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 …

Hands down, accidenti is one of the most common words we use. In truth, there is something in the very sound of it that helps release stress. That’s excluding all those words you’re better not saying out loud in front …

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 …

Non iniziare mai una frase con “allora”!  Or so say all Italian primary school teachers to their pupils. And they are certainly right, at least when it comes to formal writing and speaking, but let us be honest: the love …

…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 …