Comments for Cooking and Touring in Italy

Comment on A Day in Vignanello by LindyLouMacinItaly

LindyLouMacinItaly — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 14:06:25 +0000

Vignanello is not far from us either, so have made a note to visit the Sunday market sometime.

Comment on Who is Alfredo Sauce, and why do Americans keep asking about him? by ines

ines — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 14:29:40 +0000

HISTORY OF FETTUCCINE ALL’ALFREDO AND OF ALFREDO DI LELIO THE CREATOR OF FETTUCCINE ALL’ALFREDO
We are the grandchildren of Alfredo Di Lelio (Alfredo and Ines Di Lelio). The story is this. Alfredo di Lelio opened the restaurant “Alfredo” in Rome nel 1914, after leaving his first restaurant run by his mother Angelina Rose Square (Piazza disappeared in 1910 following the construction of the Galleria Colonna / Deaf). In this local fame spread, first to Rome and then in the world of “fettuccine all’Alfredo”. In 1943, during the war, Di Lelio gave the local to his collaborators.
In 1950 Alfredo Di Lelio decided to reopen with his son Armando (Alfredo II) his restaurant in Piazza Augusto Imperatore n.30 “Il Vero Alfredo”, which is now managed by his nephews Alfredo (same name of grandfather) and Ines (the same name of his grandmother, wife of Alfredo Di Lelio, who were dedicated to the noodles).
In conclusion, the local Piazza Augusto Imperatore is following the family tradition of Alfredo Di Lelio and his notes noodles (see also the site of “Il Vero Alfredo”)

Comment on Italian… So lost in translation by Matt

Matt — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 11:18:53 +0000

I read your article and I have to say you’re damn right. I’m Italian and fluent in English and I always noticed what you remark.
This is due to several reasons: your language isn’t taught very good in Italian schools and we don’t learn everyday language but rather a sort of “King’s English” that no one will really find; then teaching is based on British English while American English is very different.
We sometimes have very bad teachers: just guess I had an English teacher on high school pronouncing “eat” exacty the way it’s written, rather than “i:t”, as it should be. When we had dictation i had a hard time to make out what the heck she was talking about.
But most Italian think as they studied it they can speak it and they tend to translate literally lines from Italian thinking they’re the same in English and so you can find hilarious monsters, kinda “lucky hill position”. To be true, it doesn’t make much sense in Italian neither. Maybe they meant “la posizione favorevole in collina” or kinda. Well, they should rather translate it as “Favourably located on a hill”, or a sort of.
A great problem is most local and State administrations mostly can’t absolutely speak English and they think a literal translation is enough to make themselves understood and make no commitment to do more than this. What’s more, who should check for a correct translation often speaks English yet worse than who wrote the text.

When i say literal translation i just mean that. I worked on a government web site and i had to personally rewrite most of English company profiles i had a chance to process.

One of them translated “rapporto qualità/prezzo” not as “product mix” as it should but as “comparison between quality and price”. I think it’s enough.

And don’t tell ‘em they can’t speak English! They’ll never allow it. You’re a citizen, how can you doubt authorities can? In case of a company the owner (in 90% cases it’s a family-owned business) entrusted of it his 16 yo son who studied English then he’s alright and don’t tell him he can’t speak English at all nor he could in one century!
And they want to export on foreign markets..this is another story!

Ok, this is my contribution, excuse me for its length.

Comment on The Battle with Jet Lag – How to Fight and Win (sort of) by Rob

Rob — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 03:48:47 +0000

Yep, sleeping pills when used correctly can be a life saver, just not everday! Have to admit Michael, great advice, really good plans!

Comment on We Came, We Harvested, We Made Olive Oil! by Judy Reynolds

Judy Reynolds — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 01:25:57 +0000

The most amazing week of my life.. highlights — every day had one.. starting with harvesting the olives! Thanks Michael & crew!!

Comment on Italian Food You Won’t Find in Italy by Michael

Michael — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 22:48:55 +0000

I very much agree with that last comment. The Italian Spirit is very present in Italian immigrant food in the US. To tell the truth, I enjoy these things as memories of my own childhood. Spaghetti & Meatballs… yes, not Italian. Call it New Yorkese, or Rat-Pack-Esque… it is still great. However, many people expect to find it in Italy.

As for the olive oil dipping sauce, I am sure the practice of putting olive oil on bread has its roots as you mentioned. In fact, the concept is not strange at all in Italy. Just yesterday we harvested and pressed your olives… we were doing it! But the little dish for olive oil with various spices… that is a completely modern American thing, and it is recent enough not to be an immigrant thing.

Comment on Who is Alfredo Sauce, and why do Americans keep asking about him? by Italy Roundtable: Comfort Food is a Cultural Thing | Italy Travel Guide

Italy Roundtable: Comfort Food is a Cultural Thing | Italy Travel Guide — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 18:55:37 +0000

[...] now, you may have already heard the story of how this pasta dish got the name “Alfredo,” and how it was exported to Amer… – but for the purposes of this article, I’m going to focus on the cultural aspects of [...]

Comment on “Boh!?”… And Other Perfect Italian Words & Phrases That Don’t Translate Well by Michael

Michael — Sun, 16 Oct 2011 13:14:42 +0000

Nicki, I think that would just be “let’s go for a ride”

Comment on Man Dies: Caught The Cold in Stomach by HZ

HZ — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 13:44:15 +0000

that’s ridiculous! There is no scientific proof that any of those will cause anything close to what they say. The worst drinking ice water in the heat of summer will do is give you a brain freeze for a few seconds. nothing so bad as death!

Comment on “Boh!?”… And Other Perfect Italian Words & Phrases That Don’t Translate Well by America

America — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 03:08:32 +0000

What a great article. I must say boh?! A thousand times a day. When I was learning Italian, it was difficult for me to keep it out of English or Spanish. Regardless, it is difficult to just stick to one language when there are perfect words such as this one. I kind of mix them all at times, but I mainly speak English at work, Spanish at home, and Italian with some friends; this way I avoid the mixing a bit. I must admit that you missed ehhh, with the slightly open mouth and the head bobbing! Such a great word! Ma is also one I use al the time, I substituted um with it because I hate um. Quindi is also very cute. Anyway, ciao!