Becoming Italian Word by Word

Italian for Travelers: A Shop for Every Reason

il negozio

the shop 

Big department stores (grandi magazzini) and malls (centri commerciali) aren’t as widespread or as popular in Italy as in the United States. You’re more likely to find negozi (shops), often owned and run by the same family for generations.

Here is a sampling of stores you may find in an Italian city or town and what you'll find inside:

*antiquario -- antiques (above)

*calzoleria, negozio di calzature -- shoes or shoe repair

*cartoleria -- office supplies and stationery

*edicola -- news stand, kiosk with newspapers, magazines, comic books, etc.

*enoteca, negozio di vini, vinaio -- wine

*farmacia -- pharmacy

*ferramenta -- hardware

*gioielleria -- jewelry

*libreria -- books

*merceria -- knitting, sewing, laces, buttons, small items

*negozio di abbigliamento intimo -- underwear, pajamas, stockings

*negozio di arredamento -- furniture

*negozio di casalinghi -- household items (pans, espresso machines, irons, etc.)

*negozio di fiori, fioraio -- flowers

*negozio di giocattoli – toys

*pelletteria --– leather goods

*profumeria -- beauty products

*salumeria – deli items (cheeses, olives, cured meats, etc.)

Opening hours (orario d’apertura) vary, depending on the type of shop and the region. Almost all shops close for lunch (per pranzo) at 1:00 p.m. and may post a sign reading “chiuso per pranzo” or “chiusura pomeridiana” (afternoon closing). Shops in different locations reopen at 3:30, 4:00, or 4:30 p.m. When open, shops often display a sign saying “aperto" or "entrata libera” (free entrance).

During the summer many cities and small towns in Italy sponsor “shopping sotto le stelle” (shopping under the stars). Stores remain open until midnight or even 2:00 a.m., with live music and entertainment on the crowded streets. You’ll find entire families staying out late and socializing. Feel free to join the fun.

Whatever the hour, if you like to andare per negozi (shop around), you’ll need some basic phrases. When you enter a shop, the sales clerk (commesso) or shop owner (titolare del negozio) may ask, “Posso aiutarla?” (“May I help you?”) or simply say, “Mi dica” (“Tell me”—what you want.) If you’re just browsing, you can say, “Sto solo guardando” (I’m just looking) or “Do solo uno sguardo, grazie” (I’m just giving a look, thank you).

If you find something you like, ask how much it costs (“Quanto costa?”) and if you can use your credit card (carta di credito). If you decide to take it, say “lo prendo.” And because it’s very important to have a receipt for every purchase in Italy, be sure to get a scontrino.

Words and Expressions

negozietto -- small shop

aprire un negozio –- open a shop

guardare le vetrine  -- another term for window-shopping

fare acquisti, fare compere, fare spesa -- general expressions for shopping

fare la spesa -- shopping for food or groceries  (only)

Dianne Hales is the author of LA BELLA LINGUA: My Love Affair with Italian, the World's Most Enchanting Language. Click here for more information on her "writer's studio" in Capri this fall. 

Italian for Travelers: Swimming in a Sea of Words

nuotare, fare il bagno

 to swim, to go swimming

The first time that an Italian sharing a hotel elevator asked if I had “fatto il bagno,” I was taken aback. Was she really asking if I had taken a bath? And if so, why?

“Si,” I replied tentatively. As she chattered about the sun and the sea, I realized that “fare il bagno” also can translate informally as “to take a dip” or nuotare (to swim). 

“Sa nuotare?” (Do you know how to swim?) a lifeguard (bagnino) asked one day as I prepared to dive (fare un tuffo /tuffarsi) into the sea. “Si, si, sono una buona nuotatrice” (Yes, I’m a good swimmer), I assured him. In fact, my husband says that I can “nuotare come un pesce” (swim like a fish)--although I aspire to glide through the waves like a more alluring marine creature, such as a sirena (mermaid) or ninfa di mare (sea nymph).

Because the waters of northern California are too cold for una nuotata (swimming), I take advantage of every moment of the stagione balneare (bathing season) in Italy. I pack several costumi da bagno (bathing suits), occhialini da nuoto (goggles), ciabatte da piscina (pool slippers) and plenty of protezione solare (sunscreen),

In una piscina (swimming pool), I do vasche (laps) of various stili (strokes): a rana (breast stroke), nuoto alla marinara libero (side stroke) and dorso (back stroke). Sometimes I simply faccio il morto (play dead or float) or sguazzo (splash around).

However, I much prefer to head to la spiaggia (the beach) or a stabilimento balneare (bathing establishment) for some bagni di mare (sea bathing). (You can barely see me as a tiny dot in the middle of the photo above.) I’m not much of a subacqueo (diver), but if I have the chance, I enjoy snorkeling (nuotare con boccaglio e maschera). Sometimes I even pack my own pinne (flippers).

In Italian, you don’t have to entrare in acqua (get in the water) or immergersi (immerse yourself) to find yourself in alto mare (in high seas or all at sea). You might tuffarsi negli affari (plunge into business) and quickly end up in un mare di guai (in a sea of troubles). Then you would have to cercare per mari e per monti (search for the seas and mountains, or look high and low) for the equivalent of a salvagente (life preserver).

Italians might invite you to bagnare un avvenimento (celebrate an occasion, such as a graduation or baptism) with them. The event could turn out to be so moving that you might avere un tuffo al cuore (feel your heart dive -- or swell -- with emotion). You also don’t need lezioni di nuoto (swimming lessons) to nuotare nell’abbondanza or nell’oro — literally  to be so rich that you're swimming in wealth or gold.

Words and Expressions

balneare –- anything pertaining to swimming, seaside

tutto bagnato -- soaking wet 

divieto di balneazione –- no swimming

spanciata –- belly-flop (dare una spanciata –- to belly-flop)

bracciate –- strokes

Dianne Hales is the author of LA BELLA LINGUA: My Love Affair with Italian, the World's Most Enchanting Language. Click here for more information on her "writer's studio" in Capri this fall. 

 

Italian for Travelers: Reading Road Signs

cartelli stradali

road signs

“What a lovely-sounding word!” I exclaimed to my husband the first time we came across “rallentare” on a road sign. I didn’t know that it meant “slow down” until Bob suddenly hit the brakes on a steep curve (svolta). I was similarly taken by the declaration “Caduta massi.” Fortunately, no stones fell on us in the time it took for me to look up the definition. And we had fastened our seat belts even before seeing the reminder "Allacciare la cintura" (buckle up).

Sometimes translation is easy. A stop sign looks the same in Chianti as in Kansas, and Italians even call it a "stop." The numerals indicating il limite di velocità (speed limit) also look familiar—but they indicate kilometers, not miles (there are 1.6 kilometers per mile).

An Italian traffic light (semaforo) blinks red and green just as in the States -- although a driver in Naples explained to us that actually stopping at a red light is optional. (He opted not to.) A sign for a “diversione” isn’t pointing the way to a diverting site, but points to a detour (also translated as deviazione).

Some Italian road signs remind motorists to drive carefully, with admonitions such as “cautela!” (caution) and prudenza (prudence). Others warn of various pericoli (dangers): allagamento (flooding), salita ripida (steep hill), superficie irregolare or sdrucciolevole (irregular or slippery surface), superficie ghiacciata (icy surface) or strada interrotta (road blocked). Just as elsewhere, you may see signs for “lavori in corso” (road work ahead) but never spot any operai (workers).

Road signs such as “usare i fanali“ (use headlights), tenere la destra (keep right), dare la precedenza (yield) or tenere la corsia (keep in lane) tell you what to do. Others, such as senso vietato (no entry) or parcheggio vietato (no parking), make clear what not to do. Just keep in mind that anything divieto is forbidden. 

Even when you know the literal meaning of the Italian words, road signs can be confounding.  “Strada bianca” (white road) sounded so appealing that I suggested we try it—only to discover the very bumpy way that this phrase translates as “unpaved road.” I did better with “senso unico” and figured out that it meant “one way” just before we headed in the wrong direction.

Words and Expressions

entrata / uscita –- entrance/ exit

prossima uscita –- next exit

sosta autorizzata –- parking allowed

parcheggiare in doppia fila –- to double-park

Dianne Hales is the author of LA BELLA LINGUA: My Love Affair with Italian, the World's Most Enchanting Language. Click here for more information on her "writer's studio" in Capri this fall. 

 

Italian for Travelers: Renting a Car

noleggiare una macchina

renting a car

In the United States, renting a car is as routine as picking up keys and signing a rental agreement. A visit to an agenzia di autonoleggio (auto rental agency) in Italy is often a bit more complicated.

“Vorremmo noleggiare una machina” (We’d like to rent a car), we say. “Abbiamo una prenotazione.” (We have a reservation.) Brace yourself before asking, “Quanto costa?” (How much does it cost?) Whether you’re renting by the day (al giorno) or the week (alla settimana), you’re sure to pay un sacco di soldi (a pile of money). It doesn’t hurt to ask if there’s a una tariffa festiva o feriale (a weekend or midweek rate).

Some companies may ask for a deposit (una caparra). Others add an extra charge for mileage (un supplemento per il chilometraggio). We prefer to ask for unlimited mileage (chilometraggio illimitato). Most Italian cars have manual transmissions (cambio manuale), so you can expect to pay more for an automatic (cambio automatico).

You will need to present your driver’s license (patente) and inquire about insurance (l’assicurazione), which may be covered by your personal policy or your credit card. Always ask when (quando) and where (dove) to return the car (riportare la macchina)—and if somebody will be there (ci sarà qualcuno) when you do so. I suggest requesting GPS (navigatore satellitare) or make sure you have a good road map (cartina stradale). You can also reserve an infant or child car seat (seggiolino auto per neonati / bambini).

Depending on your location, you may have a range of vehicular choices: an economy car (macchina piccola), a midsize car (macchina media), a full-size car (macchina grande), van (monovolume), truck (camion), pickup truck (furgoncino) or maybe even a convertible (decappottabile). In big cities like Rome and Milan, you can rent a motorcycle (motocicletta) or a scooter (motorino) by the hour (all’ ora) or by the half-day (a mezza giornata). Don’t forget a helmet (un casco)!

Once on the road, you’ll need to find a gas station (benzinaio or distributore di benzina) to fill up the tank (fare il pieno). Many are “self-service,” with signs saying “Fai da te” (Do it yourself). Check if you need to buy unleaded gas (benzina verde), regular (normale), super (super) or diesel (gasolio).

Be sure to find out whom to contact in case of an accident (incidente), breakdown (guasto), flat tire (gomma a terra—literally rubber to earth) or a dead battery (batteria scarica). Although I hope you don’t need them, you should learn phrases such as my car won’t start (la mia macchina non parte), is broken (è rotta) or is overheating (si sta surriscaldando).

If the engine isn’t working (non funziona) or you get caught in a pile-up (tamponamento a catena), you may need a tow truck (un carro attrezzi), a mechanic (un meccanico), an auto body shop (una carrozzeria) –- or a stiff drink (qualcosa di forte da bere).

Words and Expressions

mettere in moto una macchina -- to start an engine

andare in retromarcia -- to go in reverse

fare inversione (di marcia) --– to do a U-turn

azionare / mettere la freccia -- to signal

Dianne Hales is the author of LA BELLA LINGUA: My Love Affair with Italian, the World's Most Enchanting Language. Click here for more information on her "writer's studio" in Capri this fall. 

Italian for Travelers: At Home in a Hotel

 

albergo 

hotel

As we were tooling around Lago Maggiore on one of our first visits to Italy, my husband asked me, “Who is this guy Albergo and why is his name on so many buildings?” I gently explained that “albergo” means hotel. Derived from the Germanic haribergo for a military barracks, albergo dates back to the Dark Ages, when barbarian hordes swept over the Italian peninsula. 

Italian hotels have come a long, long way since then, but I learned several valuable expressions several years ago when our hotel in Rome literally went dark: C’è un problema. (There’s a problem.) Manca la corrente. (Literally, the current is missing or lacking, which translates as “the electricity isn’t working.”) Manca l’acqua calda. (There’s no hot water.) 

Italian hotels are ranked on a star system according to their quality and cost, with one star (una stella) indicating the most rudimentary of accommodations at the lowest rates and five stars (cinque stelle) for the most luxurious and costly. You can also stay at an albergo per famiglie (residential hotel), 
albergo per la gioventù or ostello della gioventù (youth hostel),

albergo a ore (a cheap hotel rented by the hours, 
albergo a gestione familiare (a family-run hotel), or a pensione (bed-and-breakfast). 

The staff at the front desk of most hotels, particularly in larger towns and cities, speak English, but hotels are a perfect place to practice your Italian. You will want to call or check online to make sure a hotel has una stanza disponibile (a free room, or vacancy). Indicate if you want a single (singola) or a double room (doppia), and be sure to find out quanto si paga per notte (what is the charge per night). 

When you arrive at the hotel, tell the desk clerk that you have una prenotazione (reservation). You will have to provide your passport and credit card. Un facchino (porter) will help you with il tuo bagaglio (your luggage). If you’re not satisfied with the room, you can say, “Preferisco una camera più grande—o più tranquilla o con vista.” “I prefer a larger room--or a quieter room or one with a view." Ask how  the room temperature control, telephone, and television operate (come funziona ….) And be sure to get la chiave della camera (the room key). 

In the course of your stay, you may need to ask for a pillow (cuscino), blanket (coperta), towels (asciugamani), soap (sapone), or a hair-dryer (asciugacapelli or phon). Many hotels offer a breakfast buffet (colazione a buffet) in a dining room (sala da pranzo), but I prefer room service (servizio in camera). 

Later in the day I like to linger in the atrio (lobby) and watch the parade of travelers. The scene always reminds me of 
a complaint I’ve heard many an Italian mother make as her youngsters and their friends tromp in and out the door: 
“Questa casa non è un albergo!” “This house is not a hotel!” 

Words and Expressions  

Vorrei una camera -- I’d like a room. 

per due persone -- for two people.  

per due notti -- for two nights  

albergo per famiglie -- residential hotel

albergatore, albergatrice -- innkeeper, landlord or landlady

Dianne Hales is the author of LA BELLA LINGUA: My Love Affair with Italian, the World's Most Enchanting Language. Click here for more information on her "writer's studio" in Capri this fall. 

Italian for Travelers: Flying to Italy

 

Un volo 

A flight

In order to prenotare un volo (reserve a flight), I check the orario (schedule) online to find un volo diretto (a direct flight). I look for posti disponibili (seats available) in classe turistica. (economy class), business classe or prima classe (first class). I usually buy un volo di andata e ritorno (a round–trip flight) rather than un volo di sola andata (one-way ticket).

I prefer un posto vicino al finestrino (window seat); my very tall husband, un posto vicino al corridoio (aisle seat). Given life's uncertainties, I hope I don't have to annullare or cambiare il mio volo (cancel or change my flight).

As the date of my partenza (departure) approaches, I double-check the franchigia del bagaglio (luggage allowance), il mio passaporto (my passport) and the orario di partenza (time of departure). The Italian phrase for check-in time is l’orario per le procedure d’accettazione, but, understandably, even native speakers say “check-in.”

I like to arrive early, with my biglietto elettronico (e-ticket) or carta d’imbarco (boarding pass) and my bagaglio a mano (hand luggage). I stay in the sala d’attesa (waiting room) until it’s time to go to the cancello di imbarco (departure gate). 

I’m relieved to hear the announcement that the plane is imbarco immediato (boarding now). I always worry about a ritardo (delay), especially if there’s a sciopero (strike)--whether of i controllori di volo (air traffic controllers), gli assistenti di volo (flight attendants), il personale di terra (ground crew) or i piloti (pilots). 

On board I know I must allacciare la cintura di sicurezza (fasten my seatbelt) before decollo (take-off). The assistente di volo (flight attendant) offers a cuscino  (pillow), coperta (blanket) and cuffie auricolari (headset)  so I can listen to music or watch a movie. However, since it’s a long flight, I prefer to schiacciare un pisolino (take a little nap). 

After atterraggio (landing) at Rome’s Leonardo da Vinci airport (better known as Fiumicino for the nearby town named for a little river or fiume), I take a shuttle to the main terminal. I feel that I have truly arrived in Italy when I hear the announcement, “La navetta sta per arrivare.” (The shuttle—literally little ship—is about to arrive.) 

In the ritiro bagagli (baggage claim) area, I look for a sign indicating my flight number and the luggage carousel. Usually I rent a carrello (cart) to help with my bags. Once I waited, and waited, and waited but la mia valigia non è mai arrivata a destinazione (my suitcase never arrived at the destination). That’s when I learned another essential travel phrase: La mia valigia è stata smarrita. (My suitcase has been lost.) 

It turned up eventually, and I reminded myself that the rewards of travel outweigh its hassles. As Sant’Agostino (St. Augustine) observed very long ago, “Il mondo è un libro e quelli che non viaggiano ne leggono solo una pagina.” (“The world is like a book, and those who don’t travel read only one page of it.”) 

Words and Expressions 

agenzia di viaggio -- travel agency

viaggiare col cavollo di San Francesco -- to go on foot (on the horse of St. Frances)

viaggiare in un baule -- to travel in a trunk, that is, without seeing anything

fare un viaggio e due servizi -- to make one trip and two services or to kill two birds with one stone

Dianne Hales is the author of LA BELLA LINGUA: My Love Affair with Italian, the World's Most Enchanting Language. Click here for more information on her "writer's studio" in Capri this fall. 

Click below for the lyrics of a classic that still makes our spirits fly:

Italian for Travelers: Ten Phrases to Know Before You Go

10 Phrases to Take to Italy

If you're packing your suitcases and heading for Italy in the coming months, some practical phrases are sure to come in handy. And so I'm launching a series of posts on "Italian for Travelers."  Let's begin with some essential and quintessentially Italian conversation starters. I'll be filling in more details and examples in the coming weeks:

1. Common courtesies. You’re more likely to get what you ask for when you preface a request with “per favore” (please) and respond to any kindness with “grazie” (thank you).  Prego can mean, “You’re welcome,” or, in some circumstances, “by all means.”

2. Salutations.  Although “ciao!”  has become world-famous, the more polite greeting is “Buongiorno" (Good day). An alternative more common in the North than the South is “Salve!”  Take your leave with a cheery "Arrivederci!" (See you again!)

3. Introductions. In Italian, you don't simply announce your name. You say, "Mi chiamo..." (I call myself).  To find out another person's name, ask, "Come si chiama?" (How do you call yourself?)

4. How are you?   When asked “come sta?” you might reply "bene" (well),  "molto bene" (very well) or non c’é male (not bad). If asked “come va?” (how’s it going),  the most common answer is the Italian equivalent of  “okay”: va bene (it’s going well). 

5. Asking for help.  If it’s a true emergency, shout “Aiuto!”  If you’d like help with something less urgent,  ask, “Scusi, può aiutarmi?"  (Excuse me, can you help me?) To acknowledge the kindness of a stranger, say, “Lei é molto gentile” (You are very kind).

6. Buying.  It’s possible to shop without words anywhere in the world, but the following phrases will serve you well in Italy: Quanto costa? (How much does it cost?)  Posso pagare con la carta di credito? (Can I pay with a credit card?)  “In cash" translates as in contanti.  If you want to try something on, ask “Posso provarlo?”

7. Time.  To find out  the time, you ask “Che ora é?” (what is the hour?) or "Che ore sono?" (what are the hours?). Italy uses a 24-hour clock (sistema orario a 24 ore) so that 6:00 p.m., for instance, is 18:00 (diciotto).  

8. Weather. Everyone talks about it everywhere, but in Italian weather (il tempo) “makes” rather than “is.”  “Fa bello” (literally makes beautiful) means “It’s a nice day.” Weather can also fa brutto (ugly), freddo (cold) or caldo (hot).  On a sunny day, "c’è sole” (there’s sun). "Cloudy" translates as coperto (covered) or nuvoloso; “it’s raining,” as piove.

9. Illness. “Sto male” means “I’m feeling bad.”   Common travellers’ complaints  include headache (mal di testa), stomach ache (male di pancia),  fever (febbre) and pain (dolore). 

10. Compliments. Che bello!  (How beautiful! How nice!) works in almost any circumstance.  With any luck, you’ll have many occasions to use it.

Words and Expressions

Sono americano/inglese/ francese, etc. -- I’m American, English, French, etc.

Non ho capito -- I didn't/don't understand

Può ripetere, per favore? -- Can you repeat, please?

Parla inglese? -- Do you speak English? 

Come si dice......in italiano? -- How do you say ...... in Italian?

Dianne Hales is the author of LA BELLA LINGUA: My Love Affair with Italian, the World's Most Enchanting Language. Click here for more information on her "writer's studio" in Capri this fall. 

Women of a Certain Age in the Italian Language

L'età del fascino

The Age of Charm

Meglio belli o meglio affascinanti? Better to be beautiful or better to be fascinating? This was the delicious question posed in an Italian newspaper’s column on “dilemmi beauty.”

A recent survey asked some two thousand American respondents when women reach the peak of their charm (raggiungono il picco del proprio fascino). The consensus: at age 30. They begin to age (cominciano a invecchiare) around age 41 and stop being sexy (smettono di essere sexy) when they reach age 53.

An Italian begged to differ. Tommaso Ariemma, docente di estetica e filosofiao (an instructor of aesthetics and philosophy), explained that there is una “cruciale” differenza (a crucial difference) between beauty and fascination.

Il fascino,he argues is direttamente proporzionale alla maturità (directly proportional to maturity), and women can acquire it only con il passare degli anni (with the passage of the years). While beauty is legata alla fisicità e al corpo (tied to the physical and the body), fascination requires un apprendistato (an apprenticeship). Solo con il passare del tempo (only with the passing of time) can a woman gain quella consapevolezza di sé (that self-awareness) that le ventenni (twenty-somethings) non possono possedere (can not possess).

So much for what Italians call la bellezza dell’asino (the fresh-faced appeal of youth)!

Dottoressa Ariemma suggests that questo periodo della vita (this period of life) begins around age 30 as a woman entra nel mondo del lavoro (enters the work world) and masters le strategie legate al prestigio sociale (the strategies tied to social prestige).

When does this period end? “Più difficile” (more difficult), he says, “stabilirne la fine” (to establish its end).

The researchers also posed la stessa domanda (the same question) about men. According to the respondents, gli uomini enter l’eta del fascino (the age of fascination) at age 34—and lose their allure by age 43. The docente’s response to this gender difference: "Questa mi sembra un'ottima notizia per le donne." (This seems good news for women.)

Perhaps women of every age would be better off if they paid less attention to their looks. According to an old Italian saying, “donna specchiante poco filante” (a woman looking in the mirror, or too conscious of her own beauty, is not that charming).

Words and Expressions

subire il fascino di -– to be under the spell of

vecchione, vecchiona –- very old man, very old woman

befana –- witch, old hag, ugly lady

bellezza al bagno -– bathing beauty

trattamento di bellezza –- beauty treatment

Dianne Hales is the author of LA BELLA LINGUA: My Love Affair with Italian, the World's Most Enchanting Language. Click here for more information on her "writer's studio" in Capri this fall. 

Celebrating Mamma in the Italian Language

La festa della mamma 

 Mother's Day 

Every year as the dark, cold winter gave way to the bright rebirth of Spring, the ancient Romans paid tribute to their gods of fertility. One holiday, Matronalia, was dedicated to Juno, the queen of the gods, and children gave gifts to their mothers on this day.  

Traditionally la festa della mamma in Italy fell on May 8. The current practice of celebrating Mother’s Day on the second Sunday of May (la seconda domenica di maggio) started in 1957.  

La mamma italiana is part of her family’s life every day of the year--as was mine (above), even though she was 100 percent Polish. Men may hold the highest political offices, but the person at the helm of the family—the strongest Italian institution—is Mamma. Grown men called mammoni (big mama’s boys) remain at home well into their thirties (and sometimes beyond). Mammismo (“momism”), some contend, stems from a son’s belief that nothing could ever compare with amore materno (motherly love). 

Mothers inspired the most common—and versatile --expression in Italian: Mamma mia! You can translate it as “My God!”, “How great!”, “Oh no!”, “Incredible!” and hundreds of other ways—depending on context and inflection. A wide range of human emotions--from surprise to shock, delight to disbelief, joy to horror--can be conveyed in these two words. 

To help children of all ages express their love for Mamma, Italian websites post “auguri” (best wishes) for la festa della mamma. Here are some exampes: 

*”Le rose sono rosse, le viole sono blu, e tu sei la mamma migliore di quaggiù.” (Roses are red, violets are blue, and the best mamma down here is you.) 

*”Mamma, sei la mia vita, sei come un raggio di sole che al mattino mi sveglia con felicità e come la dolce luce di una stella, che la sera accompagna il mio sonno.” (Mamma, you are my life. You are like a ray of sun that awakens me with happiness in the morning and like the sweet light of a star that accompanies my sleep in the evening.) 

*”Mamma, sei la cosa più bella e dolce che la vita mi potesse donare. Ti voglio bene!” (Mamma, you are the most beautiful and sweetest thing that life could give me. I love you!) 

Words and Expressions 

“come mamma l’ha fatto” -- literally as his mother made him: completely naked, in his birthday suit 

casa madre -- mother or head office 

scena madre -- main scene, the most dramatic and revealing scene in a movie or play 

cocco di mamma --mama’s boy, mammone

madre in affitto -- surrogate mother  

le gioie della maternità -- the joys of motherhood 

Dianne Hales  is the author of LA BELLA LINGUA: MY LOVE AFFAIR WITH ITALIAN,THE WORLD'S MOST ENCHANTING LANGUAGE. Click here for information on her "Writers' Studio" in Capri this fall.  

Here is a classic tribute to an Italian mamma: 

The Year of Italian Language and Culture: Machiavelli

Niccolò Machiavelli

As part of its celebration of "The Year of Italian Culture," Italy is commemorating the 500th anniversary of the writing of a classic work: Machiavelli's  Il Principe (The Prince). Although completed in 1513, the treatise by the man who "put the science into political science" wasn't published until 1532, five years after his death. Machiavelli's name since penetrated  the global vocabulary as an international byword for  political cunning and pragmatism. However, no one,  as T. S. Eliot observed, “was ever less Machiavellian than Machiavelli.” 

After fourteen years as a civil servant and diplomat in the Florentine Republic, Niccolò Machiavelli was tried, tortured, and exiled  after the Medici reclaimed power.  Frustrated in his forced retirement to his modest country home, Machiavelli began work on The Prince in the hope that a clear-eyed, no-nonsense tactical handbook would  display his political acumen and win him a government position. 

His  dreams, personal and political, never materialized. He died—“of a surfeit of failure,” one historian stated—before the printing of his masterwork. But by analyzing affairs of state dispassionately, with logic and objectivity, Machiavelli put the science into political science. 

Five centuries after Machiavelli’s time, The Prince still compels and shocks readers for two reasons: what its author says and how he says it. What if a prince acts so ruthlessly that he loses the adulation of his people?  Better to be feared than loved, shrugs Machiavelli. Since men are generally ungrateful, vacillating, cowardly, and greedy, he observes, they might promise their souls to a prince yet  desert or betray him because love is fickle, while fear is not.  Machiavelli never agonized over whether the ultimate end might justify any means.  He was sure it would.   

Just as remarkable as The Prince’s unflinching pragmatism is its language. Considered by some the finest Italian stylist of the Cinquecento (1500s),  Machiavelli wrote in a clean, stiletto-sharp  vernacular that echoed the everyday speech of his fellow Florentines (including, in some of his more ribald works, their earthiness). 

Machiavelli, whose satiric play The Mandrake is still revived and performed around the world,   couldn’t resist mocking the pretensions of some of his  newly prosperous countrymen.  In his own twist on bella and brutta figura, he recounts the story of a character named Castruccio.  A man from Lucca invites him to dinner at his house, which—thanks to a recent windfall--he has just remodeled in the most ostentatious manner possible. During the meal Castruccio suddenly spits in his host’s face. Rather than apologize, he explains that he did not know where else to spit without damaging something valuable.

Shortly before his death, the heart-broken political strategist wrote to a friend,  “I love my country better than my very soul.”  His country, which ignored him in life, didn’t know quite what to say of him in death. His  monumental tomb in Florence's Santa Croce, the burial site for Italy’s titans of history, reads simply, “To so great a name, no epitaph can do justice.”

Words and Expressions

machiavellismo –- political cunning

machiavellico –- crafty

machiavellicamente –- in a crafty manner

vivere da principe –- to live like a prince

principesco -– princely, prince-like 

Dianne Hales is the author of LA BELLA LINGUA: My Love Affair with Italian, the World's Most Enchanting Language. Click here for more information on her "writer's studio" in Capri this fall.