Buondì. A while back, over at EasyItalianNews.com, we had a couple of people moaning about our writers’ use of the term ‘ragazzo nero’ (literally ‘black boy’ but better translated as ‘black guy’) to describe the unfortunate recipient of a rather generous number of police bullets. The commentors separately made the point that the use of […]
“several glugs of overpriced beer cheaper than usual”
Buondì. This came in overnight, by email: Do you offer any coupons or a loyalty program discount? I would like to buy these books but would appreciate getting 25% off my purchase. Beh, it never hurts to ask, does it? And in fact, when people do ask, I’m always happy to help if I can. […]
The thrill of revolution!
Buondì. I was a revolting teenager, or a revolutionary one, depending on who you ask. But those were the Thatcher years: mass unemployment, the miners’ strike, and so on. Some of my peers dreamed of being accountants, but my career goals involved facilitating the collapse of capitalism and helping with the construction of whatever, fairer […]
My goodness, haven’t we come a long way since 753 BCE?
Buondì. And here we are, at the END of our thirty-part series of free articles with audio, ‘La storia di Roma‘. As mentioned earlier this week, the Eastern Roman Empire, with its capital Constantinople, lasted nearly a thousand years longer than the Western Roman Empire, which officially ended in 473 CE when its leader chose […]
Intelligent questions to ask a polyglot when you meet one
Buondì. So the Roman empire is O.V.E.R. But what happened next? Find out in: Episodio 29. L’epilogo dell’Impero d’Occidente. I regni romano-germanici That’s the penultimate in our thirty-part series of articles with audio, ‘La storia di Roma‘. The last one will be on Friday, when we’ll leap ahead to the end of the Medieval period […]
The last week of (astronomical) summer
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 […]
Huns, vandals, and virgins again!
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! […]
Pontius Pilate, remember him?
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 […]
“This is an automated message”
Buondì. Actually, this is not an automated message. However, times being what they are, a quest for efficiency has begun here at OnlineItalianClub.com, which means a degree of ‘automation’ is very much on the cards! More about that in a moment. But first, here’s the link to Episode 25 in our FREE 30-part series of […]
‘Game of Thrones’ on steroids!
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 […]