Have you ever noticed that on June 2nd everything in Italy is closed? No school, no offices, banks shut and, along the streets of the big cities, soldiers in full uniform, marching bands, and even planes leaving tricolor trails in the sky. But what exactly is celebrated on this date? In this article you’ll discover the history of the Festa della Repubblica, the vocabulary linked to Italian history, and some surprising trivia.
How many times a day do you say «va bene» [okay/that’s fine]? To agree, to accept, to fill the silence — it seems like the solution for everything. The problem is that always using the same expression sounds repetitive and unnatural. In Italian there are much more natural and precise alternatives, each suited to a different context.
How long ci vuole to learn Italian? But wait — ci vuole or ci metto? And what does «mi ci metto» mean? These four expressions — ci vuole, ci metto, mi ci vuole and mi ci metto — look almost the same but have very different meanings. In this article we analyse them one by one, with practical examples and clear explanations.
When you think of Italy, coffee is one of the first things that comes to mind. But how did it get to Italy? Why do Italians drink it the way they do? And why, if you ask for «un caffè» in an Italian bar, do you always get an espresso and nothing else? In this article you will discover the entire history of coffee in Italy — from its African origins to the moka — and learn the vocabulary and curiosities that will make you shine in conversation with Italians.
Relative pronouns are one of the trickiest pitfalls of the Italian language, even for the most advanced students. In this article, we will analyze 5 very common mistakes, clearly explaining where the problem lies and what the correct form to use is. After this guide, your Italian will be much more natural and correct!
It is not always easy to objectively assess one’s own level of Italian. With this quiz you will be able to understand your real level — whether you are a beginner, intermediate or advanced — by testing your grammar, your vocabulary and the naturalness with which you use the language. A quick but effective test.
