When people think about Italy, they often hear music: operas or ballads, or perhaps how the language flows. Italian is uniquely melodic, expressive, and full of emotion. My students tell me Italian doesn’t just communicate; it sings. For me, teaching Italian is a way of sharing history and connection. Every lesson is a bridge between […]
Category: Italian Literature
Interesting bits of history about writers and literature.
Most people associate opera with grand costumes, soaring arias, and dramatic love stories. But that is just one part of the Opera purpose: in Italy, opera has never been just about entertainment—it’s been a powerful voice in the country’s political history. It played an incredibly powerful role in shaping Italian political history—far beyond its reputation […]
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Journeys for Book Lovers
I adore books of all kinds, old and new. I love the smell of paper and ink, and the joy of getting lost in a bookstore or a library, but here are a few special bookshops I’ve discovered over the years. Venice, ItalyTucked in the heart of Venice, Libreria Acqua Alta is one of the […]
What are literary cafés? They are places where you can enjoy a cup of coffee while being immersed in culture. In these cafés, you’re not just sipping coffee—you’re stepping into a centuries-old cultural tradition. These establishments are cultural salons where revolutionary plans were whispered, poems were born, and ideas brewed stronger than the coffee. Coffee, […]
Characters in books are often perceived as mere creations of an author, brought to life only by the words on a page. However, this view limits the true essence of what book characters represent. Books transcend the confines of their stories; they possess a life of their own, shaped by the interaction between the author’s […]
Italian literature is expansive, spanning from the days of ancient Rome to contemporary times, with countless writers capturing the essence of their eras, lives, and emotions. Literature isn’t merely a dry academic study; it’s an immersion into the depicted period, a study of language and its evolution, and an exploration of human beings. It’s the […]
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“Off the Cuff”
Nowadays, we have the luxury of using computers, phones, and tablets to take notes wherever we go, with the internet accessible almost everywhere. However, in the era before the twentieth century, such conveniences were nonexistent, but there were removable cuffs. The phrase “off the cuff” is believed to have originated from the old practice of […]
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The Opera dei Pupi
The Opera dei Pupi is the traditional puppet theater of Sicily. Pupari are the people who animate the puppets, tell the story, and even act as directors. The pupari present stories derived from medieval epic literature, with its chivalric episodes, lives of saints and brigands. The history of Sicilian puppets dates back over 100 years, […]
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Mickey’s Hell
L’inferno di Topolino is a comic story, parody of Dante’s Inferno, published by Arnoldo Mondadori Editore in the periodical Topolino – from no. 7 to no. 12 – from October 1949 to March 1950. It was created by screenwriter Guido Martina and drawn by Angelo Bioletto. In addition to the dialogues, Martina is also the […]
Ludovico Ariosto (1474-1533) was an Italian poet and playwright, best known for his epic poem “Orlando Furioso” (The Frenzy of Orlando). He was born in Reggio Emilia, Italy, and studied law at the University of Ferrara. However, he abandoned his legal career to pursue literature. Ariosto’s masterpiece, “Orlando Furioso,” is a romantic epic poem that […]