Buondì.
Don’t the stars look good today?
Well, the overcast, late-October, Bologna-Friday-morning sky, anyway.
Though it is drizzling some as I write.
So damp, yes. But refreshing!
And importantly, with no whiff of sulphur, nor even an echo of the cries of the damned.
Yes, we’ve escaped hell at last!
(This is NOT a Brexit metaphor.)
Dante and Virgilio have (spoiler alert) made it past Lucifer and so “uscimmo a riveder le stelle”
My translation of that would be: “we got out and once more saw the stars”.
Longfellow’s Italian cleaning lady rendered it more poetically as “Thence we came forth to rebehold the stars”.
So there.
This is the end Beautiful friend:
Done with ‘Inferno’, the big question, then, is what we should do next.
Francesca, the writer who chose the Inferno extracts and wrote them up for us, was keen to get on with ‘Purgatorio’, the second in the ‘Divina Commedia’ trilogy.
But I think I’ve managed to put her off for a while, perhaps until next summer when things are quiet.
That’s not set in stone, though, so if you’re worried about getting Dante cravings, do write and tell me.
Or vice versa, if you’d be happy never to hear from the sanctimonious but gossipy Florentine ever again.
I was thinking, actually, that we’d do something modern next, perhaps in the form of a ‘book club’ as someone emailed to suggest recently.
Again, your views are welcome.
Besides the literature, coming soon we have a FREE TRIAL ONLINE LESSON OFFER (for new students only.)
That’ll begin on Nov. 4th – watch this space for details.
And there’ll be a couple more interesting new easy reader ebooks to look forward to, which will help pay the club’s bills.
Beh, basta per oggi.
I still have to listen to the radio in Swedish. Here are the Dante links again:
A venerdì, allora!
P.S.
Here’s your final reminder re. the ‘Save 25%’ launch offer on our latest easy reader ebook, Anselmo e l’avvelenamento del Papa, which ends on Sunday night.
Until then Anselmo e l’avvelenamento del Papa costs just £5.99. From Monday, the price will be £7.99.
Remember, Anselmo e l’avvelenamento del Papa is the final story in a trilogy. The previous two easy reader ebooks are:
- (vol. 1) Anselmo e l’omicidio di Giovanni Borgia
- (vol. 2) Anselmo e la moglie spagnola
And remember also that we have plenty of lower-level ebooks in our online shop. The Catalog page shows the whole kit and caboodle, listed by type and level.
P.P.S.
Thursday’s bulletin of ‘Easy’ Italian News is cued, ready for you to take ten minutes or so out of your Friday to improve your Italian listening and reading skills. Hit it, DJ!