Difficulty: Intermediate
Italy
Margherita Hack spent some time in politics and was also an entrepreneur at times. But she had a lot of fun, too. On the panel with Camilleri, the author of the Montalbano stories, they all come out (in unison) with the famous introduction Montalbano sono (Montalbano, I am). Putting the verb at the end is typical of Sicily, where the story takes place. Otherwise, it would be Sono Montalbano (I'm Montalbano) or, on the phone, "This is Montalbano."
Difficulty: Intermediate
Italy
We have hunted down a video recipe for the dish Letizia serves Lojacono at her trattoria in I Bastardi di Pizzofalcone. With its simple ingredients and preparation, we hope you'll try it sometime! The recipe is likely Neapolitan and its name has to do with shoemakers!
Difficulty: Beginner
Italy
Marika shares with us some very useful expressions using il naso (the nose) and the sense of smell, called l'olfatto in Italian.
Difficulty: Intermediate
Italy
Margherita Hack was a scientist and communicator, but she also expressed her opinions about attualità (current events). Part of this segment features a panel discussion she held with author Andrea Camilleri, best known for his novels about Inspector Montalbano that became a popular TV series.
Difficulty: Beginner
Italy
Marika explains a one-word expression that many learners are curious about: figurarsi. It basically means "to imagine," but it has many nuances depending on the context.
Difficulty: Intermediate
Italy
Margherita Hack's talents lay not only in her greatness as a scientist, but also in her remarkable ability to communicate with the general public, and especially young people. She rendered complicated information comprehensible and interesting, using clear and simple examples.
Difficulty: Beginner
Italy
After saying Pronto? (hello), what do you say when calling someone, or when someone calls you? Marika has all the answers.
Difficulty: Intermediate
Italy
Aldo and Margherita stuck together. He might get bored at her lectures, but he would always be there. They both shared a love for sports and motocycles.
Difficulty: Intermediate
Italy
Vittorio De Sica put himself on the line in order to save his cast and crew, and the film he was making. This final segment describes how he managed to complete La porta del cielo (The Gates of Heaven). The song we hear at the end of this documentary is very famous and was sung by Vittorio De Sica himself for the movie Gli uomini, che mascalzoni... in which he acted. Listen to the entire song here.
Difficulty: Beginner
Italy
Navigating the adjectives or pronouns che (what), cosa (what), and quale (what, which) is confusing to most learners, but Marika helps us make sense of it all.
Difficulty: Intermediate
Italy
This segment recounts how Aldo De Rosa and Margherita met in a park in Florence as kids and later married. Aldo supported her in her scientific work throughout their marriage, which lasted over seventy years.
Difficulty: Intermediate
Italy
The general hands De Sica a letter from Goebbels himself but since De Sica can't read German, it is translated for him ad alta voce (out loud). It's an invitation to Venice, which De Sica does not want to accept.
Difficulty: Beginner
Italy
Marika gives us plenty of examples of expressions using l'occhio (the eye) in this final segment. We see and hear them in context by way of clips from Yabla videos.
Difficulty: Intermediate
Italy
Although as an athlete, Margherita did make some compromises she felt she had to during the decades of Italian Fascism, she also took a stand against it, risking expulsion from school.
Difficulty: Intermediate
Italy
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.
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