Becoming Italian Word by Word

The Italian Pharmacy: A Friend in Need

 

la farmacia 

the pharmacy 

Sometimes the most reassuring sight in Italy is the bright green cross (croce verde) of the local pharmacy (farmacia). Italian pharmacies, calm even when crowded, function as mini-clinics, and many Italians consult a trusted pharmacist (farmacista di fiducia) before calling a doctor (medico). 

Whether you’re suffering from a headache (mal di testa), an upset stomach (mal di stomaco), a sprain (storta), or any form of pain (dolore), lo (or la) farmacista will listen to your problem (problema), evaluate your symptoms (sintomi), and suggest a remedy (rimedio), including some medications (le medicine) that require a prescription (ricetta medica or "medical recipe") in the United States. If you develop an adverse drug reaction (allergia al farmaco), be sure to return and report it as soon as possible.

 if you prefer more natural remedies (rimedi naturali) for minor issues, you can go to an erboristeria. The erborista will mix herbs to help you relax, sleep, digest, or feel less pain. You can also find homeopathic remedies and Chinese medicine (la medicina cinese) there. 

Le farmacie sell anything related to health or hygiene, including bandages (bende), razors (rasoi), sanitary napkins (assorbenti), condoms (preservativi), thermometers (termometri), cough drops (pastiglie per la tosse), pain killers (analgesici or antidolorifici), and ointments (pomate or unguenti) for everything from wrinkles to weight loss. You can buy contact lenses there and get injections if needed. 

By law at least one local pharmacy must be available after business hours. If you need medicine at night or on a Sunday or holiday, ask for le farmacie di turno or check the sign posted at the nearest pharmacy for a phone number to call. 

While waiting in line at our local farmacia, I’ve learned the words for all sorts of problems: taglio (cut), ferita (wound, usually with blood), livido (bruise), strappo muscolare (pulled muscle), febbre alta (high fever). indigestione (indigestion), and ustione (burn). I’ve also met an Italian ipocondriaco (hypochondriac) or two. 

Some medical problems, such as l’asma (asthma), l’artrite (arthritis), and diarrea (diarrhea), have similar names in English and Italian. Others may make their victims just as miserable but undeniably sound better in Italian: tosse ( cough), pressione alta (hypertension); capogiro (spinning head or dizziness), stitichezza (constipation). 

I heard my favorite Italian euphemism for a bodily function at a farmacia from a little boy who wrinkled his nose and asked his mother: “Chi fa il profumino?” (Who is making the little perfume—that is, passing gas?) 

It reminded me that il riso fa buon sangue. Laughter makes good blood or, as we would say In English, good medicine. 

Words and Expressions 

malessere -- indisposition 

armadietto dei medicinali -- medicine cabinet  

una compressa al giorno -- one tablet a day 

“Prendere prima o dopo i pasti” -- to take before or after meals

The Most Italian Time of Day

la passeggiata 

the walk 

As day softens into dusk in Italy, something in the air seems to tug people from their homes and workplaces to participate in one of the enduring traditions of Italian life: la passeggiata. This evening promenade, generally between 5:00 and 8:00 p.m., occurs in virtually every town, village or big city in Italy. 

“Andiamo a fare qualche vasca!” (Literally, let’s go do some laps—as in a pool), Italians say to one another. However, this “cultural performance,” as sociologists describe it, involves much more than strolling to and fro. 

During the week, the passeggiata marks the end of the workday and offers a moment of sociability before the family dinner. On Saturday and Sunday, the passeggiata often becomes the main social event of the day, when entire families take to the streets. 

The most important thing is simply seeing and being seen (vedere e farsi vedere). In some cities, people clearly dress to impress or at least to show how well life has been treating them. Shirts are pressed; jeans, if worn, are stylish. Even babies in their prams are ready for proud display. 

Attracting the most attention are young women of marriageable age, who, as Giovanna Delnegro observes in her book The Passeggiata, take advantage of “a socially sanctioned opportunity for flirting and courting.” For townspeople of all ages, the passeggiata reinforces a sense of belonging. The greeting of friends and acquaintances, the swapping of gossip and the sharing of the latest news weave everyone into the human fabric of the community. 

If you’re out and about in the early evening, you may become part of a passeggiata whether you intend to or not. You’ll feel like less of an outsider if you aren’t wearing a baseball cap, baggy shorts or gym wear. Don’t rush past people. Walk slowly. Stop for a gelato or an aperitivo. And don’t be surprised if, after a while, you start feeling that you too belong. 

Here are three of my favorite cities to “fare una passeggiata”: 

Rome 

Young tourists tend to mull about the Piazza di Spagna or find a perch on the Spanish Steps to watch the parade. Window-shoppers gravitate to the Via del Corso, a pedestrian street lined with shops, cafes and churches. The lively Piazza Navona, with its open-art art vendors, mimes and musicians, may be the most entertaining place for a passeggiata. 

The Borghese Gardens, where families pause to let their children ride the carousel or chase pigeons, offers a more tranquil setting. One of the best places to end a Roman passeggiata is the Pincio, poised above the Piazza del Popolo with a wonderful view over the cupolas of Rome’s churches (including St. Peter’s) to the often-spectacular sunset. 

Florence 

Florence’s narrow streets provide welcome shade in the late afternoon. Many people weave their way to the Piazza della Repubblica, with its choice of cafes and bars for an espresso or aperitivo. I prefer a different route: a hike (or bus ride) to the Piazzale Michelangelo or, continuing upward, to the church of San Miniato, where locals sit in the shade and couples wrap their arms around each other as they watch the sun turn the Arno to gold. 

Siena 

The buses that bring many tourists here leave by late afternoon. That’s when the Sienese reclaim their town by making their way up the steep, winding streets to Il Campo, the shell-shaped main piazza. You can circumnavigate the piazza, as many do, or venture into the tiny side streets and alleys. 

For a bird’s eye view, climb the 400 steps to the top of the Torre del Mangia (roughly the Tower of the Eater. named for its first guardian, who was called Mangiaguadagni for his tendency to spend all his money for food). As you gaze down at groups of townspeople walking and talking below, you’ll feel—as Italians do at the end of a passeggiata—that all’s right with the world. 

Words and Expressions 

passeggiare a cavallo -- to go for a ride 

passeggiare in carrozza -- to go for a drive 

passeggiatore -- person taking a walk

Dianne Hales is the author of La Bella Lingua: My Love Affair with Italian, the World's Most Enchanting Language. 

Updating Divorce, Italian Style in Today's Italy

 

Lo stato delle unioni matrimoniali in Italia 

 The State of Italian Marital Unions

Classic Italian love stories end with the words, “E vissero felici e contenti” (And they lived happily thereafter). Times have changed. An Italian marriage now lasts an average of fifteen years. According to a new report on the state of Italians’ unions. more people are becoming divorziati (divorced). From 1995 to 2008, separations increased by 61 percent and divorces raddoppiati (doubled).   

"Il divorzio,” no linguistic newcomer, entered the Italian language in the 14th century, according to my etymological dictionary, which defines it as “scioglimento legale del matrimontio durante la vita dei coniugi” (the legal termination of a marriage during the life of the spouses). But it wasn’t until 1974, after decades of controversy and despite stiff opposition by the Catholic church, that Italians voted for il Referendum sulla legalizzazione del divorzio (the referendum on the legalization of divorce). 

The plight of unhappy couples trapped in miserable marriages prior to this vote inspired the delectable 1961 movie Divorce, Italian Style. Played by the marvelous Marcello Mastroiianni, Ferdinando (Fefé) Cefalù, a Sicilian baron, longs to rid himself of Rosalia, his insufferably suffocating wife, and fantasizes about her dying (see clip below).  Desperate to marry his nubile young cousin, Fefé plots to lure his spouse into the arms of a former lover so he can murder her in a justifiable effort to save his honor.  

Italians no longer have to resort to such extreme measures. For every thousand marriages, 286 end in a separation (finiscono in una separazione) and 179 in un divorzio. Like everything else in Italy, separation rates vary regionally—from a low of 186 per 1,000 marriages in the South to a high of 363 per 1,000 in the Northwest. 

Generally, couples are required to be legally separated for three continuous years before their divorce is finalized.  The median age (l’età media) at separation is 45 for men and 41 for women; for divorce, 46 and 43, respectively. 

So what leads to divorce in Italy? According to the University of Rome's "Grounds for Divorce and Maintenance Between Former Spouses," 98 percent of divorces stem from “a breakdown in the material and spiritual areas formerly shared between a legally joined couple” (la cessazione della comunione di vita materiale e spirituale tra i coniugi). Many couples simply cite irreconcilable differences (differenze inconciliabili) or incompatiblity (incompatibilità). 

So what could help marital unions last longer?  Here are some classic Italian sayings:

    *Moglie e buoi dei paesi tuoi. Wives and cows from one’s own village.  

    *Nel marito prudenza, nella donna pazienza. A husband needs to be prudent, his wife patient. 

    *Dio li fa e poi li accoppia. God makes them, then couples them. 

     *Tra moglie e marito non mettere il dito.  Between a wife and husband, don't  put a finger. 

My personal favorite is the first expression I taught my husband of thirty-two years to say in Italian:  Mia moglie ha sempre ragione. (My wife is always right.)

Words and Expressions 

divorzista --divorce lawyer 

separazione consensuale –- separation by mutual consent 

annullamento del matrimonio –- annulment of marriage 

abbandono del letto coniugale –- abandonment of the conjugal bed  

Words of Wisdom in the Italian Language

 

La morale del giorno 

The moral of the day 

An Italian friend sent me these timeless words of wisdom that made me smile—and think. I’ve added an English translation after each paragraph. 

Un giorno, un non vedente era seduto sul gradino di un marciapiede con un cappello ai suoi piedi e un pezzo di cartone con su scritto: «Sono cieco, aiutatemi per favore!» 

One day a blind man was sitting on the slope of a sidewalk with a cap at his feet and a piece of cardboard with this written on it: “I am blind. Help me please.” 

Un pubblicitario che passava di lì si fermò e notò che vi erano solo alcuni centesimi nel cappello. 

An advertising professional who was passing by stopped and noted that there were only a few cents in the hat. 

Si chinò e versò della moneta, poi, senza chiedere il permesso al cieco, prese il cartone, lo girò e vi scrisse sopra un'altra frase. 

He bent and put in some money, then without asking the blind man’s permission took the cardboard, turned it, and wrote another phrase. 

Al pomeriggio, il pubblicitario ripassò dal cieco e notò che il suo cappello era pieno di monete e di banconote. 

In the afternoon, the ad man passed by the blind man again and noted that his cap was full of coins and paper money. 

Il non vedente riconobbe il passo dell'uomo e gli domandò se era stato lui che aveva scritto sul suo pezzo di cartone e soprattutto che cosa vi avesse annotato. 

The blind man recognized the step of the man and asked him if he was the one who had written on the piece of cardboard and, above all, what he had written. 

Il pubblicitario rispose: Nulla che non sia vero, ho solamente riscritto la tua frase in un altro modo. 

The ad man replied: Nothing that isn’t true. I simply rewrote your phrase in another way. 

Sorrise e se ne andò. Il non vedente non seppe mai che sul suo pezzo di cartone vi era scritto: «Oggi è primavera e io non posso vederla». 

He smiled and left. The blind man never knew that on the piece of cardboard was written: “Today is spring, and I can not see it.” 

Morale: Cambia la tua strategia quando le cose non vanno molto bene e vedrai che poi andrà meglio. 

Moral: Change your strategy when things aren’t going very well, and you will see that they then will go better. 

Per scoprire il valore di un anno, chiedilo ad uno studente che è stato bocciato all'esame finale. 

To discover the value of a year, ask a student who has just failed his final exam. 

Per scoprire il valore di un mese, chiedilo ad una madre che ha messo al mondo un bambino troppo presto. 

To discover the value of a month, ask a mother whose baby has come into the world too early. 

Per scoprire il valore di una settimana, chiedilo all'editore di una rivista settimanale. 

To discover the value of a week, ask the editor of a weekly magazine. 

Per scoprire il valore di un'ora, chiedilo agli innamorati che stanno aspettando di vedersi. 

To discover the value of an hour, ask lovers who are waiting to see each other. 

Per scoprire il valore di un minuto, chiedilo a qualcuno che ha appena perso il treno, il bus o l'aereo. 

To discover the value of a minute, ask someone who has just missed a train, bus, or plane. 

Per scoprire il valore di un secondo, chiedilo a qualcuno che è sopravvissuto a un incidente. 

To discover the value of a second, ask someone who has survived an accident. 

Per scoprire il valore di un millisecondo, chiedilo ad un atleta che alle Olimpiadi ha vinto la medaglia d'argento. 

To discover the value of a millisecond, ask an Olympic athlete who has won the silver medal. 

Il tempo non aspetta nessuno. Raccogli ogni momento che ti rimane, perché ha un grande valore. 

Time waits for no one. Grasp every minute that remains because it has great value.

City of Saint Francis

 

Assisi 

 In this guest post, Wendy Murray, director of The Assisi Workshops and author of A Mended and Broken Heart, the Life and Love of Francis of Assisi, tells the back story of a town that millions visit but few get to know well. 

Saint Francis' biographer and one-time mayor of Assisi, Arnaldo Fortini, posed the question: "Did Assisi determine Francis or visa-versa?" He then answered it: "St. Francis could only be born in a city like Assisi because only that place, that sky, that almost oriental peace, provided the possibility for his soul to fly toward its Creator." The small Italian hill town in the heart of Umbria was everything to Italy's patron saint, Saint Francis (1182-1226), who was born, lived, and died there.

Assisi was a feisty little warring town, ready to take up arms at the slightest provocation. By the time of Francis' birth in 1182, Assisi had been conquered by Rome, the Byzantine Empire, the Ostrogoths, the Lombards, and the Franks. Even so, the 14th century Italian poet Dante said of it: "Let him who talks of this place not say Ascesi which were to speak short." (Ascesi is an old spelling of the town, which means "I arose.")The town ought to be called "Orient, if he would speak properly," he wrote, since it is from the east that the sun rises. In Assisi, he says, a new light arose and cast a strange glow over a dark land. 

This was Francis. 

When he was 16 (before his religious conversion), he and his fellow merchant-class warriors tore down the walls of the city's main high fortress above town, called La Rocca, and drove the nobles from their homes into exile, decisively repulsing entrenched feudalism. 

Several years later, after savage warring and multiple illnesses had tempered him, he remained a man of stone—but no longer as one who tore down fortresses. Instead, he rebuilt three ruined churches, two of which are still standing. 

The first is a small church just south of Assisi known as San Damiano. He labored with great joy, calling to passers-by: "Come and help me in the work of the church of San Damiano which was completed in a very short time. A few years later Clare of Assisi moved in, eventually joined by her sister and other women. 

Francis promptly began work on two more ruined churches, one called San Pietro della Spina (now lost) and another called the Portiuncola, near San Damiano and the seat of the blossoming order. Today it remains intact, subsumed by the large edifice of the church of Santa Maria degli Angeli. 

The great Basilica of Saint Francis, where the saint is buried, did not arise until four years after his death. The vicar of the Order at the time, Brother Elias, arranged for Francis' temporary burial at the church of San Giorgio (the present-day Basilica of Saint Clare) and started planning the erection of a great basilica to be the permanent resting place of Francis' mortal remains. 

Construction began in March 1228 and advanced with incredible speed. The lower church was finished within twenty-two months. The following May, in a hurried, secret, and still unexplained change of plan, Elias orchestrated the secret transfer of Francis's body from San Giorgio to the basilica's lower church. The completion of the Upper Basilica, where Giotto's well-known Francis cycle is displayed, was finished in 1239. 

The Assisi Workshops offer tours, retreats, workshops and seminars designed to open the door to a world of mystery, majesty, beauty and personal transformation. Click here for more information. 

Sailing the Italian Language

la barca
boat

When you go boating (andare in barca) in Italy, you don’t just leave the land behind. You enter a watery world teeming with new words.  

Una barca italiana may be a humble rowboat (barca a remi), a sailboat (barca a vela), a motor boat (motoscafo) or a splendid ship (nave), like the Amerigo Vespucci, a training ship for Italian mariners (above).  You can go on a cruise (in crociera) along Italy’s long coastline. Or you can board a ferry (traghetto) to travel to Italian islands (isole), such as Sardinia and Ponza. My favorite is the hydrofoil (aliscafi, from ali for wings) that shuttles visitors to Capri.

Once on board it’s important to know your way around. Starboard (to the right) translates as tribordo; port (to the left), as babordo. The bow or front of a barca is called the prua; the stern, the poppa; the helm, the timone. The word cambusa doubles as the name for a boat’s galley and for the on-board cook.

Depending on its size, a veliero  (sailing vessel) may have several masts, including the main mast (albero di maestra), jury mast (albero di fortuna), foremast (albero di trinchetto), mizenmast (albero di mezzana) and topmast (albero di perrocchetto). Of course, every boat needs an anchor (ancora),  which you raise (levare) or drop (gettare) -- and an ancora di salvezza or salvegente (life-preserver). 

In addition to a captain (il capitano), the crew (l’equipaggio) might include a navigator (navigatore) and sailors (marinai) who hoist (issare) and lower (calare) the sails (le vele).  My husband likes to joke that his job on board is that of the mozzo (ship’s  “boy”).

What does one wear in barca?  A professional sailor would dress in a divisa da marinaio (sailor’s uniform) and a cappello alla marinara (sailor hat). Private boaters might opt for vestiti alla marinara (sailor-style clothes).

Even far from a marina (porticciolo turistico), you’re likely to hear una barca di (a lot of) nautical sayings.  On land or sea you and your companions might be stranded by a storm and end up nella stessa barca (in the same boat).  In hard times, you may have to do whatever you can to mandare avanti la barca  (send the boat forward, keep a family afloat) or barcamenarsi (manage, cope somehow).

If you find yourself navigare in cattive acque (sailing in bad waters, the equivalent of skating on thin ice), don’t tirare i remi in barca (draw the oars on the boat or give up.) But if you hear the cry “Scialuppe a mare!”, it’s  time to  launch the lifeboats or face the worst of a seaman’s fates:  naufragare (to shipwreck) and annegare (to drown). Remember: In tempo di tempesta ogni buco è un porto. (Any port in a storm.)

If you’re prone to mal di mare (seasickness) in mare mosso (rough seas), you may prefer to be a  marinaio della domenica (Sunday or fair-weather sailor). Better yet, stick to navigare su internet  (sailing the web).

Words and Expressions

tela da vele  -- sail cloth
porticciolo --  small harbour
a gonfie vele  -- at full sail,  things are going very well
vaporetto -- steamboat, waterbus (in Venice)
zattera -- raft

DIanne Hales is the author of La Bella Lingua, My Love Affair with Italian, the World's Most Enchanting Language.