Italian Online community - Italian forum - Cultura: Culture

Modern day Michaelangelo is on a mission!

Villa — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 18:31:50 GMT

Last month I went to the Italian instituto of Culture in L.A. and listened to
a talk on Venice, Italy arquitecture. While there I met this other Italian architect. We became friends and he is now going to give a talk at my school. The talk will be in Italian and English.

Talk on Italian architecture Dec. 17th at Erwin adult school in La Puente, California

Gian(John)Rinaldi Modern day Michaelangelo

Italian Florentine architect Gian Rinaldi is on a mission to bring California architeture the respect in
Europe that California wines now have. He compares the two. If you remember back in 1976 a famous
Europen connoisseur of wines challenged the Americans to a blind tasting of wines to see which wines
were the best. What they found out was that California wines can compare with any in Europe. Now
Gian(John) Rinaldi wants to do the samething with California/US architecture to show the Europeans
that we also have fine architecture. Besides being an architect Gian is also somewhat know as a
modern day Michaelangelo. So if you missed the real Michaelangelo don't miss Gian Rinaldi's talk
on California architecture compared to European achitecture.

Thanksgiving in Italian

Giacomo — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 16:00:28 GMT

il giorno di azione di grazia :D

Dyslexic adults don't exist in Italy like in the U.S. and England!

Villa — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 20:06:07 GMT

Dyslexia is a learning disorder that manifests itself as a difficulty with reading and spelling. It is separate and distinct from reading difficulties resulting from other causes, such as a non-neurological deficiency with vision or hearing, or from poor or inadequate reading instruction. It is estimated that dyslexia affects between 5% to 17% of the U.S. population.

Dyslexia is thought to be the result of neurological defect, and though not an intellectual disability, it is variously considered a learning disability, a language disability, and a reading disability, among others. Dyslexia is diagnosed in people of all levels of intelligence.

A STUDY of dyslexic adults has shown that simplifying English spellings could be one way to help sufferers.

It also confirmed that the cause of the reading difficulty was a brain disorder. Experiments show for the first time that the neurological cause of dyslexia is the same in sufferers across Europe. But the disorder appears to be twice as common in the U.S. and England as in Italy/Spain because English has a more complex writing system, or orthography, than Italian/Spanish, which are more phonetic.

French, English, Spanish and Italian adult dyslexics all did equally poorly in tests that involved short-term memory, whereas Italian/Spanish dyslexics did better in reading tests.

The head of the team, Prof Eraldo Paulesu, of the University of Milan Bicocca and the Institute San Raffale, said: "There is an argument for reforming complex orthographies to improve literacy problems in these languages. English dyslexics would have an easier life if their writing system was more regular, with more unique correspondences between sounds and print."

Che ne dice Giacomo?

The Spanish language influence on modern Italian - Italian Roman influence on Spanish

Villa — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 16:05:30 GMT

One notable defining moment in the history of the Italian language came between 1500 and 1850. It was due to invasion a proposito. The rulers of Spain invaded and occupied Italy down to Rome and the Vatican in the mid-16th century. This occupation left a lasting influence upon the formerly irregular Italian grammar, simplifying it to conform more with the dominant Spanish language.

Been trying to tell you how similar Spanish and Italian are.

It's interesting to note that Spain or what was to become Spain was invaded by the Romans and the Spanish language itself comes from Latin the same language Italian comes from. Latin was spoken in Spain for 840 years. So Spanish and Italian were already very similar and then this modern Spanish influence on top of it. For me this is all so interessante.

The Thomas Jefferson Italian connection - Look on the back of the American nickle.

Villa — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 15:14:18 GMT

What does Thomas Jefferson and Italy have in common you might ask. Well look on the back of the American nickle and you'll find out. Thomas Jefferson used a villa(La Rotonda) in Vicenza, Italy for the model of his Montecello home. I first saw this magnifico, meraviglioso villa or mansion when I was only 19 years old and then again this past summer 2009. It's one of the highlights of Vicenza, Italy the city Andrea Palladio built.

Villa Capra "La Rotonda" is a Renaissance villa just outside Vicenza, northern Italy, designed by Andrea Palladio. The correct name is Villa Almerico-Capra. It is also known as La Rotonda, Villa Rotunda, Villa La Rotonda, and Villa Almerico. The name "Capra" derives from the Capra brothers, who completed the building after it was ceded to them in 1591. Like other works by Palladio in Vicenza and the surrounding area, the building is conserved as part of the World Heritage Site "City of Vicenza and the Palladian Villas of the Veneto".

In 1565 a priest, Paolo Almerico, on his retirement from the Vatican (as referendario apostolico of Pope Pius IV and afterwards Pius V), decided to return to his home town of Vicenza in the Venetian countryside and build a country house. This house, later known as 'La Rotonda', was to be one of Palladio's best-known legacies to the architectural world. Villa Capra may have inspired a thousand subsequent buildings, but the villa was itself inspired by the Pantheon in Rome.

Images of The Rotonda (Villa Capra), Vicenza, Italy, begun 1550, by Andrea Palladio. Digital Imaging Project: Art historical images of European and North American architecture and sculpture from classical Greek to Post-modern. Scanned from slides tak - Cached - Similar

Pantheon - Rome, Italy Sep 13, 2009 ... Pantheon: History, description, photos and visitor information for Pantheon in Rome, Lazio, Italy.
www.sacred-destinations.com/italy/rome-pantheon - Cached - Similar

House of Italy San Diego, California

Villa — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 15:28:14 GMT

Went down to San Diego this past week-end e sono andato alla Casa Italiana in Balboa Park. www.houseofitaly.net
In Balboa Park they have these cottages that represent different countries and their cultures. They are open every Sunday and are also open from 11am-3pm on the 4th and Tuesday of each month.

Every Sunday one of the countries hosts an event with food, music and dances from each country. Italy will hold there's May 10th. You can join any or all of the houses regarless of your ethnic background. www.sdhpr.org

The purpose of the houses is to promote peace, goodwill and understanding and to show history and culture of each nation. Nothing quite like this anywhere else that I know about.

I went to the house of China, Iran, Turkey, Sweden, Norway, Scotland, Ireland, Czech & Slovak Republics, Puerto Rico, Spain, Germany, Israel, France, Ukraine, Argentina, Italy and others.

Day of the dead

Giacomo — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 15:20:42 GMT

On November 1st and 2nd in Mexico and many other Spanish Speaking countries, the day of the dead will be celebrated by the people. On this day the people are celebrating with food, music, dance, and altars that are dedicated to the deceased. It is believed that the spirits of the deceased come back to earth to celebrate with the living.

My question is: Is this holiday celebrated in any part of Italy and if so what are the traditions?

Istituto italiano di cultura los angeles

Villa — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 14:51:48 GMT

Last night I went for the first time to the Istituto Italiano Di Cultura Los Angeles. There having the 9th Italian Language Week of Art, Science, and Technology. Renowned Italian architect and designer Tobia Scarpa gave a talk in Italian about his work on restoring the buildings in Venezia, Italia.
Molto interessante!

Tutto era gratis con molto cibo italiano. All you can eat.

They have a whole range of Italian classes at the istituto a proposito.
Many levels.

Italian Cultural Institute of Los Angeles
1023 Hilgard Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90024
Tel. (310) 443-3250
Fax.(310) 443-3254
email: iicla@esteri.it

Italian Cultural Institute of Los Angeles Istituto Italiano di Cultura NEWS newsletter ... (For previous issues click here and go to Newsletter IIC Los Angeles) NEW! FALL 2009 Session - ITALIAN ...
Italian Cultural Institute of Los Angeles - Cached - Similar
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Links
Credits
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Italian Cultural Institute of Los Angeles comSome of the greatest Italian chefs of Los Angeles will bring their collective .... for one night only at the Istituto Italiano di Cultura, Los Angeles. ...
http://my.lifeinitaly.com/f18/f18/f1...../Calendario/ - Cached - Similar
Italian Cultural Institute of Los Angeles In collaboration with: the Istituto Italiano di Cultura, Los Angeles, Abitare, AIA/LA and the W Hotel. free admission. -. ...
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WELCOME TO THE ITALIAN CULTURAL INSTITUTE OF LOS ANGELES Photo:W.Warren/First Light. August 2004. WELCOME TO THE ITALIAN CULTURAL INSTITUTE OF LOS ANGELES. IIC Home About Us Contact Info Location Map EVENTS ...
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Afro-Italian - Italians of African descent

Villa — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 17:56:49 GMT

This past summer 2009 and 2007 I met a lot of people in Italy who are from Sub-Sahara Africa.

The related term "Afro-Italian" is also at times used to describe people of mixed African and Italian descent.
The term specific to those who are citizens of Italy.

Italians of African descent are Italian citizens or people of the Italian nationality who are of African descent.

The term African in this case sometimes applies only to Sub-Saharan Africans or Black Africans, especially when
North Africans are categorized separately as Arabic. Immigrants from Africa officially residing in Italy
currently number about 755,000.

North Africans and Sub-Saharan Africans
The largest group from Africa are from North Africa, numbering about 525,000 official residents in 2006. By
country of origin, the greatest number of immigrants are from Morocco (343,000), Tunisia (89,000), Egypt (66,000)
and Algeria (22,000). Unofficial estimates are considerably higher. Italy has also a number of Libyans, most of
these came after their country's independence in 1947.

Compared to North Africans, the percentage of Sub-Saharan Africans within all the people who recently migrated to
Italy is relatively small (around 7.5%). Black Africans from Central Africa represent the majority of Afro-Italians,
who number around 230,000, mostly coming from Senegal (60,000), Nigeria (38,000) and Ghana (37,000).

Valentino

The Russian — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 11:48:42 GMT

I watched a documentary about THE famous Italian designer Valentino. The movie is titled Valentino: The Last Emperor. It is available on Netflix in the instant watch category. And it is ranked as 4.5 out of 5.

It is interesting for many reasons. Valentino and Giancarlo (his right hand man) and other associates speak about big events in fashion in the last 45 years. They also talk about Rome and walk through the famous streets of Rome. The majority of the dialogues are in Italian and some are in French (all with English subtitles) and some are in English. And of course if like me you like fashion it is fascinating documentary to watch.

Campo de Fiori

Giacomo — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 11:29:39 GMT

I made a post similar to this one in the Italian only section of the site. I am posting it again here in English so that non Italian Speakers may also see campo dei Fiori

First, I apologize for the typo in the title. It should say Campo dei Fiori.

Campo dei Fiori is a large local square in the heart of Rome. It got its name from the fact that in the middle ages it was a meadow.

It is surrounded by cafes and bars and is home to a fabulous flower and vegie market in the mornings, and is a happening place for nightlife in the evenings. Many people shop in this area for fruits and vegetables...the artichoke or carciofo in Italian is a very popular item here.

There are also some good clothing stores on the roads that lead into the square.

Yet another fabulous place to pull up a chair, order an espresso or vino and do some serious people watching/meeting....depending on how many of those vino's you've had!!

Look at some of these pictures, they are beautiful. Also you can go to Web-Italia, LLC to watch a video about Campo dei Fiori.

DON'T 'clock watch' in Italy!

Calimero — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 15:45:52 GMT

Don't plan to do anything in a hurry if you want to live in Italy!

Well... 'they' said it would be overcast with a little sun up here this morning and then rain with possible thunderstorms this evening...

Yeah, right! Well unusual for here, this time they didn't get it right. But it has that autumnal chill in the air now and I wore a light cardigan when I went out this morning and was pleased I did. So it looks as if our chance of an 'Indian Summer' has now turned into a distinct 'Cowboy' one (get it? - NO? Oh well never mind ...).

This morning should have been a 'quick round' of government type offices. When will I learn that in Italy the words 'government' and 'quick' will really never be synonymous!!!

First stop the Comune office to sort out two things:
1. The renewal of my Disabled parking disc. Armed with certificate from ASL doctor for a (now) permanent disc,I was told that the Local Poliziotto would have to deliver it to me as it has to be signed by the Mayor and he's 'not around for a few days' (?).
2. Second office to see why they have decided that I underpaid my ICI (Community Tax) for my place up here for 2007 and 2008 to the tune of �186 and �192 respectively... I have paid every bill or account they have ever sent me from day 1... Turns out that they forgot to charge me ICI for the garden which is classified as edificabile (has planning permission for another building)...

So those two items took up over an hour and really weren't resolved. I'm off to the CAF (union help) on Wednesday to see if they can sort out the mess with this ICI tax business. I know they will be reasonably priced and will do a good job. Cheaper than a commercialista anyway.

So my next stop was our 'new' Post Office (it's next door to the Comune). Only 2 people ahead of me at the one counter we have. (Well it is a titchy village, but at least we have a PO). I got there at 10.40am - I could see that on my super new (VERY CHEAP)solar powered watch

YouTube - OROLOGIO SOLARE DIGITALE Scrolling...

All I wanted was 6 stamps :(... but the two in front of me wanted 'heaven knows what' and it got round to my turn at 11.14!!! And then - wait for it .... the stamps were in the safe and the clerk had to phone the regular girl (off sick) to get the combination. So that took up another 8 minutes and in the meantime the queue is now out on the pavement. Must have been half the village there. Well I finally got my stamps, and paid for them, and exited the PO at 11.30am -

Only in Italy - I assure you - Only in Italy!!!

But that wasn't the end of it... I should be so lucky :rolleyes: ! Next stop a branch of the bank that I have near Milano - I've been using the small village branch down there since 1975. In August I wanted a new cheque book, phoned them and asked them to post me one up here.... a sharp intake of breath followed and I was told "Non si pu� mandare per posta...". Even sharper words followed (from me) and I made it clear that I was NOT going to make a 150 mile round trip just to collect a damned cheque book! We agreed that they would forward one to their nearest branch to me up here for me to collect at my leisure. That's only a 20 mile round trip. Well in the meantime I had visitors and didn't get to the bank - so they phoned me and said that as I hadn't collected the book - they'd sent it back to Milan!!!!!!!!!
Well - long story short - I told 'em to get it back to the local branch and to tell them NOT TO SEND IT BACK AGAIN, and I would collect it when my health permitted. So - this morning was the day... and - yes, you've guessed it... they sent it back (again) last Friday!!!!

Well - that was it....I kid you not - my blood pressure took off and so did my temper. I called them all the names under the sun (that I could think of) and refused to budge until they sorted the whole mess out! Well a couple of phone calls later, and having spoken the the manager of 'my' branch, it was agreed that they would (risk?) posting it to me 'Registered Post - with return receipt... Now why the heck they couldn't have done that in the first place who knows?

And the time now? 12.59 and they shut the bank door behind me so they could close and go off to lunch!

Only in Italy - yes, only in Italy!

Un libro..

Giuv� — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 18:56:08 GMT

Ciao a tutti!

Well, I thought I would let everyone know that I just finished a book for my grandfather entitled: "Il Mondo di Lucania: Un viaggio"
Here is a look at it:

Il mondo di Lucania: Un viaggio by Giovanni Caffarella (Book) in Reference

And the whole book in pdf:

MEGAUPLOAD - The leading online storage and file delivery service

I do not expect anyone to buy a copy, but it is here so that I may see an interest into this part of Italia!

And I plan on making a book about Italian coffee too! So if anyone is interested in giving me more traditional aspects of coffee I would be grateful. Your name will for sure be mentioned with GREAT gratitude.

I want to do this book because I feel that many coffee drinkers forget traditions that coffee has. I respect many traditions from the world about coffee, but this book is to focus on Italia.

Grazie a tutti!

Lu caf� santiannu e lu cicculatti ripusannu.
Drink coffee while it's hot enough to make you swear but let the chocolate cool

Argentina is the country most like Italy outside of Italy

Villa — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 02:17:31 GMT

Argentina the country most like Italy outside of Italy

3/4 of the 13,356,715 people of Buenos Aires, Argentina are of Italian origin. The over all population of Argentina has
a higher percentage of Italians than anyother country outside of Italy. Argentina has more than 3,500,000 Italian
speakers; this tongue is the second most spoken language in the nation. Italian immigration from the beginning of
the 20th century made a lasting and significant impact on the pronunciation and vernacular of the nation's spoken
Spanish, giving it an Italian flair. In fact, Italian has contributed so much to Rioplatense
that many foreigners mistake it for Italian.

Italian men and their ways with women

llew — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 19:47:24 GMT

I'm not sure whether you'd consider this at all cultural, but when I think of Italy, the men are a big part of the vibe of the place!

I find myself drawn to Italian men. When I've met Italian men they've always been really friendly and chivalric. Anyway, I was talking to some friends about my little 'fetish' if you can call it that and they told me 'don't bother with Italian men. The reason they're all friendly is because they want to take advantage of you then say arrivaderci. Italian men are never faithful.' So I'm a little confused. Is this really true? I personally don't believe it; I think it's a stereotype. But, I've never been out with an Italian, and probably never will because they're so too good looking!

Any people speak of experience? Or can any Italian men comment on this themselves?