After the war, when eating had to do with survival, tastes started to change and to branch out towards different regions. Now, once again cucina tipica (traditional local cooking) or prodotti tipici (local products) have practically become magic words.

Daniela talks about verbs having to do with shops, and whether they close at lunchtime or not.

The Martini family isn't getting along so well with the new housekeeper. She doesn't give them enough time for breakfast and spends too much money on supplies.

Federico Fellini, having won three Oscars, talks about the Academy Awards and how they represent the goal of every filmmaker both in the U.S. and abroad. He goes on to talk about American cinema as mythical, legendary.

We are at the beautiful botanical gardens of Rome. Marika and Anna are sitting on a bench talking. In their conversation they take us through the different conjugations of the verb pensare (to think).

The murder weapon has been identified by Inspector Rubino, and she has a nifty program to discover the password for the victim's handheld organizer, found at his house.

Pollara is one of the villages on Salina, one of the Aeolian Islands, and the only one to boast fresh water with the resulting vegetative mantle. In fact, its important crops include capers and grapes (in the form of Malvasia wine).

Giuseppe Verdi's Rigoletto: more passion, intrigue, love, and cruelty at court. The curse is fulfilled!

When we speak of an unspecified quantity of food items, objects, etc. we use the indefinite or partitive article, which changes according to the gender of the noun in question (singular: del, della, dello, and plural: dei, delle, degli). In the second part of the lesson, you'll notice that Italian uses the equivalent of "of" or "of it" where English doesn't. Feel free to absorb the first part of this lesson before tackling the second part.

Who doesn't love ice cream? Andromeda gives us her take on the history of gelato (ice cream), from Mount Etna in Sicily to Paris.

Lele and Sandra talk about the pregnancy and about her future. Lele and Maria have a heart to heart talk about what's been happening in the family.

Into the fifties, many Italians would stop at trucker restaurants, knowing they'd eat huge portions for little money. With prosperity, Italians began to search for authentic and higher quality foods. One of Marchesi's signature dishes is the open tortello, a deconstructed filled pasta.

Commissioner Manara goes to the victim's house with Inspector Rubino, and meanwhile two police officers summon the band leader for questioning.

Marika and Anna present the verb avere (to have) in the subjunctive mood, which, in Italian, as you'll see, is used when the word che is used as a conjunction. This mood has practically disappeared from the English language.

The smash hit, "Laura non c'è" (Laura isn't here) was sung by Nek at the Sanremo Festival in 1997 and is featured on the album, Lei, gli amici e tutto il resto (Her, my friends, and everything else). The song became famous all over the world, making Nek one of the best loved Italian singers abroad.