younginrome

Walking the streets of Rome, in any neighborhood, at any time of day, it’s not very hard to hear cuss words. Heck, even at the supermarket I hear people dropping some bombs just because the meat guy gave them prosciutto San Daniele instead of prosciutto di Parma…

While I am completely anti using curse words [in this very public forum], one word I don’t mind using is accidenti. Literally, accidenti is the plural of Italian noun, accidente, meaning an accident. Used as an expression though, it means gosh! Gee whiz! Darn! Jeepers creepers! And so on… Basically, it’s the neutral way to express consternation over something or someone.

The word accidente comes from the Latin verb, accidere, meaning to fall on top of. In its present participle form, accidens, it connotes an unforeseen event, being good or bad, hence today’s definition of accidenti as an exclamation.

Siutation:
You have just dropped an expensive vase on the floor and it broke into pieces. You say:
‘Accidenti!!’ – Darn it!!

Film poster from La Grande Abbuffata (maybe this will help you understand what you are about to watch!)

As one can imagine, there is no shortage of famous Italian films to view for the expat attempting to delve deeper into Italian culture. This past weekend I saw a very famous movie from Italian director Marco Ferreri: La Grande Abbuffata. This movie was screened in 1973 at the 26th Cannes Film Festival, to mixed reviews. Not to give away any spoilers… the movie follows the story of 4 friends, holed up in a house in France, interested in eating themselves to death. That’s right, the whole movie is focused around these 4 guys (the super famous: Marcello Mastroianni, Michel Piccoli, Philippe Noiret, and Ugo Tognazzi) and how they are stuffing themselves with the best foods money can buy, hoping to expire while eating. (Check out a scene from the movie here, but beware, it’s not suitable for work!)

When I first downloaded the movie, I assumed it had something to do with comedy. More specifically, a big laugh or a big funny scene, since I assumed abbuffata had to do with buffo, the adjective for funny/silly in Italian. As it turns out, an abbuffata is a huge feast. It comes from the Italian reflexive verb, abbuffarsi, or to binge, to gorge, to pig out.

My usual etymology website did not have an entry for abbuffata or abbuffarsi, but I found a website on Sicilian dialect which shed some light onto today’s word. In Sicilian dialect, primarily in Palermo, a buffa is how you say, toad. (Toad in regular Italian is rospo.) People say ‘gonfiarsi come un rospo,’ or to fill yourself (become bloated) like a toad, so in Sicilian it would be: pig out until you look like a buffa – bloated as a buffa.
Who would have thought, right?

The film was very… interesting. Mostly super crude and crass, in every way possible, even for this crass American. I basically wavered between being starving, being disgusted, and not wanting to eat ever again. Nonetheless, it was worth a viewing, and does indeed have a deeper message than just 4 guys who want to eat themselves to death.

Example:
‘Mi sono abbuffata di tortellini a Bologna questo weekend.’ – I stuffed myself with tortellini in Bologna this weekend.’

Nubifragio!

If you were swimming around the streets this morning like I was, then you must know the definition of Italian noun, nubifragio. Coming from the Latin nubifragium, it basically means a downpour, heavy rainfall, or a cloudburst. The word is made up of nubes and frangere: nube being cloud, and frangere (fragere) meaning to break. In other words, the cloud is bursting and it’s raining. I guess, anyways.

Example:
‘Ottobre 15- nubifragio a Roma!’ – Downpour in Rome on October 15th!

Coin of Pope Pius IX

Today’s Word of the Day comes from the annals of Romanesco, the Italian language used in the past in Rome, but no longer spoken today. (Not to be confused with Roman slang, or Romanaccio, Romanesco was an actual dialect spoken).
Piotta means 100, or a denomination of 100, in a monetary sense. It was originally used when referring to liras, but now it is used in reference to euros.

I couldn’t find the etymology of this word, just a discussion forum on Word Reference, an online dictionary. There is however mention that perhaps the word came from Pope Pius IX, or Papa Pio IX in Italian. Apparently he is the first person to introduce the 100-lira coin in Rome, and subsequently, the denomination was named after him.

Example:
‘Ho preso una piotta da mamma, offro da bere a tutti!’ – I took a 100 euros from mom, drinks on me!

A view of Soriano nel Cimino from its Castello Orsini

If you are interested in taking a weekend trip, but don’t want to wander too far from Rome, Tuscia is the right choice for you. Historically, Tuscia is the region that was under Etruscan influence, comprising of Tuscany, a big part of Umbria, and the northern parts of Lazio. A much smaller area today, it pretty much encompasses the small towns of the province of Viterbo. At about an hour, to an hour and a half by car (two hours by train), it’s a great area for a weekend escape.

There are many cities that make up the area of Tuscia. All of the cities that I have visited have a medieval feel, with great views leading-up-to and looking-out-from them. The ‘highways’ you take to get to the region are also quite picturesque: loads of green valleys and mountains, horses, flowers, etc. Depending on the season, you can also see the various fruits and trees in full bloom and ripeness. Also depending on the season, you can stop by some of the towns and partake in festivals of particular foods. For example, the month of October is dedicated to chestnuts.

Apart from visiting the cities of Tuscia, the whole area itself is covered in natural hot spring baths. There are both private and public baths, all indicated by ‘terme‘ signs on the highways, and a particular smell wafting in the breeze. Being an area that was frequently visited by the popes, one famous bath house to visit is Terme dei Papi.

Being just north enough, the food of Tuscia is quite different from the common foods of Rome: more soups and yummy polenta! The region also has its own type of porchetta, wine, and cheeses (from special Sardinian sheep!).

Each city has hotels and bed and breakfasts, but I suggest finding lodging in an agriturismo that is outside of a city. It’s a great way to taste local products (sometimes grown on the site itself), and to get insider info on what is going on in the area, and what to do/see. There is basically one major site providing details for all the agriturismi in Italy, as well as detailed reviews to help you make your choice.

To sum it up: Tuscia is a great area for a weekend getaway from Rome. There are many cities to visit, beautiful views and sites, natural hot springs, great food, and a plethora of lodgings from which to choose.

Happy weekending!

Poster from the movie, Dave.

Never again will I have to describe the premise of the 1993 film Dave without knowing how to say ‘lookalike’ in Italian. Why is that? Because I was talking about the movie this morning to my Italian breakfast mate, describing that Kevin Kline plays a man called Dave, a lookalike of the film’s president of the United States, (also played by Mr. Kline, obviously). When the president has a heart attack and falls into a coma, the president’s lookalike, Dave, takes over for him as POTUS. Hilarity ensues. But I digress, so let’s get back to the Word of the Day:

Sosia is the Italian noun (m + f) for lookalike, alter ego, doppelgänger, spitting imagine, substitute, or double. Whether you are referring to a man who is the lookalike, or a woman, the noun stays the same, with the ‘a’ ending: sosia. Do not confuse this word with gemello, which is the Italian noun for twin: twin as in siblings, fraternal or identical twins.

The etymology of this word is pretty interesting, so brace yourselves for a burst of culture!! Sosia comes from the play (originally written by Sophocles), Amphitryon, reworked by the Roman comedian, Plautus. In a nutshell, Jupiter is sleeping with the wife of Amphitryon, who is away at war: shenanigans that Jupiter always gets himself into. Amphitryon has a slave called Sosia. The wife of this poor guy doesn’t realize that she is committing adultery, because Jupiter has taken on the form of her husband. (Sneaky sneaky!) Anyways, to further convince this woman that her husband is indeed the one she is bedding, Jupiter asks his son Mercury to take the form of Amphitryon’s slave, Sosia: to show that everyone is back home from war.

So there you have it, Sosia becoming known as someone with a lookalike, and in turn, the word for a substitute, or double in Italian.

Example:
Maria: ‘Senti Giovanna, ieri sera ho visto il tuo ragazzo, baciando un’altra donna.’ – Listen, Giovanna, last night I saw your boyfriend kissing another woman.
Giovanna: ‘Allora deve essere stato il suo sosia, perchè Ermenegildo è stato con me tutta la notte.’ – Then it must have been his lookalike, because Ermenegildo was with me all night.’