Becoming Italian Word by Word

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!) 

Dianne Hales  is the author of  LA BELLA LINGUA: MY LOVE AFFAIR WITH ITALIAN, THE WORLD’S MOST ENCHANTING LANGUAGE. 

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 

Click below for a classic tribute to an Italian mamma: 

How a Chocolate Kiss Is Like an Italian Mamma

Il Bacio Perugina e una mamma italiana

The Perugina “Kiss” and an Italian Mom

How is a world-famous chocolate made in Perugia like an Italian mother?

In a delightful essay published in a collection called Italianità, the author Alessandro Guerriero explains that Il Bacio Perugina is like una mamma italiana because:

*non cambia mai (it never changes).

*è un po’ troppo dolce (it’s a little too sweet), ma non priva (but not lacking) a certain tartness.

*come una mamma italiana d’altri tempi (like an old-style Italian mamma), it is ricca di sentenze (rich in sayings) che non servono assolutamente a nulla (that serve absolutely nothing) but make you smile. (Click here for some samples of frasi dei baci Perugina.

*come una mamma Italian d’altri tempi con gli abiti della festa (like an old-style Italian mom dressed in Sunday clothes), it is un po’ sognante (a little dreamy), un po’ futile (a little frivolous), un po’ fane’ (faded) but you become fond of these things because they make her stand out tra migliaia di altre mamme italiane (among millions of other Italian mothers).

*come una mamma italiana di altri tempi vestita con gli abiti della festa (like an old-style Italian mom  dressed in party clothes), it’s nice to encounter her ma non tutti giorni (but not every day).

*come tutte le mamme italiane è da prendere a piccole dosi (like all Italian moms she should be taken in small doses), altrimenti provoca “maldipancia” insormontabili (otherwise she provokes an insurmountable tummy ache).

Of course, there are many other types of kisses, including a mother's baci affettuosi (affectionate kisses). Friends might exchange a bacino or bacetto (little kiss), but you'd reserve a bacio sulla bocca (kiss on the mouth) or a baciozzo (slang) or bacione (hearty kiss or smooch) for a romantic partner. A date usually ends with a bacio della buonanotte (goodnight kiss). Lovers say goodbye with a bacio d’addio (parting kiss). But there's one type of kiss everyone want to avoid: il bacio della morte (the kiss of death).

Words and Expressions

mandare un bacio -- to throw a kiss

sbaciucchio -- continual kissing, smooching

sbacciucchiarsi -- to be always kissing one another,  to smooch, to canoodle (if anyone remember this word)

baciamano -- hand-kissing

Dianne Hales is the author of LA BELLA LINGUA: My Love Affair with Italian, the World's Most Enchanting Language.

Click below for a tribute to an Italian mamma:

Comforting Words in the Italian Language

le condoglianze

condolences

Sooner or later we all enter seasons of loss (perdita) and sorrow (dolore, dispiacere) when we mourn (piangere) for a loved one. The emotions (sentimenti) are the same (gli stessi) throughout the world, and words of compassion (parole di cordoglio), although different in every language, can do much to ease the way through the grieving process (elaborazione del lutto).

Writing an obituary (annuncio funebre) or eulogy (necrologio) is always wrenching for anyone in mourning (in lutto). Composing a condolence letter (lettera di condoglianze) to comfort (dare conforto, confortare) a friend or acquaintance in deep grief (molto addolorato) can also be difficult.

“Nelle occasioni tristi bisogna usare le parole con cautela e discrezione” (on sad occasions it is necessary to use words with caution and discretion), say linguists Valeria della Valle and Giuseppe Patota in Le parole giuste (The Right Words). Above all, you want to “evitare di urtare, involontariamente, la suscettibilità e la sensibilità di persone già provate dal dolore" (avoid upsetting, involuntarily, the susceptibility and sensitivity of people already troubled by suffering).

Many people use a standard phrase such as “Vi esprimiamo le nostre sentite condoglianze” (We express to you our most “felt,” or sincere, sympathy). However, the authors advise avoiding “la parola condoglianze o, peggio ancora, espressioni logore come vive condoglianze” (the word condolences or, still worse, worn expressions such as “heart-felt” condolences). 

It is better to communicate your sympathy and friendship in modo breve (in a brief way), they advise, because in sad circumstances it is possible for words to diventare troppe (become too much). Avoid "lunghi discorsi di tono celebrativo o commemorativo" (long discussions in a celebratory or commemorative tone). The loss (scomparsa) of a loved one should not become an occasion per far sfoggio di retorica (for showing off rhetoric).

Speak or write from the heart, with phrases such as:

*Ti sono vicino -- I am close to you. I’m with you.

*Vi siamo vicini -- We are close to you (plural).

*Partecipo al tuo dolore -- I share in your sadness.

*Siamo con voi -- We are whole-heartedly with you.

*Inviamo queste parole con profonda commozione, profondo dolore -- We send these words with profound emotion, profound sorrow.

I professori (the professors) recommend the same simplicity (la stessa semplicità) in responding to condolences, for example:

*"Grazie per l’affetto dimostrato” -- Thank you for the affection you’ve shown.

*“Grazie per esserci stati vicini”  --- Thank you for having been close to us.

Personally, I thank all of you who have sent comforting words, in English and Italian, to me following the loss of my beloved father. Rimango molto commossa (I remain very touched.)

Words and Expressions

lutto stretto -- deep mourning

piangere un amico –- to mourn (weep for) a friend 

vestirsi a lutto –- to dress in mourning (black)

trigesimo –- thirtieth day after death

Dianne Hales is the author of LA BELLA LINGUA, My Love Affair with Italian, the World’s Most Enchanting Language.

Click below for a tribute to a "great spirit":   

Little Easter in the Italian Language

 
Pasquetta

 After the grand religious rituals and elaborate feasts of Easter Sunday, Italians celebrate il lunedi dell’Angelo (Angel’s Monday) with a picnic in the countryside beyond the walls of their cities.  This national holiday is called Pasquetta, or little Easter.

Like so many words with diminutive suffixes, it implies something more personal and appealing.  “Pasqua di rinascita, Pasquetta di festa,” Italians say.  “Easter for rebirth; Pasquetta for party.” The simple picnic dishes feature endless variations on eggs, including frittatine (small omelettes) and tortini (small torte or pies).

I’ve come to think of endings such as –ino, -ello, and –etto as the linguistic equivalent of the heaps of sugar Italians add to a thimbleful of espresso to sweeten its taste.  A bambina (baby girl), like the little angel above, inevitably elicits cries of "Carina!" "Bellina!" "Tesorina!" "Bambolina!"  (Cute! Pretty! Little darling! Baby doll!) Almost everything to do with piccolini (little ones)  merits a diminutive, right down to culetto for a sweet little baby bottom. 

Many diminutives simply signify size or shape.  In contrast to an albero (tree), an alberino is a shrub; an alberello, a sapling; and an alberetto, a dwarf tree. Trousers are calzoni; calzoncini, shorts.    The Italian physicist Enrico Fermi coined the term neutrino  (little neutral one) for a particle even smaller than a neutron.  In music, prestissimo means a little faster than presto;  andantino, not as slow as andante. 

Thanks to diminutives, a sign outside a rustic osteria (a tavern serving simple food) can summarize its entire menu in three variations:

    Pranzo (lunch): 15 euro
    Pranzetto (lighter lunch): 10 euro
    Pranzettino (bite to eat): 5 euro.

Diminutives also can add a clever twist to common words. An especially endearing form of amore is amorino.  Doctors refer to the patient information insert that accompanies a prescription medication as a bugiardino (little liar).  A horse has a coda (tail), but Italian men and women may sport a codina (pony tail). Vento (wind) melts into venticello (a nice little wind), but gentler still is a brezzolina (soft little breeze). 

But not every little thing is a good one.  My Italian friends warn me to beware of people asking for a little anything, whether it’s a tiny little moment of your time (attimino), a peck of a kiss (bacino), or a bit of help (aiutino).  Usually they’re after much more.

Words and Expressions

Figlioli piccini dolore di testa, fanciulli grandini dolore di cuore -- young children, headache; older kids, heartache 

stellina di mogliettina  -- little star of a little wife (literally), a wonderful wife

capellini  (from capelli for hair) -- fine or thin hair (or spaghetti)

casetta (from casa for house) -- little house, cottage

negozietto (from negozio for shop) -- small shop

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

Happy as Easter in the Italian Language

Buona Pasqua, Buona Pasqua Ebraica 

Happy Easter, Happy Passover

Wanting to send holiday best wishes, I looked up at the Italian word for Passover. "Pasqua degli Ebrei" or "Pasqua Ebraica" (Easter of the Hebrewsj was the dictionary definition."Really?" I asked my Facebook friends, who explained that "paschal" blood had marked the doors of Hebrew families exiled  in Egypt. According to my Italian etymological dictionary, the word Pasqua, which dates back to 1342, translates as "la festa che commemora la liberazione dalla schiavitù d'Egito" (the feast that commemorates the liberation from Egyptian slavery).  

Somewhere in time  Pasqua became synonymous with the Christian celebration of Easter.  "Natale con i tuoi, Pasqua con chi vuoi"   ("Christmas with your family, Easter with whomever you want"), Italians say. An invitation to  Easter dinner with friends in Italy is a special treat indeed. After forty days of fasting during Quaresima (Lent), Italians celebrate with foods that form a mouth-watering vocabulary of their own.

Throughout Italy the traditional main dish is agnellino al forno  (roasted baby lamb) or capretto (baby goat). Rome’s Easter specialty is abbacchio, a suckling lamb no more than a month or so old.  Because it has ingested only its mother’s milk, its meat is especially tender.  The name comes from the Latin baculum, the cudgel used to kill lambs.  Until a few decades ago, shepherds would lead their flocks into Rome every Spring so people could select victims for the annual slaughter. The word abbacchiato became slang for someone beaten down, physically or mentally.

“Pasta matta”  (crazy dough) encases torta Pasqualina (Easter cake), a traditional savory pie from Piedmont and Liguria. Its distinctive feature is that whole eggs are baked inside.  

Italy’s traditional Easter dessert is Colomba cake, a sweet, eggy, yeasted bread topped with sugared and sliced almonds. Commercial bakers shape this confection into a colomba (dove), the symbol of peace and renewal, but home bakers usually do an oval approximation.

I’ve tried (without success) to explain the popular American Easter symbols of bunny rabbits and hard-boiled eggs to Italian friends.  In Italy uova di Pasqua (Easter eggs) come only in chocolate (or flowers, as in the photo from a florist in Rome above).  Festive displays decorate coffee bars, pastry shops, supermarkets, and chocolate shops in the weeks before Easter, with some mammoth eggs weighing in at nearly 18 pounds.

Although most commercial eggs contain a child’s toy or trinket, Easter eggs aren’t just for the kids (bimbi) in Italy. In the 15th century nobles encased works of art and other extravagances in enormous chocolate eggs. 

The very best modern eggs are still handmade by a cioccolataio, an  artisan  of chocolate, who will insert a surprise supplied by the purchaser. Inside a customized egg a lucky recipient may find jewelry, a watch, car keys—or an engagement ring. This in itself may explain why  “felice come una Pasqua” also translates into being “happy as can be.”

Words and Expressions

vigilia di Pasqua -- Easter eve

il coniglietto -- bunny rabbit

l'agnello pasquale -- the Easter lamb

colomba di Pasqua -- Easter cake

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

 

 

April fool--or fish--in the Italian language

il pesce d'aprile

April fool 

According to legend, a raven on Noah’s ark set off on April 1 to search for a sign that the flood waters had receded, but it never returned. Others trace the madcap holiday back to the year 1564, when Pope Gregory introduced a new calendar that changed the beginning of the new year from April 1 to January 1. Some people who didn’t believe or wouldn’t accept the change kept celebrating New Year’s Day on the first of April. Others tried to show how silly these original April fools were  by sending them on pointless errands or tricking them into thinking something false was true.

Somehow the fool came to take the form of a fish in Italy.  Children try to tape a paper cutout of a little fish  (pesciolino) to the back of a schoolmate. “Have you seen it?” they chant. “Who?” the unwitting child asks.  “Il pesce d'aprile!”

In a country of pescatori (fishermen), and marinai  (sailors ), il pesce swims through daily life—and language.  In Italian you’re sano come un pesce  (healthy as a fish rather than an ox).  A big shot is un pesce grosso (big fish).  But be wary: I pesci grossi mangiano i piccini. The big fish eat the small fry. 

You don’t need a pole and bait to go fishing in Italian. Buttarsi a pesce (literally throw yourself like a fish) means to dive into an activity headfirst or with enthusiasm. Non sapere che pesci pigliare (not know which fish to pick) refers to being at a loss and not knowing which way to turn. Rather than the early bird catching the worm, in Italian chi dorme non piglia pesci (he who sleeps doesn’t catch the fish.) 

But in Italy, as everywhere,  “L’ospite è come il pesce; dopo tre giorni puzza.”  (Guests are like fish, after three days they stink.)

 
Words and Expressions

*trattare a pesci in faccia — to mistreat, to humiliate, to mortify

*un pesce fuor d'acqua — a fish out of water

*un pesce lesso — a boiled fish (boring person)

*prendere un granchio -- to take a crab (make a blunder, overshoot the mark)

*pescivendolo -- fishmonger

*pescheria -- fish shop

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

 

Wired in the Italian Language

andare online

going online

Italy is becoming more wired (cablati) than ever. In the last year technological literacy (alfabetizzazione tecnologica) has been growing (in crescita) steadily—despite infrastructure problems (i problemi delle infrastrutture) and claims of “una digital divide" in a paese connesso a macchia di leopardo (country connected like the spots of a leopard, meaning “here and there").

According to recent data, some 35.8 million Italians between the ages of 11 and 74 say they access the internet (accedere a internet)—an increase (un aumento) of 6.9 percent from the year before. On an average day (in una giornata media), 12.7 million Italians go online (vanno online), spending (trascorrendo) an hour and twenty-three minutes in front of an electronic screen (schermo).

The greatest number -- 33.8 million, or 70 percent -- gain access from their homes with a desk-top computer (computer fisso) or a laptop (computer portatile). Others go online from places of study, internet cafes and libraries. The availability of mobile access grew by 55.4 percent in 2011, with 9.7 million Italians now accessing the internet from their cell phones (cellulari), iPads or Androids. Apple products are so popular in Italy that a recent headline declared the company “la regina dei computer” (queen of computers).

Although it’s easier than ever to connect (connettersi) to the internet in Italy, it helps to speak the same language its computers do. Italians have borrowed a lot of computer jargon from English, including words like il computer, l’e-mail, il mouse and il sito web.

But rather than check e-mails, you have to controllare la posta to see if a message (messaggio) has arrived in your inbox (posta in arrivo). You can then choose to reply (rispondi), compose a new message (nuovo messaggio), close (chiudi),  print (stampa), send an attachment (invia allegato), forward (inoltra), delete (elimina or cancella), save (salva), or put spam (mail spazzatura or posta indesiderata) in the trash (cestino).

Once you upload (caricare) or download (scaricare) a file, you can move (spostare) it to a folder (cartella) or compress (zippare) it. You also can surf (navigare) the internet to find a chat room (stanza della chat) to visit, or you can shop at an italian site. Most use a functional shopping cart (carrello) for purchases, but I always smile when asked if I want to place my selection in a wishing well (pozzo dei desideri).

Then there are the words I hope you never have to use. “Il mio computer non funziona” (My computer isn’t working), I lamented in an internet cafe in Rome several years ago. “È bloccato?” (Is it frozen?) the manager asked. “È morto!” (It’s dead!) I replied, panicked that all my information was lost (perso), damaged (danneggiato) or deleted (eliminato).He expertly pressed a series of keys and rebooted (riavviare).

“È risuscitato!“ I exclaimed. “It’s come back to life!”

Words and Expressions

rubrica –- address book

svuota la cartella -– empty folder

chiocciola -- @ key (for the snail it resembles)

esci –- command for “log out” or leave

Celebrating Women in the Italian Language

la donna

woman

Italy celebrates la giornata della donna (woman’s day) on March 8, when husbands, boyfriends, and bosses present the women in their lives with bouquets of yellow mimosa. This international celebration is a relatively recent invention, created in 1911, but la donna has always played a complex, critical role in Italian life -- and language.

No one may have understood this better than Nicolò Tommaseo, a nineteenth-century essayist and iconoclast  whose passions included women and words. He demonstrated his devotion to the latter by compiling the Dizionario dei sinonimi, an encyclopedic narrative dictionary of Italian synonyms, published in 1864, and unmatched in any other language and literature. 

Italian alone, he contended—and in particular the Tuscan dialect that shaped the language—captures sfumature (nuances), the same word Italian uses for the subtle brush strokes of artists like Leonardo da Vinci.

 In Italian, for instance, a donna can also be a:

    *donna allegra or donna di facili costumi -- a woman of easy virtue 
    *donna di casa -- housewife (also called a casalinga)
    *donna di mondo -- worldly, sophisticated woman
    *donna di servizio –-housemaid, domestic help
    *prima donna -- leading lady
    *donnina -- clever or sensible girl
    *donnino -- womanly or mature girl who takes on adult responsibilities despite her young age
    *donnetta -- common or ordinary woman, also an old maid or a woman of no value
    *donnaccia -- bad-tempered woman, tart, prostitute
    *donnone -- tall, imposing or large woman
    *donnicciola -- simple or stupid woman.  gossip, or if used for a man, sissy or coward 

    A donnaiolo, however, is no lady, but a ladies’ man or womanizer.

Tommaseo further distinguished between una donna cattiva and una cattiva donna (English speakers would translate both as a bad woman).  However, the phrases do not have the same meaning in Italian. Una cattiva donna dresses badly and presents herself poorly, while una donna cattiva is spiteful and full of malice. Either could be una cattiva moglie (bad wife), who isn’t good at running a household and caring for a family, or una moglie cattiva, with a mean or wicked spirit.

Words  and Expressions:

fare la primadonna -- to act like a primadonna

"Chi dice donna dice danno" -- who says woman says damage (women are synonymous with harm)

"Quel che donna vuole Dio lo vuole" -- what woman wants, God wants.

"Né donna, né tela a lume di candela" -- Choose neither a woman nor linen by candlelight (to avoid  a nasty surprise the next morning)

Dianne Hales is author of LA BELLA LINGUA: My Love Affair with Italian, the World's Most Enchanting Language.

One thing is certain: La donna, by any and all names, has always enraptured the Italian uomo (man). Here is the legendary Pavorotti singing Puccini's lyrical tribute from Manon Lescaut:

Celebrating Carnevale in the Italian Language

Carnevale
Carnival

Thanks to my Catholic childhood, I could easily follow the Sunday mass in the tiny stone church of the Borgo Monte Vibiano Vecchio in Umbria.  Then the white-haired priest began to preach in ever more impassioned tones about the evils of “i peccati della carne,” which I translated literally into “the sins of the meat.”  

Had the Church reinstated its Friday ban on meat?  Had the dreaded mucca pazza (mad cow) returned?  I glanced at the dozen or so townspeople in attendance. Most were averting their eyes and looking embarrassed—or guilty. An Italian friend later explained why:  “carne” also means flesh, and a sermon on the sins of the flesh could discomfit almost anyone.

For centuries the pre-Lent festivities of carnevale sumptuously celebrated “carne” in every sense. However, the name comes specifically from the Latin for meat (carnem) and “take away or remove” (levare).  A church decree dating back to 653 declared that anyone who ate meat during the forty days of Lent (Quaresima in Italian) could not receive communion on Easter. Charlemagne reportedly sentenced Lenten meat-eaters  to death. 

The prospect of  long months without meat or merriment inspired Italians to gorge themselves  throughout -- and often long before -- la settimana grassa (the fat week) before Ash Wednesday. It also inspired a luscious vocabulary for the culinary treats of this festive time, such as the delicate fried pastries we might call fritters.  In Piedmont, they’re bugie (little lies); in Tuscany, cenci (rags); in Milan, chiacchiere (gossips); in Emilia-Romagna, lattughe (lettuce leaves).  Cooks elsewhere may call them nastri delle suore (nuns’ ribbons), galani or sfrappe and add ingredients such as raisins and anise.

The sin-drenched Venetian Republic was famous for indulgences of carne in its more sensual sense. During Carnevale, which lasted for months,  party-goers of all classes hid their identities behind elaborate maschere (masks).

Artisans known as mascherari gained fame for their exquisite creations, which came in three varieties.  The bauta covered the entire face but had no mouth opening and a lot of gilding.  The oval-shaped moretta was worn by women, often along with a veil. The full-face white larva (from the Latin for mask or ghost) was made of fine wax cloth.  For a dazzling display  of Venice’s Carnevale finery, click on this video:

 

Words and Expressions:

fare le frittelle –- literally, to make the fritters; to celebrate Carnival  
carnevalone –- the four extra days of Carnevale celebrated in places like Milan
carnevalata –- Carnival revelry
A Carnevale ogni scherzo vale –- Anything goes at Carnival time.
L’amore di Carnevale muore in Quaresima –- a love that starts during Carnival dies in Lent.

Dianne Hales is the author of LA BELLA LINGUA: My Love Affair with Italian, the World's Most Enchanting Language. 

Celebrating a New Year in Italy--and Italian

 

Buon Anno! 

Happy New Year!

New Year’s Eve as we know it was an invention of the ancient Romans. In 153 B.C. they moved the start of the new year from the Spring equinox to January 1 and dedicated the first month of the year to Janus, the two-faced god of beginnings, who looks back toward the old year and ahead toward the new one. 

For six days, Romans celebrated by hanging lights, preparing lavish banquets, and decorating their houses with boughs of greenery, including holly and mistletoe (considered magical plants because they bore fruit in the dead of winter). The Romans gave each other glass jars filled with dates and dried figs in honey so the new year would be sweet and full of good fortune. These offerings, called strenne from the Sabine goddess of prosperity, Strenia, were the predecessors of the presents we now exchange at Christmas. 

Italians refer to New Year’s Eve by its liturgical name, la Festa di San Silvestro, the feast of St. Sylvester, a fourth-century pope. Traditionally families and friends share a huge dinner called il cenone (literally the big supper). Lentils, symbols of prosperity because they resemble coins, are almost always on the menu, often served with pork, another symbol of the richness of life. 

Tuscans eat lentils with cotechino, a big pork sausage cut like coins. Italians in Bologna and Modena eat them with zampone, or pig’s trotter.  In Piedmont, rice symbolizes money, so a cenone is sure to include risotto. Raisins, another symbol for coins, appear in desserts throughout the peninsula. 

In a relatively recent tradition, couples give each gifts of red underwear—a color that wards off the malocchio (Evil Eye) and a symbol of love, prosperity, and fertility. Traditionally Italians wear these special undies only once and throw them away after New Year’s eve.

That’s not all that Italians toss out. In order to make room for the new, they once literally threw old brooms, dishes, even furniture out the window. Regulations now prohibit this dangerous dumping, but the practice continues in some parts of Naples and the South. 

After the evening feast, most Italian cities throw a big party under the stars with music, dancing, and fireworks. Italy’s equivalent of Times Square in New York is the Piazza del Popolo in Rome. Huge crowds gather for an outdoor concert and a magnificent midnight fireworks display. The favored drink is spumante or prosecco, Italian sparkling wine, for a toast (brindisi) when the clock strikes twelve.

Whether public or private, il Veglione di Capodanno (the New Year’s party) typically lasts all night. As they head home at the dawn of Capodanno (New Year’s Day), weary revelers watch the first sunrise—and look out for the first person they see in the newborn year. According to ancient traditions, an old man or a hunchbacked person carries good luck, while a child or a priest brings bad luck in the upcoming year. 

Words and Expressions 

Il conto alla rovescia -- the countdown to midnight (meno 10, meno 9, meno 8, meno 7 ...) 

I botti di capodanno -- New year’s firecrackers and fireworks 

“Anno nuovo, vita nuova” -- new Year, new life (let’s make a fresh start)  

i buoni propositi per l’anno nuovo -- New Year resolutions, such as smettere di fumare (to stop smoking), mettersi a dieta (to go on a diet), and iscriversi in palestra (to join a gym). 

Dianne Hales is the author of LA BELLA LINGUA: My Love Affair with Italian, the World's Most Enchanting Language.

Click below for new year's greetings in tutte le lingue (all the languages) of the world, accompanied by John Lennon's immortal "Imagine":