Un classico è un libro che non ha mai finito di dire quel che ha da dire.
(A classic is a book that never stopped telling what he has to tell).

Italo Calvino

Buongiorno amici e buon inizio settimana!

7:30 am in Rome, I am having tea and sharing an interesting book with you:

The Pinocchio Effect, On Making Italians, 1860-1920

“Soon after the disparate states of the Italian peninsula unified in the 1860s to create a single nation, the nationalist Massimo D’Azeglio is said to have remarked, “We have made Italy, now we have to make Italians.” The Pinocchio Effect draws on a remarkably broad array of sources to trace this making of a modern national identity in Italy, a subject that remains strikingly understudied in the English-speaking world of Italian studies.”

I think this subject is understudied and underestimated also in the Italian-speaking world!

Pinocchio is a character created in 1881 by the Italian writer Collodi. On CyberItalian we chose this famous Italian puppet to guide you in the Lessons. Why?

Because Pinocchio represents the idea of “personal growth” at all levels (intellectual and emotional). And personal growth is a very important factor in any aspect of life.

Hopefully Italians will remember this, as Italy nowadays is struggling with a modern concept of state, democracy, journalism, unity, politics and quality of life…

Last Sunday I woke up to the voice of a street vendor shouting: donne, è arrivato l’arrotino, donne è arrivato l’ombrellaio… (women the blade-sharpener has arrived, women, the man who repairs umbrellas has arrived). The “arrotino” is an artisan, and I have heard his voice since I was a child. However, I didn’t think this profession still existed. Especially in a big town like Rome…
To practice Italian this week we invite you to read and play…

Image source: wikipedia.org

“Accadono cose che sono come domande. Passa un minuto, oppure anni, e poi la vita risponde”. Things happen, and they are like questions. A minute goes by, or years, and then life replies.
Alessandro Baricco

Photo courtesy of repubblica.it

Yesterday night Italians watched a very sad show on TV.

Mr. Berlusconi, in a one-man show, called Italian journalists “farabutti” (rogue, dishonest), for criticizing him and the government. Saturday September 19 there will be a big march in Rome, in favour of the Italian press and freedom of speech.

Check here for the latest comments on foreign magazines about Italy and Mr. Berlusconi.

Check the final outcome in the lawsuit involving The Economist and Berlusconi (guess who won!)

From CyberItalian Beginner lesson 2. The key word to become Italian is “flexibility”; mental flexibility.