The best way to get around Lucca is by bike. Arianna rents one and enjoys riding along the amazing walls of the city, still intact after centuries.

A student asked Daniela to explain the difference between finché and the adverb fino. In fact, these words are tricky for English speakers to grasp. We're talking about "until" and "as long as," and in questions, "how far" and "how long."

Maria Inglese, an Italo-German artist, sings a famous song by Lucio Dalla, dedicated to the Neapolitan opera singer Enrico Caruso. Even though the song uses ti voglio bene, the generally less romantic version of "I love you," it was likely meant romantically here, as Caruso had fallen in love with and married a younger woman shortly before his death.

Marika and Daniela continue their conversation about making conversation in Italian. They even talk a little bit about baby talk, Italian style, including the vezzeggiativo (affectionate) form of adjectives.

We're still at the Camposanto in Pisa. Alberto Angela shows us a wonderful fresco of the Last Judgment, and tells us the story of the artist as well as what is depicted.

Daniela gives us some more examples of gerunds used in subordinate clauses. Asking ourselves what questions the gerund answers can help us understand its role in a sentence.

Daniela and Marika show us the basics of making conversation between 2 people who know each other as well as between strangers, or people of different ages.

Alberto Angela takes us through what is actually a gallery of ancient art inside this cemetery, and focuses on the sarcophagi, each with its story to tell.

Imagine being on vacation and having to fly home during the pandemic. That's what happened to Melania who got stuck in Madrid on her way home from Venezuela.

In this segment, Daniela talks about the gerund. As you will see, in Italian, the gerund is often used by itself, whereas in English we need an extra word before it — a conjunction or preposition. We are on more familiar ground when Daniela talks about using a gerund with the verb stare (to be) to form what we call the present continuous or present progressive.

Alberto Angela recounts some interesting facts and legends surrounding the roof of the Bapistery and the Camposanto [cemetery].

In Italian, there's not only a past participle, as in English, there is also a present participle. Many nouns and adjectives we use every day come from this tense, as well as from the past participle.

Marika and Anna cook their pasta, but this recipe is actually designed for leftover pasta. They explain more about this, and show us, step by step, how to make this very special frittata. Buon appetito!

We learn a great deal about the third structure at the Piazza dei Miracoli in Pisa: the Baptistery. We learn about wonders we can see and wonders we can't see.

Daniela explains what are called "indefinite modes." They are indefinite because they don't refer directly to a person or object. They commonly occur in a subordinate clause, and we need the context of the main clause to give us that information. There are three forms: the infinitive, the past participle, and the gerund.