Francesco Totti, captain of the Rome soccer team, gives an interview on his thirty-sixth birthday in which he has to guess which goals television viewers chose as his best three out of thirty-six.

Daniela and her pupils compare the opening hours of shops in their country to those in Italy where, traditionally, the midday break has always had particular importance. Over the past ten years, tradition has gradually given way to convenience, and the rules governing opening hours have become less and less strict.

Lele is having trouble finding a housekeeper within his budget. His assistant at the hospital advises him to look for an "au pair" girl instead. A woman overhears the conversation and offers her services.

Singer-songwriter Luciano Ligabue sings a love song, Viva (Alive), dedicated to the woman who at that time was his wife. The song is from his 1995 album "Buon Compleanno Elvis" (Happy Birthday Elvis).

Lara's aunt Caterina goes to police headquarters to show Commissioner Manara a painting she found at a flea market, that could help with the investigation.

Panarea is the smallest of the Aeolian Islands, and is sometimes called the island with the sea inside it. Its transparent sea, steep bluffs, volcanic eruptions and quaint village make it very attractive to tourists.

After the war, when eating had to do with survival, tastes started to change and to branch out towards different regions. Now, once again cucina tipica (traditional local cooking) or prodotti tipici (local products) have practically become magic words.

Daniela talks about verbs having to do with shops, and whether they close at lunchtime or not.

The Martini family isn't getting along so well with the new housekeeper. She doesn't give them enough time for breakfast and spends too much money on supplies.

Federico Fellini, having won three Oscars, talks about the Academy Awards and how they represent the goal of every filmmaker both in the U.S. and abroad. He goes on to talk about American cinema as mythical, legendary.

We are at the beautiful botanical gardens of Rome. Marika and Anna are sitting on a bench talking. In their conversation they take us through the different conjugations of the verb pensare (to think).

The murder weapon has been identified by Inspector Rubino, and she has a nifty program to discover the password for the victim's handheld organizer, found at his house.

Pollara is one of the villages on Salina, one of the Aeolian Islands, and the only one to boast fresh water with the resulting vegetative mantle. In fact, its important crops include capers and grapes (in the form of Malvasia wine).

Giuseppe Verdi's Rigoletto: more passion, intrigue, love, and cruelty at court. The curse is fulfilled!

When we speak of an unspecified quantity of food items, objects, etc. we use the indefinite or partitive article, which changes according to the gender of the noun in question (singular: del, della, dello, and plural: dei, delle, degli). In the second part of the lesson, you'll notice that Italian uses the equivalent of "of" or "of it" where English doesn't. Feel free to absorb the first part of this lesson before tackling the second part.