The Gnocchi alla Sorrentina are a classic first course of Italian cuisine (Neapolitan, to be exact), dating back to the end of the 1800s when potatoes were imported from America to Italy. They are not particularly difficult to prepare, but you...
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Let’s learn! Potere vs. Riuscire The verbs potere and riuscire both mean “can” and “to able to”; however, they are almost never interchangeable. Potere is used when the subject has a choice on whether he/she is...
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The story of Paolo and Francesca is more than just a legend; their tragic love story still fascinates many people and has been the subject of many compositions by poets, musicians and writers; even Dante puts them in his “Divine...
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The night of San Lorenzo is one of the most anticipated events of the whole summer, with the Perseids meteor shower also known as the “tears of San Lorenzo.” Shooting stars have always aroused emotions in anyone who looks at them. It...
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August is finally here and while many of us have been dreading this month due to its intense heat, many Italians have been looking forward to it to take their ferie, paid time off and are packing their bags to escape the city’s heat and head to...
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The orecchiette with turnip tops is one of the most representative dishes of the Apulian cuisine and the perfect alternative for vegetarians and vegans; even though is not really a summer dish, it is tasty, fast and easy to prepare. The origin of...
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Sé and Se may look similar but they have completely different meanings. Not only one of them has the accent on the vowel “e”, but also the pronunciation is slightly different. Sé is a reflexive pronoun for the 3rd singular person. Use Sé when...
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The peculiar nature of Burano, a charming island in the Venice lagoon, is engaging: small colorful houses, typical restaurants, and the voices of tourists wandering through shops, stalls, and lace shops, typical product of Burano’s economy...
More infoBy now most of you know that my favorite region of Italy is Sicily; but close in second place comes the stunning region of Puglia. With miles of blue coastline, infinite olive groves and peculiar stone “huts,” the trulli, Puglia’s promise of...
More infoThe Legend of the Knot Love At the end of the fourteenth century, during the numerous wars in the north of Italy, Gian Galeazzo Visconti, lord of Milan, reached the banks of the Mincio river with his troops and camped there to work out a...
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One topic that confuses many students is the word “some” and the difference between “qualche” and “alcuni/e.” While they both mean “some” to indicate a small quantity, there are some important...
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“Italy without Sicily doesn’t leave any images in the spirit. It is in Sicily that one finds the key to everything. The purity of the outlines, the softness of every thing, the fragile reciprocity of the colors, the harmonic unity of the sky with...
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