Word of the Day

Every Italian received a Tombola set as a Christmas present at some stage of their childhood. Mine, however, was a bit of a historical relic, as I had inherited my brother’s, who is eleven years my senior, and there were …

…And indeed it does, because the Italian word fanfara comes from the French fanfare which originated from the onomatopoeic sounds of a brass band playing. Now, I don’t know whether I agree with our cousins the French’s idea, but the …

Also known as strangolapreti, strozzapreti are not as dangerous as their name may hint at. Far from being an anti-clerical instrument of torture (literally, the word means “priest stranglers”), they are a type of elongated, hand-rolled pasta typical of the …

Le campane di mezzogiorno, the bells chiming at midday, in my village have a special sound. Now I know it is  because lunch time isn’t rung in by our church bells, but by those of our medieval walls’ tower. When …