Buondì.
We’ve done it! With today’s final installment, we’ll have read and listened to thirty episodes on The Renaissance (and after…).
In Italian!
Well done to everyone who’s been following along!
We finish today with Garibaldi, the ‘hero of two worlds’, and my favourite biscuit as a child (if you’re into dried fruit, source a packet and dip them into a nice cup of tea.)
Incidentally, we also did an ebook on the chap earlier this year, so our regular ebook readers will already know his story.
If that’s not you, start with today’s episode:
Il Rinascimento, Episodio 30. Garibaldi, l’eroe dei due mondi (1807-1882)
(All thirty episodes of this year’s FREE Summer Series on The Renaissance can be found, along with the entire Summer Series from 2020 and 2021, on our History page.)
You can always then go buy the Garibaldi ebook (just £7.99), if you’re feeling revolutionary!
Anyway, with the Summer Series done and dusted, what’s next here at OnlineItalianClub.com?
I’m so happy you asked.
So, next week I’ll be promoting not one but two new ebooks!
If you’ve ever fancied being queen, you’ll likely enjoy Diventare regina. La storia di Caterina de’ Medici, which is level B2 and is about, well, Caterina de’ Medici, and how she, erm, well the title does rather give it away, doesn’t it?
You can find out more about this fascinating historical character on her Wikipedia page, which she wrote herself (only kidding!)
Or wait for Monday and our ebook ‘easy reader’ version. There’ll be a free sample chapter, of course, and the audio for the whole story will be published online, so if your listening skills are up to scratch (see today’s P.S.), you won’t need to spend a penny.
Ebook no.2 is the ‘easy reader’ version of the Summer Series we’ve just completed. For those that can’t be doing with reading and listening to website articles, and would rather print a text and annotate it with a pencil, the good old-fashioned way, it’ll be just the thing! All thirty chapters, and thirty audio links, in a handy .pdf which you can print at home or get your local copy shop to do for you (.mobi and .epub versions will also be available) Watch this space!
Also next week, our sister business EasyItalianNews.com will be running their bi-monthly Donations Appeal, so expect me to be mentioning that. They have bills to pay, as always.
And I’ll also be warming you up for the Autumn/Fall Sale in our two online shops (NativeSpeakerTeachers.com for one-to-one lessons, and EasyReaders.org for ebooks).
From September 26th to October 2nd there’ll be a 20% coupon code that will work on everything in both shops, and of course I’ll be urging those of you who aren’t already doing one-to-one lessons online with a native Italian speaker (also French, Spanish and German) to give them a try.
E poi, once the Autumn/Fall Sale is just a memory, we’ll begin publishing a new series of ‘easy readers’, similar to the Italian Literature collana but this time focusing on Opera.
Opera, you exclaim! Well yes, opera, the idea being that you get to read/listen to simplified versions of the stories – so good reading and listening practice – while also perhaps being inspired to begin a new cultural journey. With me. I won’t be singing, don’t worry.
As of this present moment, the idea of sitting through an opera (there are plenty on Youtube) provokes in me nothng more than a yawn. My wife recently suggested we BUY TICKETS to see an opera in an amphitheatre in some rain-sodden northern Italian city, hours by car from where we live.
Which had me spitting out my coffee. Sadly I am not that sort of husband. Or not yet, at least.
But hey, as I say to elderly relatives and students who can’t see the point of modern ‘music’, such as ‘drill’, maybe it takes a bit of effort to appreciate it?
(What’s ‘drill’ when it’s at home? If you’re tolerant of violent lyrics and lots of cursing, try this, which twenty-nine million people have watched – “This song is more important than the national anthem.” If not, don’t click the link as you’ll likely hate it and blame me. But it’s the sort of thing that I hear seeping out from under my son’s bedroom door.)
As with drill, so with opera. You’ll need to learn about the cultural context, and make some effort, and all with no guarantee that, in the end, you’ll like it any better.
But I’ll be trying, at least (opera, not drill). As I said, reading/listening practice is VERY IMPORTANT, and my ‘job’, if it can be described as such, is to try and ensure you get it, in both senses of that verb.
Which reminds of someone I bumped into at our Italian school earlier in the week, who wanted to tell me that she’d followed all my advice (so she’s the one!), read the ebooks, listened to EasyItalianNews.com, and that now – wait for it – she’d stopped doing both.
Why? I wanted to know.
Because they’d worked as intended, she explained, to build her comprehension skills to the point that she’s now reading ‘real’ Italian novels, not our simplified stuff, and listening to ‘real’ Italian TV, too. So mille grazie, she added, and shook my hand.
Another happy ex-customer!
Though sometimes I think there’s something wrong with the language-learning business model, the whole point of which is to get students to the point at which they don’t need or want your products/services any more.
I should’ve been an accountant, like my cousins, who retired, rich, years back.
A lunedì!
Half-Price Ebook Trilogy, ENDS SUNDAY!
Here’s your final reminder about this week’s ‘Ebook of the Week’ offer, a trilogy of stories about our medieval detective, Anselmo.
All three ebooks are discounted 50%, but only until Sunday night.
Buy now to get them for just £3.99 (each), rather than the usual ‘easy reader’ ebook price of £7.99.
Meet Anselmo the apothecary, one of the few educated men of his day. And it’s because of his learning that he’s occasionially called upon by the powerful when they need help resolving their problems.
This time, the apothecary’s task is to discover who was behind the killing of the Pope’s son. Certainly a learned man should be able to figure it out! An important political alliance depends on his answer, not least the unity of the Borgias themselves, a powerful ruling family who are famous for their power struggles and indfidelities.
As Anselmo soon learns, though, it appears to be in nobody’s interest for him to actually find the truth. And in an age in which only power really matters, he’s playing a dangerous game…
- .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 or advanced levels
- Download your Free Sample Chapter (.pdf)
Buy the Anselmo Trilogy by Sunday night and save 50%!
Anselmo e l’omicidio di Giovanni Borgia (C1/2) | Free Sample Chapter (.pdf)
Anselmo e la moglie spagnola (C1/2) | Free Sample Chapter (.pdf)
Anselmo e l’avvelenamento del Papa (C1/2) | Free Sample Chapter (.pdf)
Or browse our online Catalog to find something more suitable for your current level
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.S.
Don’t forget to read/listen to Thursday’s FREE bulletin of ‘easy’ Italian news.
AND DON’T USE A DICTIONARY!
Why not?
Find out how to best profit from this FREE material on their Advice Page. Scroll down to find my polemic on dictionaries.
+++
OnlineItalianClub.com | EasyItalianNews.com | EasyReaders.org (ebooks) | NativeSpeakerTeachers.com (1-1 lessons)
Lynne F says
Well, I think ‘ A pat on the back is deserved by myself and anybody else who has made it to the end of this brilliant history series. A huge thank you to all concerned with its production. We have been given a brief insight that has whetted my appetite to discover more, the links have been fascinating, your articles amusing and of course, my Italian is improving all the time
For many, the Renaissance creates an image of art, music, literature and deep philosophical ideas, in reality like most other periods of history, battles and bloodshed in the pursuit of power dominate.
Thanks again and I look forward to the next series.
By the way, I’m with you on the Garibaldi biscuits 😀
Daniel says
“periods of history, battles and bloodshed in the pursuit of power dominate”
That was my impression, too, Lynne. A shame, really. Perhaps next year’s Summer Series will be more cheerful…
Anita says
Lynne has said it all! I can’t believe that we are at the end and I have listened to them all, including all the links. Has been very interesting so a huge thank you to all involved with producing this series and well done to all who have read/listened to all 30 chapters. I have got the book on Garibaldi so will be starting that shortly.
Look forward to the next series and in the meantime will go through the chapters again.
Garibaldi biscuits! Brings back the memories – my father used to call them squashed fly biscuits (to ensure that we wouldn’t eat them!!)
Well done all!
Lynne F says
🤣 My Dad also called them squashed fly biscuits. Like you Anita I will not be putting this series to bed just yet, there are plenty more learning opportunities to be had from it. I also have a few ebooks waiting to be read too
Anita says
Should keep us busy until the next series Lynne!
Daniel says
Watch out for Caterina de’ Medici this week, Lynne. She was only peripheral to the Summer Series, but is the star of her own ‘easy reader’ and a lady worth knowing about.
Lynne F says
👍
Lynne F says
Thanks for the reminder Daniel, purchased and downloaded. I now have several e-books to keep me going for a little while
Daniel says
“my father used to call them squashed fly biscuits (to ensure that we wouldn’t eat them!!)”
Smart of your dad, though I would have no need of such tricks as my spoit Italian kids would never touch dried fruit (fresh fruit being abundant).
Well done for finishing the series, Anita!
jan says
Thank you, Daniel and your team. Only missed one episode – whilst I was in Italy! Will catch-up later. You have provided a brilliant opportunity, and all at no cost. Immensely interesting. Many, many thanks.
Daniel says
Prego! And thanks to you in return for the positive feedback!