Daniela explains three situations in which the remote past may be used and gives us examples of each situation. But don't worry, this tense is not mandatory and Daniela suggests the passato prossimo (present perfect) as a valid alternative. Note: The passato prossimo is constructed like the English present perfect tense (with a helping verb and past participle), but is used more like the English past simple.

Daniela explains how to conjugate the remote past of the verbs avere (to have) and prendere (to take).

Marika and Anna go through the list of ingredients needed to make a Ligurian specialty — pasta with pesto sauce.

Daniela discusses the verbs finire [to finish] and essere [to be] in the remote past tense.

Daniela starts her four-part series on the passato remoto [remote or absolute past] verb tense. This tense is broadly used in the south of Italy, and infrequently in the north.

Arianna shows us the outside market near San Lorenzo, and we discover where the train station got its long name Santa Maria Novella. Arianna also gives us some important information about how to get to and from the airports of Pisa and Florence.

Anna and Marika prepare the deliciously rich potato and cheese crisp that was a specialty of Friuli woodsmen.

You don't need much to make this recipe from the north of Italy. It's best with aged cheese, however, and even leftover rinds will do. Anna and Marika tell us about the ingredients and utensils necessary.

Let's see if Anna has studied one of the northernmost regions of Italy. It's a border region and as such, has some peculiarities.

Daniela shows us how to conjugate the imperfect tense of the following irregular verbs: dire (to say), fare (to make, to do), bere (to drink), condurre (to drive), and porre (to pose). She gives us a helpful tip for remembering how.

Daniela discusses how the imperfect is used to describe actions in the past that are happening contemporaneously.

How much is too much? Marika explains about quantity, and shares some common idioms about quantity and degree that can come in very handy.

Daniela concentrates on the modal verbs essere [to be] and avere [to have] in the imperfect tense.

Erica and Martina talk about their friendship, which started in the first year of high school and continues today.

It's time to talk about Calabria, a southern region with both sea and mountains. Let's hope Anna did some studying.