It's a very Italian thing to alter a word to make it mean something bigger, smaller, or worse. You just need to know the right suffix to add to the word. Marika shows you how.

Gualtiero Marchesi tells us a bit about when he discovered "haute cuisine" in a famous hotel school in Switzerland.

Gianni takes a cigarette break from doing some yard work, and tells us something about himself. Like many other European smokers, he rolls his own cigarettes to save money.

Daniela explains a very important exception to the rule about possessive adjectives. Don't miss out!

Gualtiero Marchesi has been described as growing up in a pot. While training under the eye of his mother, he began to specialize in tavola calda e fredda (hot and cold food service) which, usually connected with a bar, offers quality ready-to-eat dishes. La Cucina Italiana (Italian Cooking) is a periodical that's been on newsstands since 1929. Paola Ricas, who was an editor there, shares a special moment in its history.

Marika introduces us to an area where Italian and English have some important differences: reflexive and reciprocal verbs. For extra help, see: Reflections on the Reflexive and Ci Gets Around: Part 1

Although Marchesi earned his first Michelin star quite early in the game, he never lost his enthusiasm for creating new dishes, for experimenting.

Our chef tells how his passion for cooking was born, and what books he used as examples.

Marika shares her impressions and her bubbling enthusiasm for the Expo 2015 held in Milan until the October thirty-first of this year. We hope you get the chance to go!

Daniela continues to address the very sticky subject of possessive adjectives, and explains some very important rules. Little by little, you'll get it.

Marika explains how to form adjectives from nouns, by using various suffixes.

An actual police officer tells us what it means to him to be one. He talks about the daily problems policemen have to deal with, not just the ones we see on TV.

Gualtiero Marchesi talks about the hotel/restaurant his parents opened in Milan. He describes what it was like back in the Fifties.

2015 is an exciting year for Italy, because this year's Expo is in Milan. Marika was lucky enough to go, and she's eager to share her experience with you. But first she gives you a little background on how the Expo got started as a phenomenon.

After having covered the possessive adjectives in the masculine and feminine singular, Daniela goes on to explain how the masculine plural works.