It’s September, already the ninth month of the year, or in Italian: il nono mese. But what does this month look like in Italy? What is September usually like here? And what about this year? A month of beauty, bellezza, a breath of fresh air (literally) and new energy. In other words, a month of change… September is …
Although summer only officially starts this week, it unofficially already started when considering the fantastic weather of the past week. In the Netherlands, from where I received tons of sunny photos last weekend of family and friends who were at the waterfront, who went out dancing at festivals, who were collecting hay from the fields, …
Last Thursday, it was the sixth of January, a day we know as the day of the Three Wise Men. For Italian children, it’s a joyous day because La Befana comes along, the kindhearted witch on a broomstick who, on that dark and cold January night, pays a visit to the houses of all Italian children and fills their stockings – hung by the fireplace – with sweets. Well, if you …
Weekly blog #114: Fare il ponte, what is it and how do Italians do it? Read More »
Fifteenth of August, the laziest day of the year. Even more than at Christmas, the whole country is at a standstill. Shut down by that one holiday, Ferragosto, which for many Italians means the start of the summer holidays. The whole of Italy shifts down to the lowest gear. The whole of Italy horizontal for …
Today, on the 26th of July, I am having a little party. It’s La Festa di Sant’Anna, which means that it is my onomastico, my name day. I think Anne, like Anna, is a beautiful name. Simple yet melodic because it begins and ends with a vowel, a classic in so many languages – from Italian to Russian …
In three days’ time, it will be Christmas Eve. And for most of us, it is probably going to be the strangest Christmas ever. After the news about the strict measures in the Netherlands, Germany and the United Kingdom was widely reported in the Italian media, the Italians were impatiently awaiting the verdict that Prime …
Moving abroad is one thing. Learning a new language is another. The fact that Italians are true language artists whom I seriously suspect of constantly inventing new words does not really make things easier. Not easier, perhaps, but definitely more fun. Because no matter what we talk about, and no matter what I say, in …
Twenty October 2016 – four years ago already – I was officially crowned as Dottoressa, Master of Science. Literally speaking, as you can see in the picture above. The whole day I proudly walked through the centre of Amsterdam with a laurel wreath on my head. I had obtained my Master’s degree in Business Administration after …
Last Thursday was International Coffee Day, a day which I could not let pass unnoticed of course. After all, anyone who has ever been to Italy knows that a coffee at home will never be the same again now you have discovered what coffee can taste like. Then, everyone who has ever been to Naples …
Fantastic news! Last Saturday, on the nineteenth of September, the blood of San Gennaro liquefied again. An event which was closely followed by the Neapolitans, and also millions of Italians, who collectively held their breath. San Gennaro is the patron saint of the city of Naples, and after he was beheaded in the year 305, …