Buondì. It’s the last week of (astronomical) summer, which this year ends next Tuesday, September 22nd. Though of course (meteorological) summer has been over for a couple of weeks, ormai, having ended along with August, the final ‘summer’ month in the northern hemisphere. Confused? There’s a surprisingly helpful explanation here. But anyway, the last week […]

Buondì. A quick one today, as I have lots to do. Episode 27 of our thirty-part series of articles with audio, ‘La storia di Roma‘, is ready for you to read/listen to. It’s quite a long one, as the fifth century seems to have been a busy time. And quite a chaotic one at that! […]

Buondì. Pontius Pilate, remember him? Sure you do! From Sunday school, probably. If not, though, a quick glance at the every useful Wikipedia will tell you that he was “the fifth governor of the Roman province of Judaea, serving under Emperor Tiberius from 26/27 to 36/37 CE.” History doesn’t have much else to say about […]

Buondì. The ninety-two years from 192 CE to 284 CE seem to have been such a busy time in ancient Rome that even our Italian teacher, writer, and history buff, Francesca Colombo, seems to have got fed up with the constantly changing emperors. “Non abbiamo qui il tempo di analizzarli tutti”, she writes. Suffice it […]

Buondì. I’ve just finished reading a fascinating overview of religion in ancient Rome (before Christianity – there’s a dedicated article on that coming next week). The boss god was Jupiter, apparently, who was married to his jealous sister Juno, their only son being Mars, god of war and so of Roman legionnaires, who carried out […]

Buondì. For all you Russell Crowe fans out there (the club has lots of members in Australia, and some in New Zealand), today we have the slice of history on which the film for which Russ won his Oscar, Gladiator, was based. Along with a half-price ‘Ebook of the Week’ offer, given that we already […]

Buondì. No time for pontificating today. And I’m in too much of a rush to be witty. I have to teach at ten, you see, which means putting on a shirt and combing my hair. But before that, there’s my weekly hour of conversation practice in Turkish, which I try not to miss. I’ve been […]

Buondì. This week I’ve been exchanging emails with one of our online teachers who wants to develop materials (exercises, ebooks) for learners of Italian. One topic that came up was prepositions, which we agreed is a difficult area and relevant to students at all levels. Prepositions are tested in Italian exams right up to the […]

Buondì. Hope you had a pleasant weekend. We managed to get out on the boat, and for once there was the right combination of sun, wind and waves. Then, back home from the coast, Sunday evening saw a storm, so a welcome few degrees drop in this tiresome August heat. But enough with the fun […]