When Adriano Piazza opened Pronto Italian Deli, he imagined everything but learning a new food lexicon. A graduate of the University of Gastronomic Sciences in Pollenzo, Italy, with a thesis on the opening of a slow fast food in the USA, Adriano Piazza has recently opened a place in San Clemente, California, which is a modern revisitation of the cl...

Hello! February has come and with it Saint Valentin’s Day, so I though about teaching you a few ways to call your partner in Italian. I have to say that I feel quite embarrassed writing them since some of them are really lovey-dovey, but how else will you learn them? Let’s start easy with some that can work for both females and males without changi...

Ilaria Serra, Professor of Italian and Comparative Studies, recently published Italia cantata: Storia d’Italia attraverso le canzoni da Napoleone a Berlusconi, 1797-1997 (New York: Linus Learning, 2021). The volume is an Italian language and culture textbook for intermediate to advanced students. “I noticed that there was a lack of advanced Italian...

North Carolina is the ninth most populous state in the United States. Its largest city is Charlotte, which after New York is the American city with the largest number of banks: this has led it to be, at the beginning of this century, the fastest growing area in the United States. The region of which Charlotte is part, stretching from New Jersey in...

In general, idioms are the essence of a language and represent the national cultural heritage. In the case of Italian idioms, of course, the situation is the same. It is difficult to translate them literally from one language to another, except by adapting and localising their content to the context of the country itself. They are the mirror of a n...

Buon anno! Happy New Year! Since nobody wants to start the new year with some heavy-duty grammar, let’s start with some puppy love. What do I mean? I’m talking about dogs, of course! Let’s take a look at some common Italian expressions about dogs. Let me say something first. Even though we love our beloved pets today, in the past being a dog was no...

Italy is a country where beauty is common. In the landscape, in art and, of course, in its language. Italian isn’t known as la bella lingua, the beautiful language, for no reason. However, Italian has been going through some difficult times, both in Italy and in the US. Languages, all of them, are living constructs: they change and evolve in their...

Italian is the language of love and poetry. And much like their culture, the language of Italy is very expressive. Italian people communicate not just with plain words but with animated symbolism and sayings. Especially when it comes to teaching life lessons. Italian proverbs (adages or expressions) use metaphors to give still relevant and sage adv...

Italy is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world, and it’s easy to see why. It’s a magical country where you can explore the canals of Venice one day and the ancient streets of Rome the other. The Bel Paese has inspired poets, writers and artists all throughout the centuries to create art about it. It’s no surprise that there is a...

Many different students – paesani and not – benefit from their minors in Italian at Widener University, associate professor Thomas K. Benedetti has found. Engineering students – the largest contingent – become closer to all those classic architectural styles. Business, tourism and hospitality management majors get better access to Italy, one of the...