Who’s the most famous Italian? (Can you guess my pick?)

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Buondì.

Here’s another of those ‘written yesterday, published today’ articles, as Stefi is away for a mini-break, leaving me to doze today away in her comfy office chair at our Italian school. If you’re passing, do drop by and say ‘Ciao’.

That’s assuming I survived my first night alone with Bug. Think Daniel in the lions’ den, but with just the one small, insomniac lion (Chapter 6 of the old testament book is here, for those not familiar with the tale.)

Hence the writing ahead, and the dozing.

Years back, while working for the British Council, I was marked low for ‘strategic thinking’ in an annual appraisal. It might have been three out of five, or two even. When I queried it, the explanation was that only management were allowed to score a four or five in that criteria.

The Bologna British Council closed a year later – so much for strategic thinking – and we lower orders were fired. The bosses got new jobs elsewhere in the organisation. And ever since I’ve been a ‘strategic thinker’, so help me.

So anyway, on to today’s topic, which is famous Italians, and surely there have been many! One website I found said the most famous Italian was Rocky Balboa. Another said that Julius Caesar should have the top spot.

Those paying attention will have spotted the methodological issues here. Sylvester Stallone’s most famous screen character was – if technically Italian at all, rather than Italo-American – surely fictional.

While Roman general and statesman, Julius, died nearly two millenia before Italy came into existence. By that measure, the other famous J.C., fellow inhabitant of the Roman empire, could have been a contender.

During my long and arduous research for this article, I discovered that an entire TV series (‘Il più grande italiano di tutti i tempi’) was devoted to this question. You’ll find details, including whether they went for Rocky, Julius, or someone else entirely, on Wikipedia.

The show was based, apparently, on the British 100 Greatest Britons. Have a guess who took the gold in Blighty.

There was a U.S. version, too, The Greatest American. Surely Washington, or was he a Brit? Martin Luther King Jr. then, for the speech? I won’t spoil the surprise.

Back to Italians, and to my personal pick. I’ve gone for a fictional character, but a modern Italian one at least. We’re talking someone beloved and celebrated by actual Italians – of all ages – for over a hundred years! Got any ideas, yet?

He’s well known around the world, too. Rocky Balboa would likely have known of my most famous Italian from childhood visits to the movie theater. Neither J.C. would have had a clue, of course, as my nomination wasn’t conceived of until the eighteen-eighties CE. Movies theaters, either.

Need more clues? (Scrolling down counts as cheating.)

My most famous Italian ever wasn’t born, as such, though came into being at the hands of his loving parent not long after the unification of Italy, in the final decades of the nineteenth century.

He’s widely recognized – not least by Italians – as embodying his conationals’ most prominent traits…

Surely you have it by now?

By the way, anyone interested in history and historical characters should check our the past four years’ free Summer Series on the club website (click the History tab), where you’ll find ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY articles with online audio which take you through ‘La storia di Roma’, ‘Il Medioevo’, ‘Il Rinascimento’ and (last year) ‘Dal Risorgimento alla Seconda Guerra Mondiale’. As I said, they’re free, though we do sell ebook versions elsewhere.

This year’s free Summer Series will cover the last fifty years or so of the (hi)story, from the end of WWII up to Berlusconi (another contender for most famous Italian…) and the euro, which was more or less where I came in, when I fell in love with a non-fictional Italian and got stranded, like Robinson Crusoe, in Bologna.

For further reading, check out the History/Historical section of our ebook store. And American club members would probably like La diaspora italiana – Italiani negli Stati Uniti.

OK, so NOW, if you haven’t already twigged, scroll down to learn my pick for ‘most famous Italian’.

Don’t email to say you agree/disagree, please, as I’ll be too tired to reply. Comments on this article will be read, though, and published, so everyone can read them.

To comment, click through to this article on the club website and scroll down to the end. Fill in the form. Your email address (which we likely already have…) is required, but won’t be published.

Comments will be approved manually, which might take an hour or two, so be patient. Also, at night (CET) we Daniels prefer to catch up on our zees – wild animals permitting – rather than stay up approving comments.

Alla prossima settimana!

eBook of the Week, ‘Le avventure di Pinocchio’ (B1), £4.99

This week’s half-price eBook of the Week offer is our ‘easy reader’ version of Carlo Collodi’s classic children’s story, ‘Le avventure di Pinocchio‘.

I did a ‘mini book club‘ with this one over at OnlineItalianClub.com during the first pandemic lockdown, in May 2020.

Besides proof-reading and listening to our ‘easy reader’ version, I read the original as did some other OnlineItalianClub.com members.

Personally, I thought it was a load of rubbish – full of ideas that went nowhere, undeveloped plot lines, characters that pop in and out – seemingly at random – and so on. Think of a really, really bad TV series that gets cancelled after the first (overlong) season, and you’ll get the idea!. Totally missable.

Odd then that it then became a staple for animators, filmakers, and the stagers of pantomimes. Perhaps because it was long out of copyright, who knows?

On the plus side, it was the thinnest Italian classic that we attempted that torrid year, so quick to get through. Scroll though the comments on the ‘mini book club‘ page to find out how I and other club members got on.

Also on the plus side, the reviews of our ‘easy reader’ version were really great! We sold loads of copies, too. I guess people didn’t have anything much better to do in May 2020. How those four years have flown by!

Carlo Collodi’s classic children’s story of a talking puppet running riot, now rewritten for students of Italian!

Pinocchio is a wooden puppet but alive nonetheless! Just like a real child, he’s prone to disobedience and telling lies. He runs away from his loving father and refuses to go to school. But, thanks to a colorful cast of villains, a fairy, and a talking cricket, after many adventures…

• .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 elementary level or above
• Download your Free Sample Chapter (.pdf)

Remember, this week ‘Le avventure di Pinocchio‘ is 50% discounted, so just £4.99 rather than the usual ‘easy reader’ ebook price of £9.99!

Buy ‘Le avventure di Pinocchio‘ just £4.99! | Free Sample Chapter (.pdf) | Italian literature | World Literature | Catalog

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P.S.

Did you read/listen to yesterday’s FREE bulletin of ‘easy’ Italian news?

EasyItalianNews.com publishes three bulletins for learners of Italian (text + audio) each week, on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.

Didn’t see it? Then why not subscribe? It’s FREE.

Just enter your email address on this page, watch out for the ‘please confirm’ email, click the link it contains, then sit back and wait to receive  the next bulletin, tomorrow!

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