There is an amazing variety of fresh and dried pasta shapes and sizes in Italy, referred to as formati (shapes and sizes). Their names have to do with their surface (smooth, rough, grooved), their size, expressed with a suffix, such as -one, -etto, -ino, etc, and/or what they resemble. Marika makes some sense of the vast assortment of pasta found in Italian supermarkets.

Marika explains some terms related to the world of economics. In this first part, we learn terms like "demand" and "supply," as well as concepts such as "surplus" and "deficit."

In this second part, Marika teaches us more terms related to the world of economics. This time she provides a text that encompasses the words learned so far on this important topic.

In this first part dedicated to finance, we begin to familiarize ourselves with terms related to this topic. We will see that in Italian financial language, there are also some Anglicisms present.

In this video, we explore the most common terms related to international politics and relations between nations. Words like "diplomacy," "treaty," "sovereignty," and "alliance" will be explained with practical examples to help you easily incorporate them into your Italian conversations.

In this video, you'll discover terms such as conflitto armato, crisi umanitaria, embargo, and minaccia nucleare, to name a few. These will help you better understand international politics.

In this final part about the vocabulary dedicated to international politics, Marika provides two texts that give context to all the previously discussed words. She takes the opportunity of sending us all a message of peace and hope.

This documentary about the life of Vittorio De Sica, Italian actor and film director, is narrated by Marco Paolini. We begin during the occupation by the Nazis. Vittorio is in Rome shooting a film.

Vittorio De Sica did different kinds of movies, both as an actor, and a director, and had great success, although critics appreciated his comedies more than his serious movies. Whatever kind of film he was directing, he laughed and cried along with the actors. They loved him.

When the Americans bombed Rome in 1943, Maria was shooting a film in the San Lorenzo area, right where the freight yards were, the target of the bombing. Vittorio, on the other side of town, rushed to the site. Life would soon become extremely complicated and dangerous for those in the film industry.

Vittorio De Sica, along with other filmmakers and actors, does not want to be transferred to Venice, as has been mandated by the State. There, he would have to shoot propaganda movies for the Fascists. Luckily a Catholic film company wants to make a movie about a train of sick and deformed people on their way to seek miracles at the shrine of Our Lady of Loreto, a popular pilgrimage destination in the Marches region. The kind of train that carries pilgrims is called un treno bianco (a white train).

Our narrator describes what it was like working on the set of La porta del cielo (the Gates of Heaven): the extras, the dangers, the boredom, and the strategies for keeping the cast and crew safe. He also explains how they reconstructed the railway carriages that are featured so prominently in the film.

To recreate the environment of the San Loreto church, the Basilica of St Paul's Outside the Walls was used for the final scene of the film. The crew was accustomed to working in a non-religious setting where they could do as they liked, so it was a full-time job trying to keep their bad habits (such as smoking) in check so they wouldn't get kicked out by their hosts.

During the filming of Heaven's Gate, there were some dicey moments where De Sica had to deal with the German troops and needed all his wits about him. At the same time his crew was cooped up in the basilica and didn't always behave as they should — in fact, tutt'altro (anything but). The narrator also mentions an anecdotal story Fellini told about his experience with the Germans.

Actors, including Alberto Sordi, who were performing at the Quattro Fontane (four fountains) theater on the fateful day of 23 March 1944 are in danger of being caught by the Germans. During the filming of his movie, De Sica leaves the safety of the basilica just once and is caught and questioned by a Nazi General about why the film is taking so long to be shot.