Articles
By Dion Protani
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Latest update: 22 January 2024
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Within the following articles I express my views on Italian life, based on my experiences as a foreigner living in the country.
Originally from England but with some Italian heritage, I've travelled the length and breadth of the country to put together this website, taking photos and seeing the secrets of this amazing nation unravel before my eyes in a journey of discovery. As you make your way around the country, questions tend to pop into your head as you see things being done differently than they are at home and it is this that makes it such a fascinating journey. |
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I've always found it interesting that each country, or better to say each language, has its own version of place names. I'm yet to find a really convincing argument of why this should still be the case in modern times when everyone is used to seeing foreign words in every day language.
Do we find it difficult for example to pronounce Spanish place names such as Los Angeles or San Francisco? So why should it be that we can't also call the capital of Italy Roma, or its second city Milano for example? If such questions are of interest to you, then read on within the Anglicisation of Italian Place Names section to understand more on the subject. |
The Italian word for bell tower is campanile and it is from this that we derive a word that explains a facet of the Italian character.
What is campanilismo? Described in greater depth in the full article, it is in essence a sense of pride in an Italian's home town, village or city. The bell tower outside the cathedral was one of the most recognisable sights of Italian towns and villages during medieval time and came to represent its citizens. Showing support for your campanile, or defending the virtues of your home town is a feeling passed down through the generations from the formation of defensive Italian hill towns. |
We're all used to using words such as Bravo, Foxtrot or Tango to describe letters of the alphabet but it works in a slightly different way in Italy.
The Italian phonetic alphabet uses the names of towns and cities when clarification of a certain letter is required. You might be trying to spell your name on the phone for example, in which case you can simply use the Italian versions of each letter. For the letter A, Italians use the city of Ancona, then it's B for Bologna and so on. Click through to the main article to get the full list as well as an explanation of how some of the vowels work. |
As you wander around Italy you will notice one name in particular that's used for an extraordinary number of street names and squares. Giuseppe Garibaldi was the charismatic leader of the Red Shirts that conquered Sicily in 1860 and hastened the end of the process of Italian unification known as the Risorgimento.
You're never too far from a Piazza Garibaldi or a Via Garibaldi in Italy and it's a similar story with a number of other notable figures from the Risorgimento such as Cavour, Mazzini and Vittorio Emanuele II. The article explores the process of creating a single Italian identity and the cultural unification of Italy. Has the process worked, and do Italians really feel Italian in modern times? |
For most visitors to the country, it's not always apparent that there's any sort of divide between the two halves of the country which seems equally as charming in the north as the south.
The sense of the Italian north south divide is quite gentle on the surface and even though there are political parties strongly in favour of separation, it doesn't reach the levels seen in other parts of the world such as Catalans wanting independence from Spain for example. However, there is a great deal of banter between northern and southern Italians which is explored in more detail in the article. |
Of course, coffee is an important aspect to life throughout the world and people from every nationality can talk at length about how it all works in their own country.
The Italian coffee culture however really ignites the passions in every corner of Italy where you will find no shortage of opinions on the subject. It's part of the Italian personality to believe that their coffee is the best in the world and it's difficult to argue against that view. In this article we have a look at the history of coffee in Italy and some of the idiosyncrasies of drinking in an Italian cafe. |
Whilst we all may have a pretty good idea of what to do in most situations that involve receiving a service in our own countries, it's when we travel abroad that we risk coming unstuck.
One of the most confusing subjects is that of when or when not to offer a gratuity and I've tried to uncover that confusion with my guide to tipping in Italy. Much as is probably the case in your home country, the most typical tipping situations are at the end of a meal in a restaurant or at the end of a taxi journey. In this article we have a look at what happens in Italy, the amount you may be expected to tip and also some of the situations where a tip wouldn't usually be expected. |
Yes it's true! Hard as it is to believe, there's a free wine fountain in Abruzzo that's available for anyone and everyone to enjoy.
This atypical facility is typical of the quirkiness that can be found by exploring the Italian countryside. Standing close to the end of the Cammino di San Tommaso, the fountain was opened in 2016 by a local vineyard to reward pilgrims that take the spiritual hike. |
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In response to lots of requests in our mailbox, our roving reporter Alì Carroll has been exploring options for people that want to get out and about away from Rome city centre.
She found herself in a forest close to Lake Bracciano with Matteo and his dogs hunting truffles. This unique experience is easy to organise and only a short distance from the centre of Rome. |
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