped shallot or onion, celery, and carrot, and cook with a pinch of salt until vegetables have softened.

Add the chopped pancetta and cook to render out the fat.

Add the Italian sausage meat, and stir with a wooden spoon to break up meat as it browns.

Set aside while you cook the mushrooms.

For the Ragù Filling: Mushrooms

Use a medium size frying pan. Add the olive oil and butter and heat over medium high heat.

Remove garlic before it gets brown.

Add the diced mushrooms and cook over medium heat until the mushrooms soften. At first, they will appear to absorb all the liquid in the pan. As they finish cooking, they will release juices back into the pan.

When mushrooms have softened and there is liquid in the pan, add them to the sausage in the larger pan.

For the Ragù Filling: Finishing the Filling

Warm the sausage and mushrooms in the large frying pan over low heat.

Sprinkle 2 Tbsp. flour over the sausage and mushrooms and cook, stirring for about 2 minutes.

Warm the milk in the microwave (but do not boil, about 20 sec) and then drizzle slowly into the sausage/mushroom mixture while mixing over low heat. Bring to a very gentle simmer and then turn off heat. Continue stirring. The mixture should thicken.

Make the Turkey Log:

Rinse the turkey breast and pat dry. Trim any extra fat.

Remove the skin of the turkey breast carefully. Use the blunt edge of a carving knife. Try not to get any tears in the skin, as it will be used to cover the Turkey roll later. Set aside.

turkey breast with removal of skin — Preparing the turkey breast – Step 1

Set the turkey breast flat on the cutting board, skin side down. You will need to make the turkey breast as flat and as rectangular as possible. Start by trimming the tenders (the small, oblong pieces of meat along each underside) from the lower portion of the breast. Trim along the midline and then fold them outward to make “flaps” close to the main breast. The upper edges of the breast will be too thick; slice through them and remove or create an additional flap outward. Trim away any additional excess turkey to level off the breast.

Preparing the turkey breast - Step 2 - creating flaps with the tender of the breast — Preparing the turkey breast – Step 2

Cover the turkey breast with a sheet of wax paper. Then pound the turkey breast lightly with the flat side of a meat mallet to further flatten. Pound from the inner part of the breast to the outer edges on all sides.

Preparing the turkey breast - Step 3 flattening with a meat mallet — Preparing the turkey breast – Step 3

Spread the filling on the turkey breast and even out with a large spoon or spatula. You may have a bit too much filling; just discard what is left. Press the filling into the turkey breast with a wide spoon.

Roll the breast the long way from one side to to the other and make a tight, long log. The seam should be on the bottom of the roll.

Rolling the turkey breast with fillilng into a log — Rolling the turkey breast with sausage and mushroom filling into a log

Cover the log with the turkey skin and flatten around the roll with your hands so the skin is closely adhered to the turkey log.

Use cooking twine to tie the roast so it stays together while roasting. Three or four crosswise ties should cover most of the roll. No need to tie the roll lengthwise.

Brush olive oil on the skin surface and sprinkle with salt and freshly ground pepper. If your turkey breast came with a pop-up thermometer, make a small cut in the skin and insert it into the turkey log. Make sure it goes in as deeply as it would if it were in a regular breast.

Gently transfer the turkey log to a roasting pan, keeping the seam side down.

Turkey log prepared for roasting — Turkey log tied with thermometer re-inserted and prepared for roasting

Roast in the lower 1/3 of the oven 400° for 30 minutes. Then lower heat to 325° and cook for approximately 30 -40 minutes more.

The roast is finished cooking when the interior reaches 170°, and a thermometer should be used to test for doneness. If your turkey breast comes with a meat thermometer, reinsert this and use it as a guide.

When the roast has finished cooking, remove the twine and thermometer and present on a large oval plate. It looks lovely by itself or surrounded by roasted potatoes or a vegetable of choice.

Let rest 15 minutes, slice and serve.

Roasted turkey roll ready to slice and serve

Buon appetito e Buon Giorno del Tacchino!

Conversational Italian for Travelers Just the Important Phrases (with Restaurant Vocabulary and Idiomatic Expressions) is YOUR traveling companion in Italy! All the Italian phrases you need to know to enjoy your trip to Italy are right here and fit right into your pocket or purse.

Our Italy — All Saints Day and All Souls Day in Italy

A bowl of minestrone soup with chick peas on a table cloth with pictures of fruit.

October 21, 2020October 25, 2020 ~ stellalucentellc ~ 4 Comments

Ciao a tutti! For 2020, I have changed the name of my series, “Your Italian Travel Tips,” to “Our Italy.” In this series, I share bloggers’ experiences of Italy, a country whose culture has captivated the world for thousands of years. I think now is the time to share these memories, knowing that one day we will all be able to return, inspired anew by the Italian people and their land.

Today I am happy to share a guest blog about how the Halloween season is celebrated in Italy, written by Cinzia, a native Italian who was born and raised in Liguria. Although Cinzia loves to travel the world, her heart is in Italy, and she now teaches Italian for foreign students. I love Cinzia’s blog, Instant Italy for the lighthearted insights I find there about Italian life and culture. Here is what Cinzia has to say about herself

My name is Cinzia and Italy is the place I call home.

Books feed my soul, music fills my days and travelling makes my life richer. I am a day dreamer, tireless walker and believer in the power of little things.

I’ve created Instantly Italy to take you to Italy with me and explore together this crazy but “oh so lovely” country.

I’m sure you will enjoy reading Cinzia’s blog about All Saints Day and the day to follow, All Souls Day, celebrated on November 1st and 2nd in Italy. Since my father passed away almost 5 years ago, I have come to realize the importance of a day like All Souls Day. I want my children to remember the times they shared with their grandfather and other relatives who are no longer with us. Setting aside a special day to get together and reminisce about the past is one way to make sure we remember the times we cherished together as a family. After all, our connections to the past help to shape our future as well.

Today, I’m told, Italians celebrate the Halloween that we in America have popularized around the world with costumes, candy for the children, and parties for the adults. Of course, this is all great fun and my children always celebrate Halloween on October 31st. But I am glad to see that the Italian traditions for the days after Halloween are still followed in Italy, and the food traditions have remained intact.

I was especially happy to read in Cinzia’s blog that in Liguria they celebrate All Souls Day with a special chick pea soup, ceci con le costine, and plan to make this soup to for my Sunday “remembrance” dinner in November this year. Given the circumstances (i.e. given that it is still 2020), this soup will be a warming treat I can present in decorative jars and drop on a few doorsteps. Along with some ossi di morti from a previous blog!

Enjoy the excerpt below from Cinzia’s blog, All Saints’ Day in Italy and click on the link to continue reading the full blog. Check out my Instagram Conversationalitalian.french to watch the video when I cook my version of ceci con le costine and try it yourself if you like!

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A post shared by Kathryn Occhipinti (@conversationalitalian.french)

How do we celebrate All Saints’ Day, here in Italy?

First of all, let me just tell you one thing: we do not celebrate Halloween. Ok, I should be more precise: we used not to celebrate Halloween in the past, we have been doing it only lately.

When I was a kid, I had absolutely no clue of what Halloween was, for me it was just a weird celebration you saw in certain American movies or TV series. To be honest, I would never have believed we would end up celebrating it over here too. Probably people just wanted one more reason to have fun and decided it was time to make Halloween a proper feast in Italy as well.

Nowadays, shops are being decorated with carved pumpkins and scary stuff, kids go around asking for sweets and candies – even if, instead of saying “trick or treat”, they scream “dolcetto o scherzetto?” – and adults throw costume parties as they have seen in many TV shows, but Halloween is still not as huge as in the United States, for example.

After all, Halloween does not belong to our tradition, it is just something we borrowed from other countries.

Here in Italy, we celebrate All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day, on November 1st and November 2nd respectively. All Saints’ Day, Ognissanti in Italian, is the feast of all the Saints of the Catholic calendar and it is a public holiday, exactly like Christmas or Easter. We do not work nor go to school on that day. All Souls’ Day is called Giorno dei Morti in Italian and it is the day when we remember those who have departed. Click HERE to read more…

If you’d like, leave a comment how you celebrate Halloween, and the traditions that are celebrated where you live.
I’d love to hear from you!

Italian Phrases We Use EVERY Day!® Let’s Talk About… TV and the Movies in Italian

October 1, 2020July 25, 2023 ~ stellalucentellc ~ 2 Comments

Do you want to speak Italian more easily and confidently by the end of 2020?

One of the most common topics people discuss is what they have watched lately on their TV. But whether the discussion is about a made-for-TV series or a classic movie, the conversation usually revolves around the same topics: our likes and dislikes, intriguing points in the plot, and, of course, those fabulous actors. These common topics lead to common phrases we can learn in Italian to talk to our Italian friends!

As I’ve said before, I believe that “commonly used phrases” are the key for how we can all build fluency in any language in a short time.

If we learn how to incorporate “commonly used phrases” when we talk about the weather in Italian we will be able to communicate just as we do in our native language!

What TV series have you watched lately? On what site? were you thrilled, bored, or was it just an OK experience? Or maybe you have just streamed (or put in your own DVD for the umpteenth time) a favorite classic movie. Why is this movie your favorite? What about the characters attracts you to this movie time and time again?

This post is the 38th in a series of Italian phrases we have been trying out in our Conversational Italian! Facebook group. If you’d like to read the earlier posts in the series, “Italian Phrases We Use EVERY Day!” just click HERE

Many “commonly used phrases” in Italian

are used to talk about
TV and movies in Italian.

See below for how this works.

As we all master these phrases, so will you. Try my method and let me know how it works. What sentences will you create with these phrases?

Please reply. I’d love to hear from you! Or join our Conversational Italian! group discussion on Facebook.

The basics of the Italian language are introduced in the Conversational Italian for Travelers textbook and reference books Just the Verbs and Just the Grammar

found on amazon.com and Learn Travel Italian.com.

The rights to purchase the Conversational Italian for Travelers books in PDF format on two electronic devices can also be obtained at Learn Travel Italian.com.

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Let’s Talk About…

TV and the Movies in Italian

How do I say, “TV show” and “movies” in Italian?

The programs we watch on a television set (il televisore) or on a screen (lo schermo) are referred to most commonly in both English and Italian as “TV.” The pronunciation, of course, is different in each language. In Italian, the abbreviation “TV” is pronounced as an Italian would pronounce the letters “t” and “v,” which sounds like “tee-vooh.” Notice from the table below that there is an Italian word for TV programs in general (la televisione), and therefore the Italian abbreviation TV is feminine as well, and takes the feminine definite article la, as in la TV.

TV	La TV / La televisione
Cable TV	La TV via cavo
Satellite TV	La TV sattelitare
RAI-TV	Italian state television (Radio-Televisione Italiana)
Television set	Il televisore
TV or computer screen	Lo schermo
TV show	Un programma Un programma televisivo
TV series	Una serie TV/Due Serie Un telefilm
Episode	Una puntata
Situation Comedy	Una serie TV sitcom Una commedia
Comedy show	Un programma comico

Back in the day, Italians used to refer to a movie as “una pellicola,” but that word is no longer in common usage. Nowadays, Italians most often refer to a movie with the American word “film.” For instance, “Voleva la pena il film?” means, “Was it worth it to watch the movie?”

Movies in general are either “i film,” with the borrowed English word preceded by the plural masculine definite article “i” in Italian, or “il cinema,” which is a collective masculine noun.

The usual Italian verbs for to watch (guardare) and to see (vedere) describe the act of watching a screen to see a TV show or movie.

Movie theater	Il cinema
Film studio	Lo studio cinematografico
Movie	Il film (La pellicola)
Movies	I film / Il cinema
to capture an image for a film	filmare / riprendere / girare
to be recorded	essere filmato
to watch a movie	guardare un film
to watch a movie	vedere un film

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Using piacere to say we like a TV show or movie

In Italian, a few simple sentences will suffice to say if we liked what we saw — or not. You may recall that Italians use the irregular verb piacere to convey the idea that they like something. For a refresher on how this verb works, please refer to past blogs, “Piacere — How Italians Say, ‘I like it!” and “Piacere: How Italians Say, ‘I liked it!’

The most important thing to remember is that the conjugation of piacere
will have to agree with the number of things that are being liked.

So, when speaking in the present tense, if one thing is liked, simply use the third person singular conjugation piace.

If many things are liked in the present, use the plural third person, which is piacciono.

For the past tense, we can use the passato prossimo third person singular forms è piacuto and è piaciuta for the one-time event when we liked something.

If many things are liked, the third person plural forms sono piaciuti for the masculine plural and sono piaciute for the feminine plural are used.

Then put the indirect object pronoun mi before the verb to make the simple sentence: “To me, this is pleasing!” Or, as we would say in English, “I like/liked this!”

To ask a friend if they like or liked something, put ti before the verb, for: “Is/was this pleasing to you?” Or, as we would say in English, “Do/Did you like this?”

If, for some reason, you do NOT like what you have watched, just start your Italian sentence with the word non.

What we might say about our favorite TV show or movie that we like:

Mi piace questo film.	I like this movie.
Mi è piaciuto questo film.	I liked this movie.

Mi piace molto questo film.	I really like this movie.
Mi è piaciuto molto questo film.	I really liked this movie.

Ti piace questo film?	Do you like this movie?
Ti è piaciuto questo film?	Did you like this movie?

What we might say about our favorite TV show or movie that we did NOT like:

Non mi piace questo film.	I don’t like this movie.
Non mi è piaciuto questo film.	I didn’t like this movie.

Mi piace molto questo film.	I really don’t like this movie.
Mi è piaciuto molto questo film.	I really didn’t like this movie.

Ti piace questo film?	Don’t you like this movie?
Ti è piaciuto questo film?	Didn’t you like this movie?

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Using common expressions to say we like a TV show or movie

Of course, there are many common expressions that go beyond the simple, “I like it,” or “I don’t like it.” In English, for instance, we might say, “It was cool,” or “It was out of this world.” It seems like new English expressions are invented almost every day for how we feel about things! So, it should come as no surprise that Italians have also created expressions for feelings that go deeper than simply liking. Let’s discuss a few that you may hear when carrying on a conversation with your Italian friends.

To get a conversation started, you can use the phrases, “Vale la pena?” for “Is it worth it?” “Voleva la pena il film?” means, “Was the film worth it?” as mentioned earlier.

In the table below are some answers that you might hear from a native Italian who has enjoyed a film. Try them out and surprise your Italian friends!

Mi piace un sacco!	I like it a lot! (lit. a sack full)
Mi è piaciuto un sacco!	I liked it a lot!
È stato bello!	It was great!
È / È stato meraviglioso!	It is / was wonderful!
È / È stato stupendo!	It is / was amazing / cool!
È / È stato fantastico!	It is / was fantastic / cool!
È / È stato fico / figo!	It is / was cool!
È / È stato fichissimo / fighissimo!	It is / was the coolest!
È / È stato da paura!	It is / was cool!
È / È stato il meglio!	It is / was the best!
È il migliore film che io abbia mai visto.	It is the best film that I have ever seen.

Some common movie genres

Action	Film d’azione
Adventure story	Storia d’avventura
Costume drama (historical TV show with costumes)	Sceneggiato in costume
Costume drama (historical film with costumes)	Film in costume
Comedy	Film comico / commedia
Comedy drama	Commedia drammatica
Dark comedy	Commedia nera
High comedy	Commedia sofisticata / da intenditori
Low comedy (bawdy)	Commedia popolare
Slapstick comedy	Farsa / Pagliacciata*
Musical comedy	Commedia musicale
Romantic comedy	Commedia romantica
Documentary	Un documentario
Drama	Storia drammatica
Drama movie	Film drammatico / Dramma
Detective movie	Un poliziesco / Un giallo**
Film noir (thriller genre)	Film noir
Foreign Film	Film straniero
Horror	Film horror / Film dell’orrore
Mystery	Un giallo**
Science Fiction / Sci-fi	Film di fantascienza
Psychological thriller	Thriller psicologico
Thriller (suspense film)	Thriller / Giallo
Western	Film Western

*Reference to the opera Pagliacci, whose main character is a clown that performs slapstick humor with puppets.

**Mystery books and films are referred to by the color giallo, which is derived from the yellow cover all mystery books were given in the past.

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Using common expressions to say what we prefer

The verb preferire means “to prefer,” which is a regular -isc conjugated -ire verb.“I prefer…” is “Io preferisco…” To ask a question of someone else, say, “Tu preferisci…?”

If you want to say you prefer one movie genre over another, just use the adjective preferito. This also works for your favorite movie, TV show, color, etc. Just make sure to change the ending of preferito (a,i,e) to reflect what it is you are describing, whether masculine or feminine, singular or plural.

Here are examples from the dialogue below:

È il tipo di film che io preferisco.
It’s the type of film that I prefer.

Non per me. Il mio film preferito è un buon giallo.
Not for me. My favorite movie is a good mystery movie.

If you want to say, “I liked (film) better than…” use the sentence construction:

“Mi piace… (film) più di + definite article… (film).

Ma mi piace La Vita è Bella più del Commissario Montalbano.
I like La Vita è Bella more than Detective Montalbano.

Another way to make a comparison between films is to say:
“This film is much better than…”

“Questo film è molto meglio di + definite article…”

Questo film è molto meglio del Commissario Montalbano, sono sicuro!
This film is much better than Detective Montalbano, I am sure.

Finally, to mention who has written or directed a movie, use the conjunction “di” to mean “by.”

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Below is a simple dialogue between two friends, Maria and Anna, talking about their favorite movie and TV show. There are, of course, many variations. Think about your favorite movie and create phrases describe your own feelings in Italian!

Maria:	*Ieri sera, ho guardato il film, La Vita è Bella,* di Roberto Benigni.**
	Last night, I watched the movie, “Life is Beautiful,” by Roberto Benigni.

Anna:	Ne è valsa la pena?
	Was it worth it?

Maria:	Si, vale la pena. Mi è piaciuto molto questo film!
	Yes, it is worth it. I really liked this film!

Anna:	È una storia drammatica?
	Is it a drama?

Maria:	Si, è una storia drammatica, ma la prima parte è anche un po’ comica.
	Yes, it is a drama, but the first part is also a bit funny.

Anna:	Ah, una commedia drammatica.
	I see, a comedy drama.

Maria:	È il tipo di film che io preferisco.
	It’s the type of film that I prefer.

Anna:	Non per me. Il mio film preferito è un buon giallo.
	Not for me. My favorite movie is a good mystery movie.

	Commissario Montalbano è figo.
	Detective Montalbano is cool.

Maria:	Boh. Ho visto molte puntate del Commissario Montalbano sul TV.
	Well. I have seen many episodes of Detective Montalbano on TV.

	Ma mi piace La Vita è Bella più del Commissario Montalbano.
	I like La Vita è Bella more than Detective Montalbano.

	Questo film è molto meglio del Commissario Montalbano, sono sicuro!
	This film is much better than Detective Montalbano, I am sure.

Anna:	*Allora, devo guardare La Vita è Bella* un giorno.**
	*Well, then, I will have to watch La Vita è Bella* one day.**

Remember how to talk about TV and the Movies in Italian and I guarantee
you will use these phrases every day!

Available on amazon.com and Learn Travel Italian.com

Our Italy — Bologna Uncovered, by Silvia Donati

Panoramic view of the city of Bologna and the building San Michele in Bosco located in the hills above the city

September 24, 2020 ~ stellalucentellc ~ 2 Comments

Today I am happy to share a guest blog written by Silvia Donati from Bologna Uncovered. Here is what Sylvia says about herself and Bologna on her website:

My name is Silvia Donati, I’m a licensed tour guide with specialization in hiking and the environment. I’m also a freelance journalist, writing for English-language publications about Italian travel, food and culture, including Italy Magazine, where I work as a contributing editor.

Bologna Uncovered started as a blog about my native Bologna and surrounding region of Emilia-Romagna. Despite being often overlooked in favor of more popular Italian destinations, this area offers a lot in terms of sightseeing, art, history, cuisine, natural landscapes, and fun times.

As I added more articles to the blog, readers started asking me if I offered tours in the area. At the same time, I developed a passion for hiking and mountains. Thus, I decided to obtain my license to work professionally as a guide.

I believe that active travel is the best way to travel. Only the slow pace of walking allows you to fully experience a place – to see, hear, smell, touch, and feel; to slow down, talk to the locals, explore hidden corners; and to be light on the earth.

I have always been intrigued by the city of Bologna, said to be home to the oldest university in the world and of course wonderful, rich Italian cooking. Think Prosciutto di Parma, Balsamic vinegar, and Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, combined with butter and cream to make delicious sauces.

As one who loves to search the Internet for information about Italy, I have seen countless panoramas of Bologna, with its sea of rose colored buildings and their red rooftops flanking the winding, ancient streets.

But Silvia’s blog Why You Should See San Michele in Bosco in Bologna describes the wonders of Bologna from a different viewpoint. This blog focuses on the hillside outside of this great city that provides the classic panoramic view, but also contains an important architectural site. Below is an excerpt from her blog. Click on the link to read more about this Italian treasure in the hills outside Bologna.

San Michele in Bosco is mainly known for the panoramic view over Bologna, and rightly so because it is one of the best you can get of the city, from the so-called piazzale (plaza), the area in front of the church.

But San Michele in Bosco also refers to the architectural complex comprising both the church and nearby former monastery that stand on the plaza; it is one of the oldest religious settlements built in Bologna… Click here to read more.

If you’d like, leave a comment about Bologna..
Where did you visit? How did the experience make you feel? I’d love to hear from you!

Christmas in Italy

An Italian Holiday Party Conversation

Introductions:

Responses:

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Let’s Talk About…

Getting from Polite to Familiar in Italian withDare del Tu

How do we conjugate an Italian verb into the polite or familiar form?

How do we use an Italian verb in the polite form?

How do we use an Italian verb in the familiar form?

Are there other ways to be polite and familiar in Italian?

How do I change from the polite to the familiar in Italian?

Share this with your friends!

Share this with your friends!

Let’s Talk About…

How Much Does it Cost? Quanto Costa?

How do I use the verb costare?

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How do I spot a sale in Italy?

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How do I barter in Italian?

Share this with your friends!

Share this with your friends!

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Putting Garden Beds to Rest,Harvesting Leeks and Planting Garlic

Fall 2020

Thanksgiving Leek and Potato Soup

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How to Overwinter Herbs

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The Zucchini Plot turns into a Swiss Chard Bed

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Strawberry Plants with Rhubarb

Asparagus and Strawberries

Share this with your friends!

Share this with your friends!

How do we celebrate All Saints’ Day, here in Italy?

After all, Halloween does not belong to our tradition, it is just something we borrowed from other countries.

Share this with your friends!

Let’s Talk About…

TV and the Movies in Italian

How do I say, “TV show” and “movies” in Italian?

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Using piacere to say we like a TV show or movie

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Using common expressions to say we like a TV show or movie

Some common movie genres

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Using common expressions to say what we prefer

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Share this with your friends!

Share this with your friends!

Getting from Polite to Familiar in Italian with
Dare del Tu

How Much Does it Cost?
Quanto Costa?

Putting Garden Beds to Rest,
Harvesting Leeks and Planting Garlic