Pesto (n.m.) Pesto. The word pesto comes from the Italian ‘pestare’, meaning ‘to pound, or crush’, or indeed to ‘pestle’, and is of course also cognate to our noun ‘pestle’ (Italian: ‘pestello’, Latin: ‘pistillum’) – so there is absolutely no need to ever again get confused about which is the pestle and which is the […]
It can be summer all year round when you dine al fresco Italian on Vivo’s roof terrace, as Hannah Bellis finds out At the table across from me are a group of four girls drinking cocktails and passing poker chips back and forth as they bask in the sunshine on Vivo’s roof terrace. It is […]
Relax in style on your Ischia holiday at the Ischia Garden & Villas resort Can you put yourself in this scene? It’s certainly an appealing place to be. This photo was taken during my lunch at the edge of the thermal pool at Ischia Garden & Villas Resort in May 2014. I was leaving […]
My mother in law remembers shopping for shoes at Ferragamo in Florence many moons ago and Salvatore Ferragamo would be there with his leather apron around his waist. The shop is still the same, located in the magnificent Palazzo Spini Feroni, built in the 13th century by Geri Spini, in the most elegant area of […]
Hannah Fielding talks about the inspiration for her new romantic novel, The Echoes of Love, which is set in the splendour of Venice… What made you fall in love with Venice? Its history, grandeur and beauty. I love the red sunsets on the canal that turn the water to fire, and then Venice at […]
Pronunciation or Intonation? Benny Lewis, author of Fluent in 3 Months (published by Collins) gives us his tips on understanding the ‘network’ of intonation in a language, with the help of a friendly Italian polyglot. At first glance, it can seem that the differences between a native accent and a foreign accent are all […]
Using Music to Learn Phrases Benny Lewis, author of Fluent in 3 Months (published by Collins) gives us a brief singing lesson to help remember key phrases in a new language. While learning words is certainly very important, I recommend you start with phrases or full sentences, which allow you to communicate real ideas from […]
Farfalla (n.f) Butterfly. Farfalla is a strange word because, although it does derive directly from Latin, the way that it has morphed into modern Italian is unusual. The Latin, ‘papilio’, has become ‘papillon’ in French, and the word retains its ‘p’ form in Old Florentine (the basis of modern Italian), in the Bolognese, Milanese and […]
The Missing Ingredient: Passion Benny Lewis, author of Fluent in 3 Months (published by Collins) tells us about what made him passionate about learning a language, and how this can help you to find what really motivates you. In my new book, Fluent in 3 Months, I focus on independent learners, rather than those sitting […]
Hannah Bellis visits Camogli in Liguria and explores a colourful beach front paradise that is perhaps not so undiscovered as she thinks In May I visited Liguria for the very first time. I was expecting water – this skinny northern Italian strip is practically all coastline, so I figured I would find somewhere special […]