The noun biancheria (linens) comes from bianco, the Italian word for "white." Marika tells us why that is, and takes us around the house to look at the different kinds we use.

Chiudere il cerchio, mancare all'appello, mettercela tutta, and non c'è verso di are the four idomatic expression Marika explains in this video. Let's find out what they mean. The third expression is actually un verbo pronominale.

Daniela concludes this lesson about double negatives explaining that in some cases, when using double negatives with compound verbs — in other words, auxiliary verbs with past participles — there are some exceptions to be aware of.

There is more to tell about the incredible, huge cistern in the center of Matera. With this, the episode concludes, with an invitation to join in the next journey of discovery.

Double negatives are, in fact, allowed in Italian. And Daniela shows us how there can be multiple negations in one phrase. In English, where double negatives are not allowed, we have extra words to get around this rule. We use, for example, "it's not anything" or" not ever," instead of the incorrect "not nothing" or "not never." But it's important to be able to manage all these negatives in perfect tenses where we have a conjugated auxiliary verb and a past participle, and that is what Daniela explains in this lesson.

In Matera, various epochs shake hands, as Alberto Angela put it. Matera continues to amaze us with what's hidden underneath the piazza of the Baroque quarter: Il Piano.

There are a couple of words in particular that Italians like to repeat over and over again to forcefully encourage an action. Marika talks about these and other repeated words in the Commissioner Manara series.

To express negation, the adverb non (not) can precede not only nouns, but verbs, adjectives, pronouns, prepositions, and adverbs, as well. Daniela shows us how.

Living conditions were so different at the time of the cave dwellings. Imagine having a mule and rabbits running around the house! The government eventually put a stop to this type of dwelling, and much was gained, but much was lost. On the other hand, people had to live somewhere. The Civita, the oldest part of Matera, filled up quickly around the imposing cathedral, and there was no more room for building houses.

The popular TV series Commissioner Manara takes place in Tuscany, so in this video, Marika explains some of the peculiarities of Tuscan speech. She also gives some important tips about using articles when referring to family members.

In the last lesson we learned to place non (not) before the verb in a negative sentence, but when there are other words involved, it gets a bit more complicated, especially when we have object pronouns in the mix.

We see the inside of house built into the rock. It is fascinating to learn how families coped with the problems of water, humidity, and cramped quarters.

Daniela explains how to turn a positive statement into a negative one, and how to form a negative question and its negative answer. The magic word is non (not).

We enter a fascinating church carved right into the rock: the Church of the Madonna di Idris. There are some surprising discoveries awaiting us.

Here are some more idiomatic expressions from La Ladra. They involve music, horses, and sweets.