I have now completed my second full week of classes in Sorrento and am nearing the halfway point of my academic program for this summer. I have already noticed significant improvements in my ability to speak and understand Italian. Engaging in discussions in class, watching new movies, and speaking with Italians in town at markets, restaurants, and stores has allowed me to gain confidence when speaking and has proven to be a useful exercise in improving my ability listen, process spoken Italian quickly, and respond appropriately. Over my last few semesters of Italian study at Notre Dame and especially now in Italy, I’ve noticed that I rely less and less on mentally translating words and phrases that I read or hear into English. Italian, in my mind, has started to take on meaning, in and of itself, independent of my native knowledge of English. This allows me to be less clumsy and more fluent in conversation, and it means that I can write in Italian much more quickly and precisely.
In my contemporary literature class, we have just begun reading some early 20th century (World War I era) poetry. Today in class, we read four selections from Giuseppe Ungaretti, a Tuscan modernist poet and essayist who is known for having written extremely short poems on packs of cigarettes during his service in the Italian army. But even though the poems are short, they are intricate compositions, using words whose basic sounds are suggestive of a more symbolic meaning. Such poetry is a prime example of a tradition that would come to be known as Ermetismo (Hermeticism) which is cryptic, difficult to understand, and heavily dependent on context.
In my Italian film class, we continue to watch and discuss important movies such as Federico Fellini’s La strada and Pietro Germi’s Divorzio all’italiana. The former is an example of Italian auteur cinema (cinema d’autore in Italian) and the latter is the essential classic from the genre known as the Commedia all’italiana (Italian Style Comedies). Both are excellent, but I found that I prefer Divorzio all’italiana because, although it is somewhat dark in its subject matter, it is much more lighthearted and easy to understand in terms of its social commentary. Tomorrow, we are watching one of the most famous Italian movies ever made, Fellini’s La dolce vita.
This past week, I was also able to explore the town of Sorrento much more and I feel that I’m starting to get to know my way around. I’ve also been able to find some top notch gelato and pizza places. In addition, I’ve also enjoyed the experience of learning to cook for myself and plan meals. I appreciate the independence and the ability to try new recipes.
Me, my literature professor Domenico, and his two students, Lorenzo and Benedetta at a lecture and reading on Torquato Tasso’s Gerusalemme liberata at the Museo Correale of Sorrento.
Piazza Sant’Antonino – Sorrento, Italy