How do three buddies, who happen to be oxen, get eaten by a lion? Adriano tells the tale, complete with the lesson to be learned. Have you guessed? It's one of Aesop's Fables.

Adriano shares with us the story of the fox and the cicada. Apart from the usefulness of the story itself, there's a good selection of verbs in tenses we don't use every day, but which are used in storytelling.

Because they are difficult to reach--lying off the main sea routes--the islands of Filicudi and Alicudi have maintained their natural beauty.

This episode comes to a close with the mystery of Cetinka solved, and everyone having a good time in the backyard. Maria proudly tells her aunt Alice how she duped her teacher into spending time with her alone. Lele lectures Ciccio (who really wants to wear his new shoes) about being truthful, but we know there's someone else he should have been lecturing... In fact, right on cue, an unexpected visitor shows up!

Spring is here and Cettina is enjoying the outdoors. Flowers are starting to bloom, trees are getting leaves, and the sunshine is warm enough to go without a jacket.

Commissioner Manara is back with a new episode, which opens, not only with the usual murder, this time in a library, but also with a care package from Manara's mother, full of Sicilian specialties such as melanzane sottolio or sott'olio, (eggplant in oil). Sottolio is a traditional and well-loved way of preserving many foods, and can be distinguished from sottaceto (in vinegar), or in salamoia (in water and salt). Of course, everyone at headquarters is more interested in the Sicilian pastries!

Martina has almost completed her degree at the university, which will qualify her to work in the juvenile courts. She would like to evaluate the situations and problems of kids, especially immigrant minors, who have trouble in school and in their social lives, and to help them adjust. Follow the interview by Serena.

Some artists, including Gualtiero Marchesi, talk about the past: horse-drawn carts for delivering produce, artists exchanging news from abroad before the widespread use of telephones, tripe for breakfast, still-life paintings reflecting the food of the times and its preparation. There's even talk of the desire to eat paintings! Buon appetito!

At the train station where Alessio had been kicked off the train, the police officer tells Alessio to call home to get picked up. Alessio does make a phone call, and he does get picked up, but not by his parents!

More spring cleaning! Marika shows us how to dust, and what materials to use. She goes on to wash the windows, and then the dishes.

It can be challenging for non-native Italian speakers to really understand the difference between these three common words: bello (beautiful, nice, pretty), buono (good) and bene (well, fine). In this first part of three, Daniela explains the difference between bello and buono.

Federico Fellini and Ingmar Bergman, two of the most important film directors in international cinema, discuss a joint project. They come from completely different worlds, but have some important points in common. Fellini's film, Satyricon is in the spotlight at the Venice Film Festival of 1969.

Serena and Martina take you to a shop that sells both home health care products and beauty aids. This kind of shop is called a sanitaria, coming from the word, sanità (health). If you ever (heaven forbid!) need a wheelchair, ace bandage, neck brace, or even orthopedic shoes, this is the place to go. Today, Serena and Martina are shopping for more glamorous items.

If you know the rules regarding masculine and feminine articles, word endings, and plurals in Italian, you'll get it right most of the time. But there are some important exceptions which Daniela addresses in this lesson. They just have to get memorized!

Encouraged by the woman who took him home with her, Alessio phones his mother and leaves a message. He then relaxes, and even falls asleep, but gets a rude awakening!