Posts in June 2009

Giorno or Giornata?

Posted by Serena
Jun
30
2009

A reader wrote to me asking: “Can you explain the difference between giorno and giornata (both meaning “day” in English) if there is one?”

I thought that the answer to this was going to be short, and straightforward, but when I looked in my Italian dictionary, just to check that my comment would be correct, I realized that this wasn’t going to be the case, and I decided to write a whole post about it. I hope I’ll be able to explain the difference clearly, let’s see.

Giorno

The first meaning for giorno is astronomical, referring to the time that it takes for the Earth to complete a rotation around its axis. From this comes the use of giorno to indicate a 24 hours period from midnight to midnight, i.e. to indicate a date or a day of the week. E.g. il giorno di Natale (Christmas day); ho due giorni di tempo per finire questo articolo (I’ve got two days to finish this article); il giorno seguente siamo andati al mare (the following day we went to the sea); nei giorni feriali l’autobus c’e’ ogni 10 minuti (on working days there is a bus every 10 minutes), nei giorni festivi l’autobus c’e’ ogni ora (during holidays there is a bus every hour); il giorno del mio compleanno voglio andare a fare una bella passeggiata (for my birthday I want to go for a nice walk); ritornero’ fra tre giorni (I’ll be back in three days).

Giorno is also used when talking about something that is characteristic of a particular day: mercoledi’ e’ giorno di chiusura degli alimentari (Wednesday is closing day for food shops); lunedi’ e’ giorno di riposo dei musei (Monday is the day when the Museums are closed); sabato e’ giorno di pagamento (Saturday is pay day).

There are several idiomatic expressions where the word giorno is used: e.g. ogni giorno / tutti i giorni (every day); tutto il giorno (all day long); uno di questi giorni (one of these days); da un giorno all’altro (suddenly / overnight); il piatto del giorno (dish of the day).

Finally, the word giorno is used with the meaning of “daylight”: sul far del giorno (lit. at the making of daylight, meaning “at the break of day”); e’ meglio partire prima che faccia giorno (it’s better to leave before it gets light); mi sono alzata che era giorno fatto (when I got up it was broad daylight); illuminare a giorno (to floodlight).

Giornata

This word derives from the previous one and is used to indicate an approximate period of time which goes from morning to evening, with particular reference to what takes place during that time: e.g ho passato tutta la giornata a pulire (I spent all day cleaning); e’ stata una giornata faticosa (it was a hard day); buona giornata! (have a good day!); verro’ a trovarti in giornata (I’ll come to visit you today). We also use the expression di giornata meaning “fresh” or “today’s” e.g. uova di giornata (fresh eggs).

When talking about work, giornata means the amount of work that a worker produces in a day, or the amount of hours worked in a day: lavorare a giornata (to work by the day); la giornata lavorativa e’ di 8 ore (the working day is 8 hours long); essere pagato a giornata (to be paid daily). From this comes the use of giornata to mean ‘a day’s pay’: riscuotere la giornata (to draw the day’s pay); mi sono guadagnato la giornata (I earned my day’s wage); e’ stata una giornata magra (it was a lean day, meaning that I didn’t earn much).

These days giornata is used to indicate a day dedicated to a special celebration or commemoration, often with a social or political aim such as ‘giornata della donna’ (‘Woman’s day’); ‘giornata europea della musica’ (‘European day of music’); ‘giornata missionaria’ (‘Missionary day’). It is also used to indicate some great historical event such as: ‘le Cinque Giornate di Milano’ (‘the Five Days of Milan’), which commemorates the days from the 18th to the 23rd of March 1848 when the population of Milan rebelled against the Austrians, who ruled over Lombardy at that time, and ‘le Quattro Giornate di Napoli’ (‘the Four Days of Naples’), commemorating the days from the 28th of September to the 1st of October 1943 when the population of Naples fought against the Germans.

Finally, there are a couple of situations in which both words can be used: 1. When talking about weather, e.g. ieri e’ stata una giornata ventosa or ieri e’ stato un giorno ventoso (yesterday was a windy day). 2. when discussing the hours of daylight, e.g. dopo il 21 giugno i giorni / le giornate si accorciano (after the 21st of June the days become shorter).

Vi auguro una buona giornata! (I wish you a good day!)

 
Posted under Grammar, Italian Language
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All roads lead to Rome - part2

Posted by Serena
Jun
27
2009
In part 1 of this blog I took a brief look at the origins of the expression ‘tutte le strade portano a Roma’ (‘all roads lead to Rome’), and at some of the famous Vie (roads, or literally ‘ways’) that were the backbone of the Roman empire. In this second part I’m going to leap forward a couple of millennium into the 20th century and examine the modern day equivalent of the ancient imperial roads, le autostrade italiane (the Italian motorways or highways). 

The designers of the modern day autostrade obviously had a lot to live up to when they began work in the 1920s. A fair percentage of Italy’s 300,000 or so kilometers of roads still follows ancient Roman routes such as the Via Aurelia, Via Flaminia, and Via Appia. However, as we all know, the Romans liked straight lines, preferably across plains, and the Italian peninsula, being a very mountainous region obviously presented them with severe limitations. The modern Italian engineers however were less daunted by these problems, having at their disposal new techniques, materials, and machines.

Let’s take as an example the Aurelia. Initiated in 241 B.C. by Aurelius Cotta the Via Aurelia originally ran north from Rome to Livorno which is on the coast near Pisa. The modern day road, which still follows the original Roman route, is designated on maps as the SS1 (Strada Statale 1 = State Road 1), although it is still more commonly known as L’Aurelia. From Rome to Livorno the Aurelia or SS1 is a reasonably quiet dual carriageway running along the coastal plain. A bit further north however the landscape becomes mountainous with sheer cliffs dropping down to the Mediterranean sea. This area is called Liguria, and to traverse it towards Genova and eventually into France would take a lifetime if it wasn’t for the modern day equivalent of the Via Aurelia: the A12 Autostrada also known as the Autostrada Azzurra (Blue motorway). The A12 really is a wonder of modern engineering, endless kilometers of highway which alternates between breathtaking viaducts and gallerie (tunnels). It is also one of my least favorite motorways to drive on, the combination of tunnels, curves, and long windy bridges making it not exactly the most relaxing of drives. However, when I’m not gripping the wheel or gesticulating at the usual mad motorists who insist on driving ‘Formula One’ style, I occasionally have the opportunity to marvel at the achievement of those who designed and constructed this incredible highway. Every now and then when one emerges from the gloom of yet another tunnel into the glare of the sun (sunglasses on, sunglasses off etc. etc.) you catch a stunning scorcio (glimpse) of green and azure, the macchia mediterranea (Mediterranean Vegetation) set against a shimmering backdrop of sea, but don’t get too carried away because here’s another tunnel with a nasty curve in it, watch out!, what’s this idiot doing now ‘ma vaxxxxxxx!’ (unprintable swearword that comes in very useful when driving in Italy!).

All this excitement and entertainment doesn’t come free however. To get onto the autostrada you have to pass through the casello (toll booth) where you take un biglietto (a ticket). When you leave the autostrada you pass through another casello where you either present your biglietto to the cassiere (cashier) who will tell you how much the pedaggio (toll) is, or put it into a machine which also tells you the cost in a very nice female recorded voice and collects your money in a slot. In fact my husband is so taken by the voice of our local ticket machine that he has even threatened to go there one evening to chat it up! ‘It’s the way she said arrivederci’ he said, ‘I think she really meant it’.

For those who are too busy, or lazy to do the ticket bit there is also the telepass option which involves having a battery powered OBU, or ‘on board unit’ mounted on your cars windshield. The OBU communicates with an electronic device at the casello and automatically debits your account for the correct amount. There is no discount for telepass users, it simply saves you stopping at the casello and getting your hand cold in the winter when you have to open the window to take a ticket.

The autostrade are generally well maintained, fast (perhaps too fast) and have frequent rest and service areas. Unfortunately they are also pretty expensive. To visit my parents in Lucca for example, a distance of about 100 km (62 miles) costs us 16 euros return in tolls alone, then there’s the benzina (petrol) on top of that. However the alternative is a two and a half hour drive each way along windy roads and through endless little towns at about 50 km per hour (30 mph), forget it!

 

 

 
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All roads lead to Rome – part 1

Posted by Serena
Jun
24
2009

Tutte le strade portano a Roma (all roads lead to Rome) is an expression that we use to mean that there are many different ways to arrive somewhere or achieve something. But a couple of millennium ago this famous expression was a statement of fact.

One of the many great achievements of the Roman empire was its development of an astounding system of ‘autostrade’ (‘motorways’), although of course in those days travel was by foot or horseback, and heavy haulage was by ox and cart.

Between 500 B.C. and 100 A.D. Rome grew from being a little village on the banks of the Fiume Tevere (River Tiber) to the heart of a vast empire stretching from northern England to Syria. Rome’s unique form of government and highly disciplined army allowed her to conquer and subdue her neighbors. Vast sums of money were invested in expansion, and as soon as a new area had been conquered new roads were constructed in order to facilitate the transport of reinforcements and supplies

Traditionally, the new roads were named after the person in authority who initiated their construction. Between 300 B.C. and 80 A.D. for example, the Romans constructed the Via Aurelia, Via Appia, Via Flaminia, Via Flavia and Via Fulvia, all named after eminent Romans. This, however, is not an exhaustive list of all Roman roads, just a selection to give you an idea of their extent and importance. 

La Via Appia

Initiated by Appius Claudius in 312 B.C. the Via Appia originally ran from the ancient city gate, which is nowadays known as the Porta San Sebastiano, to the small town of Formia, about 90 miles to the south. Later the road was extended all the way down to Brindisi on the ‘heel’ of Italy, which was the main trading port between Rome and Greece. During the Roman era the Via Appia was the most important road in the empire, and legend has it that the apostle Peter arrived in Rome by travelling along its route.

La Via Aurelia

The Via Aurelia begins (or ends, depending on how you look at it) at Porta San Pancrazio in Rome. In 241 B.C. Aurelius Cotta ordered a road built which would stretch from the capital, along the coast to Livorno in the north. This was later extended to continue towards Genova and beyond, eventually arriving in France.

La Via Flaminia

Anyone who knows the Ligurian coast of Le Cinque Terre will understand why this was not a favorite route for the Romans, who are famous for their avoidance of curves and hills. North of La Spezia in fact, the mountains and sea cliffs made this stretch of the Italian peninsular a Roman road builder’s worst nightmare! Hence the Via Flaminia, the Roman empire’s main route between the Capital and France. The Via Flaminia was initiated by the socialist Gaius Flaminius in 212 B.C., and followed the valley of the Fiume Tevere upstream towards Rimini on the Adriatic coast. In order to improve the flow of traffic along the road, a tunnel was constructed sometime around 70 A.D., and that tunnel is still in use today.

La Via Fulvia

From Rimini the Via Emilia carried Roman traffic towards Piacenza where it linked with the Via Fulvia, named after Quintus Fulvius who had it constructed in 179 B.C. The final section of the road to France continues on from Piacenza to Rivoli, west of Torino.

La Via Flavia

in 78 A.D. the emperor Flavius Vespasianus ordered the construction of a road from Aquileia to Pula in Croatia. Founded in 181 B.C. as a colony intended to prevent the incursion of barbarian tribes Aquileia was to become the north eastern capital of the Roman Empire. Nowadays it is a UNESCO world heritage site and home of the National Archaeological Museum (one of the most important museums of Roman Archaeology in the world), as well as extensive excavations of the original Roman city. Here is the official web site for Aquileia: http://www.comune.aquileia.ud.it and this site (in English) has some information and photos relating to the museum and archeological sites: Museo Aquileia 

I studied Aquileia when I was an archaeology student at Pisa University many years ago, but unfortunately never had the opportunity to visit it. Oh well, as they say ‘tutte le strade portano a Roma’ so maybe someday I’ll find myself there!

 
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Talking about the time

Posted by Serena
Jun
21
2009

Many people say that we Italians have a different concept of time, and that domani (tomorrow) often means mai (never). This may or may not be accurate, but it is certainly true that concepts of time are expressed quite differently in English and Italian. This is one of the many cases in which English uses one word to cover many different situations, whilst in Italian, being the poets that we are, we use several different words depending on the context.

Tempo

In Italian, tempo means time, it also means weather, the speed of music, and grammatical ‘tense’. We use the word tempo to express time in the following ways: tempo fa = some time ago, or tanto tempo fa = a long time ago, il temporale e’ durato molto tempo = the storm lasted a long time, il primo tempo della partita di calcio = the first half of the football match, tempo di cottura = cooking time, and that all important resource tempo libero = free time, or leisure time. 

However, and this is where it gets confusing, in many of the common everyday constructions involving time we don’t use the word tempo at all. So what do we use instead?

Ora

When talking about the time as measured by the clock we use the word ora, e.g. che ore sono, or che ora e’ =what time is it?, a che ora arriva l’autobus per Siena? = what time does the bus for Siena arrive?

We also use ora when it is time to do something or for something to happen e.g. e’ ora di partire = it’s time to go, or credo che sia ora di tagliarmi i cappelli = I think it’s time I got my hair cut.

Volta

Volta on the other hand is roughly equivalent to the English word ‘occasion’ e.g. questa volta ci vado in treno = this time I’m going there by train, or ci sono gia’ stata tre volte = I’ve already been there three times. If you want to say ‘from time to time’, ‘every once in a while’ or ‘occasionally’ you can use the expression una volta ogni tanto, and to say ‘two at a time’ (or any other number) you can say due alla volta, cinque alla volta, etc.

There are various other situations in which you can use the word ‘time’ in English that require you to use words other that volta, ora, or tempo in Italian. For example, where in English you might say ‘to have a nice time’, in Italian we would use the verb divertirsi e.g. ti sei divertito/a? = did you have a nice time? and instead of saying ‘by the time’ you should use quando e.g. ‘by the time we arrive it will be dark’ would be quando arriviamo sara’ buio. To say ‘on time’ we use in orario e.g. il treno e’ in orario? = is the train on time?, ‘behind time’ is in ritardo, and ‘ahead of time’ in anticipo, so in the unlikely event that your train is 10 minutes ahead of time you would say caspita! il treno e’ dieci minuti in anticipo (caspita = wow!). Yet another word, fra, is used to express the idea of ‘in X amount of time’ e.g. la macchina sara’ pronta fra due giorni = the car will be ready in two days time.

 

Time vocabulary

Infine (finally), here is a useful list of time vocabulary:

quando = when

adesso = now

subito = at once/straight away

gia’ = already

dopo = afterwards

poi = then

presto = early

tardi = late

il secondo = the second

il minuto = the minute

l’ora = the hour, time

l’orologio = the clock, watch

la sveglia = the alarm clock

 
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‘O Sole Mio

Posted by Serena
Jun
18
2009

‘O sole mio  is without doubt the most well known Neapolitan (and probably Italian) song in the world. The lyrics were written by the journalist Giovanni Capurro in 1898, and the music was composed by his friend Eduardo di Capua, a professional posteggiatore, a Neapolitan word meaning someone who sings in restaurants and at parties. They then sold the song to the music publisher Bidieri for 25 lire! Bidieri presented the song at the most important Neapolitan music festival, la festa di Piedigrotta. ‘O sole mio didn’t win but took second place and the rest, as they say, is history. Poor Capurro and Di Capua, however, went on living in poverty.

I chose this song not only because it’s the most famous Neapolitan song in the world, but because in my posts I often mention Italian dialects, and I thought this might be a good way to illustrate some of the differences between ‘proper’ Italian and dialetto (dialect).

Firstly the original Neapolitan text :

Che bella cosa na jurnata ‘e sole, / n’aria serena doppo na tempesta! / Pe’ ll’aria fresca pare gia’ na festa. / Che bella cosa na jurnata ‘e sole!

Ma n’atu sole / cchiu’ bello oi ne’. / ‘O sole mio / sta ‘nfronte a te! / ‘O sole, ‘o sole mio / sta ‘nfronte a te, / sta ‘nfronte a te! 

Lucene ‘e llastre d’a fenesta toia; / na lavannara canta e se ne vanta / e pe’ tramente torce, spanne e canta / lucene ‘e llastre d’a fenesta toia.

Ma n’atu sole / cchiu’ bello, oi ne’. / ‘O sole mio / sta ‘nfronte a te! 

Quanno fa notte e ‘o sole se ne scenne, / me vene quase ‘na malincunia; / sotto ‘a fenesta toia restarria / quanno fa notte e ‘o sole se ne scenne. 

Ma n’atu sole  / cchiu’ bello, oi ne’. / ‘O sole mio / sta ‘nfronte a te!

 

Now the Italian ‘translation’:

Che bella cosa una giornata di sole, / un’aria serena dopo la tempesta! / Per l’aria fresca pare gia’ una festa. / Che bella cosa una giornata di sole!

Ma un’altro sole / piu’ bello non c’e’. / Il sole, il sole mio / sta in fronte a te, / sta in fronte a te!

Luccicano i vetri della tua finestra; / una lavandaia canta e si vanta / mentre strizza, stende e canta / luccicano i vetri della tua finestra!

Ma un altro sole / piu’ bello non c’e’. / Il sole mio / sta in fronte a te!

Quando fa notte e il sole se ne scende, / mi viene quasi una malinconia; / resterei sotto la tua finestra, quando fa notte e il sole se ne scende.

Ma un altro sole / piu’ bello non c’e’. / Il sole mio / sta in fronte a te!

 

Neapolitan is just one of the many dialects spoken in Italy, but it is probably the most famous one due to the well known tradition of Canzone Napoletana, and to the many famous actors who have made Neapolitan a popular dialect. Comparing the two texts above it’s easy to see the similarities between the Italian language and Neapolitan dialect, e.g. you can see that na jurnata ‘e is a dialectic transformation of una giornata di, and so on. Seeing the Neapolitan and the Italian texts side by side doesn’t, however, really illustrate the true difference between spoken Italian and Neapolitan dialect. To understand this you will need to listen to ‘O sole mio performed by a true Neapolitan.

To finish with, here is my English translation of ‘O sole mio:

A sunny day is such a beautiful thing, / the air is serene after the storm! / The  fresh air really feels like a celebration / A sunny day is such a beautiful thing!

But there’s no other sun, / more beautiful. / The sun, my sun / upon your face! / upon your face!
 
The glass of your window is sparkling; / a washerwoman is singing and is boasting / while wringing out, hanging out and singing, / the glass of your window is sparkling.
 
But there’s no other sun, / more beautiful. / My sun / upon your face!
 
When night comes and the sun has set, / I feel almost melancholy; / I’d stay below your window, / when night comes and the sun has set.
 

But there’s no other sun, / more beautiful. / The sun, my sun / upon your face! / upon your face!

 

 
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