Buondì.
Well, The Renaissance has been a bit of a disappointment, hasn’t it?
I thought there’d be plenty of stuff on science, philosophy, and so on, but apart from Galileo, the odd crispy philosopher, and a handful of painters and sculptors, it’s been a lot of articles on various European powers fighting for territory.
Not that that isn’t useful in understanding modern Italy, of course.
I’ve got a much better idea, for instance, why the regional dialects differ so completely – here people speak, well basically German, over there the dialect has a lot of French influences, down south it’s probably more like Spanish.
And that bit in the middle? Italian-ish.
But geopolitics aside, I thought there’d be more ‘thinking’, instead of centuries of lords, princes, kings and emperors, busily making and breaking alliances while moving their armies around the chessboard that was the Italian peninsula.
So hurrah! An episode on actual thinkers!
And thinkers thinking things that are not unfamiliar to us in the 21st century, such as, for example, why the death penalty might not, as believed throughout human history, be such a great idea after all.
Better still, the protagonists of today’s episode seem to have been a bohemian bunch, so there’s gossip!
If you’re not familiar with the expression ‘gli mette le corna’, today might be a good day to look that up, or ask your Italian teacher, after which you’ll be able to drop tidbits into discussions your Italian evening class might have on classics of Italian literature.
“Did you know so-and-so was the illegitimate grandson of…?”
I’ll give no more away! You’ll have to read/listen yourself to find the juicy bits…
Il Rinascimento, Episodio 26. L’Illuminismo all’Accademia dei Pugni
(The previous 25 episodes in our Summer Series, and the complete Summer Series from 2020 and 2021, can be found on our History page.)
A venerdì.
P.S. NEW ‘Easy Reader’ Ebook Reminder
Don’t forget, this week we have the final ‘easy reader’ ebook in our ‘Italian Diaspora’ series, La diaspora italiana – Italiani in Australia.
A ‘diaspora’ is a population that lives somewhere different from their original home, or that of their forebears. Since the late nineteenth century, millions of Italians have emigrated in search of better prospects. By 1980 it was estimated that twenty-five million Italians had made their home outside of Italy, in countries all over the world…
La distanza tra Roma e Canberra è di circa 16.000 chilometri, che equivalgono a un viaggio in aereo molto lungo, più o meno 20 ore. E, in effetti, gli italiani usano l’espressione “in Australia” come sinonimo per “lontanissimo, il posto più lontano del mondo, quasi un altro pianeta”.
Ma allora cosa ci fanno lì così tanti italiani?! Secondo le ultime statistiche, il numero di italiani nati in Australia e di origine italiana sarebbero circa un milione e gli italiani immigrati recentemente 178.000. Nei prossimi capitoli conosceremo meglio la storia degli italiani in Australia e la loro situazione nel presente.
- .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)
La diaspora italiana – Italiani in Australia is B2-level, so uppper-intermediate, and as usual the first week, it’s disounted 25%, to £5.99 rather than the usual ‘easy reader’ price of £7.99.
La diaspora italiana – Italiani in Australia | Free Sample Chapter (.pdf) | Catalog
And if you’re not at B2 level? Not to worry – there are plenty of other ebook options from beginner to advanced in our online Catalog, all with downloadable free sample chapters and FREE online audio!
The others in this series are:
- La diaspora italiana – Italiani in Spagna
- La diaspora italiana – Italiani in Scozia
- La diaspora italiana – Italiani negli Stati Uniti
How do I access my ebook?
When your order is ‘completed’ (normally immediately after your payment), a download link will be automatically emailed to you. It’s valid for 7 days and 3 download attempts so please save a copy of the .pdf ebook in a safe place. Other versions of the ebook, where available, cannot be downloaded but will be emailed to people who request them. There’s a space to do that on the order form – where it says Additional information, Order notes (optional). If you forget, or if you have problems downloading the .pdf, don’t worry! Email us at the address on the website and we’ll help. Also, why not check out our FAQ?
P.P.S.
Did you read/listen to Tuesday’s FREE bulletin of ‘easy’ Italian news?
I ticked it off my ‘to do’ list yesterday.
Didn’t see it?
Subscribers get them sent directly to their email inboxes.
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OnlineItalianClub.com | EasyItalianNews.com | EasyReaders.org (ebooks) | NativeSpeakerTeachers.com (1-1 lessons)