Buondì.
Good to see the club website‘s statistics showing signs of life again, after the quiet summer months.
Even during July and August, we get vast amounts of spam, much of it in the cyrillic alphabet, with links to dodgy websites.
But visits from genuine language-learners fall off, as people are on holiday (except in the Southern Hemisphere, obviously.)
I admit, over the past few weeks, with Roomie’s kindergarten closed and then ‘holidaying’ with my adult kids at their grandparents’, I’ve done little of my own language learning – no news highlights in Swedish, little Le Monde (though I’m still paying for the expensive subscription) or French talk radio, absolutely zero Spanish or Turkish.
Summertime blues, though of a different sort (lyrics here).
There ain’t no cure for them, except time, and getting back to normal routines, which will happen early next week, for me.
Talking of summer, we have three more weeks of our FREE Summer Series of articles with audio, this year on The Renaissance.
Today I have heroics in Turin for you, stirring stuff!
I’ve never been north-east as far as Torino, which is virtually in France, and a long way away from just about everywhere else, but now, after reading about the region’s history (in last year’s Summer Series on Il Medioevo, and this year’s Il Rinasciamento), I think maybe I’d like to – check the place out a little, perhaps try some of the ‘piatti tipici‘.
I’ve lived in Italy for almost exactly twenty-four years, which is a long time, but well, my mom an papa told me, son, you gotta make some money, and with three children born in that time, plus hosting strays in recent years, traveling hasn’t been top priority.
Wikipedia lists 145 Italian cities, and scanning down the list, racking my fuzzy brain for details of long-forgotten leisure and work trips, while keeping count on the fingers of my non-scrolling hand, I reckon I’ve visited less than twenty of them, some just driven through, so seen through the windshield (which I included), or passed on the autostrade, so not seen at all (which I didn’t).
I don’t really have an ‘Italian travel bucket list’ but if I was gonna take two weeks, gonna have a vacation, besides Turin, I’d like to stroll around Palermo, Genoa and Bari, at least – the larger ones I’ve never visited. I have been to Sardegna (which also features in today’s article), but not yet to Sicilia.
What about you?
Where have you been, and/or where would you like to go? And any itinerary suggestions for an old guy who rarely looks up from his computer long enough to notice where he is?
Don’t email though, as I’m on ‘holiday’, so have limited time to reply.
Instead, comment on this article, that way everyone can read your travel yarns and recommendations.
You can do that by locating this article on the website, scrolling to the bottom of the page and filling in the comment form with your email and what you want to say.
Your email is required, but won’t be published or used to hassle you. Comments are moderated (remember the undesirable Russian spam?), so it might be a few hours until yours is visible. Be patient.
Anyway, here’s today’s gripping article, with accompanying audio. If you’ve not yet figured out that reading and listening to Italian, even if hard at first, is essential to making progress with it, why not have that revelation today?
The previous twenty articles in this series are linked to, along with the entire Summer Series from 2020 and 2021, from our History page.
A lunedì.
P.S.
Did you read/listen to Thursday’s FREE bulletin of ‘easy’ Italian news?
Subscribing is free, too. Three bulletins each week to read and listen to.
Really, you’d be foolish not to.
Teachers, tell your students!
P.P.S.
And a final reminder about this week’s half-price eBook of the Week offer, the B2- (upper-intermediate) level Valeria, Michele e le maschere, which until next Sunday night costs just £3.99!
Valeria has been single for months now. She meets men but after going out a few times they seem reluctant to commit, or even return her messages! She wonders whether the dating app, Tinder, might be worth a try?
Michele spends his Saturday evenings alone, playing computer games. If only he wasn’t so shy, he’d meet more people. And then, maybe find a girlfriend? Perhaps the solution is online…
- .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)
Get Valeria, Michele e le maschere, just £3.99! | Free Sample Chapter (.pdf) | Catalog
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OnlineItalianClub.com | EasyItalianNews.com | EasyReaders.org (ebooks) | NativeSpeakerTeachers.com (1-1 lessons)
Peter Edwards says
Buongiorno from winter in the Southern Hemisphere. Just a little comment about your blog. Surely Turin is in the north WEST not north east of Italy?
I entirely sympathise with Italians and the millions of visitors that your Summer has been so unrelentingly hot, with fires and drought to make life much less enjoyable if not life-threatening. Our weather here in South East Australia has been excessively wet, with repeated devastating floods, recently accompanied by strong Antarctic winds and cold weather, including snow which has been absent in some regions for a decade or so. The film and photo reports of the drought in the Po are highly disturbing. Let’s hope for a cold winter with lots of snow, for Italy, while we look forward to warming up in summer,
Regards,
Peter
Daniel says
You’re quite right, of course, Peter. Thanks for pointing that out!
Yes, snow would be fun. It’s been a few years since we’ve had any in Bologna, so I’m sure Roomie would enjoy it!
Angelo Serra says
In looking at the list, I have been to 13 on that list and quite a few smaller towns/villages (e.g., San Gimignano, Vernazza, Bassano del Grappa, Marostica). I still have hopes to travel to Genoa, Trieste, and Palermo to see the areas my grandparents grew up in. I was encouraged to go via some friends who have lived in Italy for a number of years now. They have made it a bit of a mission to see as much of the country as possible, even with three growing children. My best advice is to no always take the autostrada and take the slightly more scenic route – after all, che sempre dopo o domani. Taking the less-direct route will allow for those one-off trips to take a coffee in a new town and maybe linger for lunch.
Andrea Robinson says
Wow. You should go to Torino for a visit. I lived there for a couple of years and found it a great mixture of culture and Italianess (not French !)
Other suggested visits fir your itinerary would be: Diano Marina, Liguria, Viterbo/Grosseto/Bolsena, Lake Garda, Catolica, Taormina and Pompei.
Buon viaggio 👋
Daniel says
Thanks, Andrea! I’ve been to Pompei, and plenty of other small destinations, but in my article only listed cities that I could remember going to. I don’t know how Italy goes about defining a city, though. Some of the ones on that list are very small. I guess I should look it up some time.
Joe Bellizzi says
I just joined the online club, however, I have used the learning materials of Online Italian Club for the past year or so. I am no youngster, 77 anni. I am Italian-American cento percento! I first went to Italy in 2005, presented an academic paper at a conference in Milano (Bocconi University). I am a retired university professor of business. After the first trip to Italy, I told my wife of 50 years, “we need to return to Italy again soon.” She asked “how soon?” I replied, “how about next year, same time” (May), We have since made trips to Italy almost every year since. We missed 2009 (economic recession) and 2020 (Covid). 2021 we went to Torino, and wine country around Alba. This past year we took all our children and grand children to Italy. There were 19 of us. We stayed at Campeggio Bella Italia on Lake Garda in 4 nice air-conditioned bungalows. We took day trips to Verona, Milano, Venezia. It will be a real family memory. We will try to forget the hot temperatures. I read and speak Italian OK but need lots of practice listening to others!
Daniel says
Ciao Joe, and welcome! Coem to Bologna some day, but in the mean time, lots of listening practice!!
Joe Bellizzi says
Visited Bologna once. Visited the church where emperor Charles received his crown from the Pope in 1530. Rome was too dangerous for Charles to be crowned there after the sack of Rome in 1527. So they picked Bologna. I enjoyed Bologna. Visited Ferrara and the Este castle nearby.
Joe Bellizzi says
Nice article on Torino. When I visited Torino, the first place I went to was Superga (church on a hill overlooking Torino). From the hill Victor Amadeus could see the movement of the French troops. He said he would build a church there if he defeated the French. It is a great church with a wonderful view of the city. .
Daniel says
You’re a font of knowledge, Joe!
But any idea why they named a church after a popular brand of tennis shoe?
(Only joking!)
Joe Bellizzi says
Wow, I may be a font of knowledge on some subjects but I had never heard of Superga shoes! After a bit of a search, I learned that the Superga footware business was started in 1911 by some one by the name of Walter Martiny. I’m not sure why he took the name from Superga Hill but he started his shoe business by making rubber-soled shoes for local farmers. Maybe some of his first customers were farming near Superga Hill. Chi Sa? In 1951 the company was acquired by Perilli Tires. Maybe it was a good fit for Perilli to acquire another company requiring rubber raw materials for its products. In business we called that acquiring a company with production convergence. Today the brand is owned by Steven Madden, a fashion company marketing products under various brand names including Dolce Vita. Until today, I had never heard of Superga nor Steven Madden. I learned much in the reading also. Before reading the article I would have tried to say double cross as doppia croce rather than doppio gioco! On my first trip to Italy I tried to say pineapple as pino mela.
Daniel says
THE Italian shoe, Joe. When we were kids in Britain, we could pick out the visiting Italian kids (language school students) by their iconic trainers.
Here’s a picture of a design from a few years back:
https://images.app.goo.gl/7Wc3Eqv2W1PPwFsMA
Joe Bellizzi says
Che bella scarpa!
Anne McNeill says
Really enjoying this series Daniel. Let’s hope you get a cold winter with lots of snow to melt and replenish, at least the Po. I’ve been lucky visiting Italy a number of times. Lots of favourites and have been to Stressa on Lake Maggiore and nearby Islas Borromeo, Siena, Firenze, Bologna, Mantova, Volterra, Montone, Orvieto, Perugia, Citta da Castelllo, San Sepulchro, Assisi, Napoli, Monte Vesuvio and Pompeii and of course Roma and Venezia. Currently learning Latin – hopefully next time I can decipher all those inscriptions. Sicilia is worth a visit – great food, spectacular scenery and so much history. Went to Palermo, Catania, Syracusa, Agrigento, Cefalu, Masala, Monreale, Ragusa and snow-topped Monte Etna. Hopefully this will entice you and others to spread their wings. Cheers to all.
Daniel says
I’m enticed, Anne, but as always, busy with family and work… Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment by the way. I had 79 to check this morning, of which 78 were automated spam.
Glad you’re enjoying the series by the way. I admit, I didn’t have high hopes for the Medieval or Renaissance series (I’m more interested in the modern period), but I’ve learnt a lot from both.
A presto!