Buondì.
Yes, well – I’m off to the coast for the weekend, and leaving shortly, so needed to get your attention.
King Vittorio Emanuele II di Savoia – future ruler of the whole of Italy, lucky man – was nicknamed “il re galantuomo” (the gentleman king), though privately was considered by his peers to be more or less the opposite, so rather ‘rozzo‘, which Wordreference.com variously translates as ‘coarse’, ‘crude’, ‘uncouth’, ‘loutish’, and ‘boorish’. Take your pick.
Like many previous ‘Italian’ kings, going back as far as Odoacre and the end of the western Roman empire in 476 CE (what used to be called AD), young Vittorio was into war, hunting and women in a big way – our writer doesn’t specify in which order – so had rather less time for the nitty-gritty of politics and policy. An old-fashioned version of the modern ‘golf and pornstars’, maybe.
But given that, in the centuries before democracy, an effective monarch’s two primary duties were to defend the realm and to produce heirs, the king’s professional and personal enthusiasms probably suited his role well, and would account for occasional ungentlemanly observations, such as:
“Ho scoperto che le donne a Parigi non portano le mutande. Questo è un cielo azzurro che si apre per me!”
Fortunately, Vittorio had the wily Cavour to do his politicking for him (see Wednesday’s Episode 2 in our new, free Summer Series). Their dramatic falling out had soon been forgotten, presumably as neither had better alternatives to the other, and the two ‘protagonisti’ were united once more on their mission to stop the third ‘protagonista’, leftie Garabaldi, from getting too big for his boots and messing up the geopolitics.
Alliances, disloyaly, heroes getting sold down the river, the rich staying rich and the poor getting poorer – is there nothing new under the sun? Apparently not.
Details are in Episodio 3. I protagonisti dell’unità d’Italia (XIX secolo).
For those who haven’t read/listened to Episodes 1 and 2, they can be found on our History page, FREE of charge, no registration required!
Also on the History page (SCROLL DOWN as the current Summer Series is at the bottom) you can see what’s coming next week and over the rest of the summer.
OK, so Episodes 4-6 look a little dull, but then there are a couple of weeks of the First World War and, right after that, several decades of Fascism, with all the juicy bits that Italians prefer to forget (so it’s fun to remind them of…)
Gotta hit the ‘autostrada’ (interstate, motorway).
A lunedì.
History page | Episodio 3. I protagonisti dell’unità d’Italia (XIX secolo)
P.S. 
Don’t forget to read/listen to Thursday’s bulletin of ‘easy’ Italian news, which is also FREE.
Subscribers receive each thrice-weekly bulletin directly in their email inboxes, on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays.
P.P.S. Four half-price easy readers offer – ends Sunday 16th!
Don’t forget, either, this week’s half-price ebook offer at EasyReaders.org, where they’re discounting four ‘history’ Italian easy readers: the ebook versions of the club’s first three Summer Series, plus a story about Garibaldi, as background to the current one.
Get any or all of them for just £4.99 each, but only until Sunday night, 16th July.
Check the FREE sample chapters (linked to below). If the material is too easy or too difficult for you, browse the Catalog page to find something more appropriate to your level.
La storia di Roma
The ebook version of a thirty-part series of articles with online audio that walks a curious student of Italian through over a thousand years of history, from the mystical founding of Rome in or around 753 BCE to the end of the empire in 476 CE.
While the articles that make up this ebook are available for free at https://onlineitalianclub.com/history/, this version of the material (.pdf, .mobi Kindle-compatible, .epub versions available) is easily printable and/or readable on an ebook reader, such as the Kindle.
Please note: unlike our other ‘easy reader’ ebooks, for reasons of length this one does not contain glossaries of difficult words nor comprehension exercises after each chapter. Take a look at the free sample chapters before you buy!
- .pdf e-book (+ audio available free online)
- .mobi (Kindle-compatible) and .epub (other ebook readers) available on request at no extra charge – just add a note to the order form or email us
- 30 CHAPTERS to read and listen to, over ninety pages!
- Suitable for students at upper-intermediate level or above
- Download your Free Sample Chapters (.pdf)
Buy La storia di Roma just £4.99 | FREE sample chapter (.pdf) | Catalog
Il Medioevo
The ebook version of a thirty-part series of articles with online audio that walks a curious student of Italian through a neglected period of history, from the end of the Roman empire in 476 CE to the fall of Constantinople, nearly a thousand years later in 1453 CE.
While the articles that make up this ebook are available for free at https://onlineitalianclub.com/history/, this version of the material (.pdf, .mobi Kindle-compatible, .epub versions available) is easily printable and/or readable on an ebook reader, such as the Kindle.
Please note: unlike our other ‘easy reader’ ebooks, for reasons of length this one does not contain glossaries of difficult words nor comprehension exercises after each chapter. Take a look at the free sample chapters before you buy!
- .pdf e-book (+ audio available free online)
- .mobi (Kindle-compatible) and .epub (other ebook readers) available on request at no extra charge – just add a note to the order form or email us
- 30 CHAPTERS to read and listen to!
- Suitable for students at upper-intermediate level or above
- Download your Free Sample Chapters (.pdf)
Buy Il Medioevo just £4.99 | FREE sample chapter (.pdf) | Catalog
Il Rinascimento
This ebook version of a thirty-part series of articles with online audio walks a curious student of Italian through thirty chapters of history and covers, in outline, the intellectual and political changes on the Italian peninsula during the Renaissance period and after (from the 15th to 19th centuries).
While the articles that make up this ebook are available for free at https://onlineitalianclub.com/history/, this version of the material (.pdf, .mobi Kindle-compatible, .epub versions available) is easily printable and/or readable on an ebook reader, such as the Kindle.
Please note: unlike our other ‘easy reader’ ebooks, for reasons of length this one does not contain glossaries of difficult words nor comprehension exercises after each chapter. Take a look at the free sample chapters before you buy!
- .pdf e-book (+ audio available free online)
- .mobi (Kindle-compatible) and .epub (other ebook readers) available on request at no extra charge – just add a note to the order form or email us
- 30 CHAPTERS to read and listen to!
- Suitable for students at intermediate level or above
- Download your Free Sample Chapters (.pdf)
Buy Il Rinascimento just £4.99 | FREE sample chapter (.pdf) | Catalog
Garibaldi sul ‘Piemonte’
Nel 1860 l’Italia non è ancora un unico paese: è divisa in piccoli stati che vengono costantemente attaccati e invasi dalle grandi potenze europee. In questo periodo il sud Italia, dalla Sicilia a Napoli, è occupato dai Borboni. Ed è proprio da qui che il marinaio genovese rivoluzionario e repubblicano Garibaldi e mille volontari (“garibaldini”) spinti dallo spirito patriottico e dall’amore per la libertà, iniziano l’opera di liberazione e unificazione del paese.
“Voi sapete che questa riunione è segreta, giusto? Non potete dire niente a nessuno, ci siamo capiti?!” chiede ansiosamente Raffaele Rubattino, il grande costruttore e proprietario di navi ai tre uomini presenti. Poi si alza dalla sedia e si stropiccia la faccia con la mano.
“Oh mio Dio, cosa sto facendo!” dice Rubattino ridendo nervosamente. Garibaldi, seduto su una sedia di legno, lo guarda con un sorriso sereno, si gratta la barba bionda, si passa una mano fra i capelli lunghi e pettinati all’indietro e poi nasconde le braccia nel suo poncho. Alle sue spalle stanno in piedi Pasquale e Pietro, due garibaldini che lo hanno accompagnato all’incontro. Entrambi sono venditori del mercato, abituati a fare affari, ma questa volta non si tratta di vendere frutta e formaggi!
Garibaldi, che fino a quel momento è rimasto in silenzio, prende la parola con il suo tono autoritario e calmo: “Vi ripeto il piano, signor Rubattino. I vostri lavoratori lasceranno le due navi, che chiameremo il Piemonte e il Lombardo, giù nel porto. Poi i miei uomini le prenderanno. Sembrerà un furto, e con le navi rubate partiremo da Quar…”
- .pdf e-book (+ audio available free online)
- .mobi (Kindle-compatible) and .epub (other ebook readers) available on request at no extra charge – just add a note to the order form or email us
- 8 chapters to read and listen to
- Comprehension questions to check your understanding
- Italian/English glossary of ‘difficult’ terms for the level
- Suitable for students at intermediate level or above
- Download your Free Sample Chapter (.pdf)
Buy Garibaldi sul ‘Piemonte’ just £4.99 | FREE sample chapter (.pdf) | Catalog
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Philippa Beasty says
I wasn’t offended in the slightest by :- Ho scoperto che le donne a Parigi non portano le mutande. Questo è un cielo azzurro che si apre per me!” !
On my initial listening/reading I obviously did not know or couldn’t remember what ‘le mutande’ were – I thought it was ‘a moustache’🥸 – and I was amused by that. Then …I realised it meant ‘panties/briefs’ and I was still not offended in the slightest – and still amused.
Thank you so much for this summer series
Philippa
Daniel says
Prego. There’s a lot of modern interest in this one. I’ve been looking forward to it, while slogging through the Middle Ages etc. Next year should be good, too.
Margaret Hilly says
I love these summer series. Thank you so much. Each one is even better as the history becomes more familiar.
I also love your rants full of great advice.