The humble tomato forms the basis of nearly all Italian cuisine. It is used to make tomato sauce for pasta and lasagne, is a key ingredient in most pizzas, and is a popular addition to many Mediterranean salads. If you thought that the Italian word for tomato would sound like the English or the Spanish …
In Italian and English, it isn’t uncommon to come across “false friends“, or in other words, vocabulary items in different languages that look or sound similar but have a completely different meaning. One of the best examples of this is the word camera (feminine, plural camere). At first glance, any English speaker would immediately assume …
The very last king to rule Italy was Umberto II of the House of Savoy. Immediately following the 1946 referendum to abolish the monarchy and the transformation of Italy into a republic, he was exiled to Cascais on the Portuguese Riviera, having reigned for a mere 34 days. Umberto II’s departure marked the end of …
If you’re just wiping the last crumbs from your mouth following a wholesome Italian meal, you may feel the need for what the Italians call a pennichella! Pennichella is a feminine noun and takes the following articles: la pennichellathe napuna pennichellaa nap le pennichellethe napsdelle pennichelle(some) naps Pennichella is one of the most common words …
The most widely known translation for the word luce is light in the sense of the natural agent that makes things visible to the eye. Luce is a feminine noun and takes the following articles: la lucethe lightuna lucea light le lucithe lights delle luci(some) lights Just as in English, it can be used to …
Italian meals are made up of several courses, the first being the antipasto, or appetizer / starter in English. Antipasti is a mix of light food brought before the primo (first main course) whose main purpose is to stimulate your appetite. It is composed of two words: anti and pasto with the latter meaning meal. …