This Land Is My Land, This Land Is Your Land: Paese and Terra

The Krikka Reggae, a cosìddetto (so-called) Italian reggae group, sing about their home region, way down in the heel of the boot of Italy, called Basilicata, also known as Lucania. They sing about their paese (country) and their terra (land), and even about the terra madre (native land). Let's have a look at some of the different connotations of these nouns.

Paese can be specific, meaning nation or country:

È Ravenna la città in cui si vive meglio in Italia.

Ravenna is the city in which one lives best in Italy.

... A dirlo è l'edizione 2014

... Saying this is the two thousand fourteen issue

della classifica delle città più vivibili del paese.

of the classification of the most liveable cities in the country.

Captions 20-22, Anna e Marika - in TG Yabla Italia e Meteo
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Paese can be specifically a town:

Eh, adesso ci troviamo ad Avella, un paese in provincia di Avellino.

Uh, right now we're in Avella, a town in the province of Avellino.

Caption 3, Escursioni Campane - Castello Normanno
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Paese can be more general, as in country, region, or area:

Poi scopriamo che la Liguria è il paese del basilico, è anche speciale.

Then we discover that Liguria is the country of basil, it's special, too.

Caption 43, L'arte della cucina - Terre d'Acqua
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Terra is often more general than paese, and gives the idea of homeland or home country, rather than hometown:

Per la tua terra lotti, per la terra combatti

For your homeland, you fight, for the homeland you struggle

Caption 31, Krikka Reggae - Lukania (Lucania)
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Terra can give you a more visual image of a place than paese:

Io vengo da una terra dove l'acqua è un bene prezioso.

I come from a land where water is a precious resource.

Caption 44, Gianni si racconta - Chi sono
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Terra can indicate the planet Earth.

Pare che l'unico poliziotto sulla faccia della terra

It seems that the only policeman on the face of the earth

che lo può risolvere sono io!

who can resolve it is me!

Caption 13, Il Commissario Manara - S1EP6 - Reazione a Catena Part - 2
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Terra can indicate ground or soil:

Forse è la terra.

Maybe it's the soil.

Questa specie di rose ha bisogno di molto nutrimento!

This kind of rose needs lots of nourishment.

Captions 7-8, Il Commissario Manara - S1EP6 - Reazione a Catena - Part 4
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The lack of clear cut definitions of terra and paese may make more sense if we remember that Italy became one nation, divided into regions, as late as the second half of the 19th century.

Keep on the lookout for paese and terra, and remember that they have slightly different meanings depending on the context. A Yabla search of a word is always a great way to get a quick overview of how it's used.

Topics Vocabulary