Italy – Page 2 – Summer Language Abroad 2022

Magari…I learned something new!

Before I came to Siena, I thought “magari” was a Roman term. The reason I say this is because I did not make note of it at all the previous summer when I was in Italy, and I first started noticing it when I was in Professor Sabrina Ferri’s Modern Italian Literature course. I heard her using it a lot, and I asked her to clarify the word; she said that it meant “maybe”, and that Romans like herself use it a great deal. Moving forward, I assumed it was part of the Roman dialect. In fact, when I arrived to Rome May 12, I very quickly started noticing its usage as I had not before. However, when I arrived to Siena, and I started to hear Sonia and Bianca – my two instructors – using it very frequently, it changed my conception of the word as pertaining to a more southern dialect. I also learned its meaning can be adapted to “as if!” or to a sense comparable to “oh, I wish.” It seems prevalent throughout the country. It was a pleasure to learn this, because each piece of information such as this continually molds my understanding of the Italian language and the dialects.

I also have been learning a great deal of Sienese dialect. I reflect upon my own residence in the state of Florida. Are there words, phrases, or pronunciations that are distinctly Floridian? It is hard to say as an “insider”, but it would be interesting to explore this on the Internet in my free time. And this is keeping in mind that the state of Florida is comparable in size to Italy, though smaller at least somewhat. What really strikes me is just the degree of variation in accent and expression between the many regions of Italy. Imagine that my Sarasota County were to have differences from the adjacent county: Lee County. What is even more puzzling to me is the distinction from city to city. For instance, there are differences in pronunciation between Siena and Florence, separated only by a one-hour bus ride. This was something framed by my teachers, not something I have picked up on my own. However, it has been incredible to notice the way Sienese people speak in dialect on the streets and in businesses after receiving some “pointers” in class. For instance, “la casa” is transformed into “la hasa”. Hard C’s are pronounced as H’s, which in my opinion is a bit reminiscent of the manipulation of different letters’ pronunciation between various countries in Latin America. For instance, it brings to my mind what my Dominican friend Jazmin told me years ago about Dominican Spanish: oftentimes the R’s and S’s are not articulated as much or are sometimes virtually eliminated from words in the spoken language. Or how Puerto Rican Spanish sometimes abbreviates certain words, allowing for more fluidity in daily speech. I love being able to learn about these subtle variations between dialects in Italy, and then expanding my understanding of dialects as a phenomenon across various languages.

As part of the DA School, I have been able to develop some friendships with Italians with whom I speak to in Italian. This is wonderful practice, and it allows me to implement new phrases I learn in school. For instance, I constantly hear Bianca saying “ci sta….ci sta…ci sta.” What does this mean? I asked her, and she told me it was a more colloquial expression of “ha senso”, or “that makes sense.” “I see what you’re saying; that tracks.” Since she shed light on this, I find myself incorporating “ci sta” myself into my conversations, hoping to make it a more natural and intuitive part of my Italian language use. I want to make my transition into fluency to feature some phrases that Italian themselves use, because I believe this makes me more approachable as a speaker of Italian. In other words, rather than default to English upon hearing my non-Italian accent, a native speaker might think “Wait. She seems eager to speak with me and she is not speaking perfectly, but she has some understanding of colloquial speech and I appreciate her effort. I will respond to Italian and in turn help her expand her knowledge.” This brings me to another point. I so treasure when an Italian might hear me stumble slightly over some words and yet still dignifies my efforts with responses in Italian, even recognizing my learning phrase. This patience and understanding touches my heart, and these individuals often remain in my memory as the days pass.

My first two weeks in Siena, Sonia was the instructor of my class! The variety of learners’ backgrounds was a wonderful contribution to the lessons.
**From left to right**: Volker (Switzerland); Catherine (Switzerland); Gabe (U.S., also Notre Dame); Claudia (Switzerland); Yours truly (U.S.); Sonia (Siena native); Lisa (U.S., recently immigrated to Italy).
**Front**: Virginia (Spain)

A later week in the program! Bianca is now our instructor at this point.
**From left to right*, back***: *Gabe (U.S.); Volker (Switzerland); Virginia (Spain); Lisa (U.S.)*
**From left to right, front**: Satomi (Japan); Bianca (Agrigento, Sicily – moved to Siena); Mary (U.S.); Yours truly (U.S.)

Post Program Reflection

I am both happy and sad to be home. It feels great to see my family and escape the intense heat, but I miss the lifestyle I became accustomed to and the friends I met in Italy. It truly was an amazing two months traveling around Europe. One of the things I am most proud of is how much I improved in my Italian language skills. At the beginning of this program, I was able to speak in Italian, but it would take me a while to form sentences and I didn’t know all of the verb tenses. By the end of this experience, I was speaking fast and able to clearly say what I wanted to. I started having longer conversations with the people I met and I started receiving compliments on my speaking skills. Being able to speak in Italian made all of my hard work worthwhile. Looking back now, those conversations were some of my favorite moments from the entire summer.

I am so grateful for this grant and the opportunity it gave me to explore Italy and learn more about Italian culture. I traveled to many different places across Europe: Paris, London, Siena, Florence, Pisa, the southern coast of Sicily, Cinque Terre, the Amalfi coast, Rome, Punta Ala, Colle di Val d’Elsa, and Naples. I met a ton of amazing people from many different countries and have made lasting friendships.

Cooking Class

Yesterday was my last day in Siena and I got to cross off the final thing on my bucket list, a cooking class. We made a couple of different Tuscan dishes, and one that is specifically unique to Siena, pici pasta. Pici pasta is hand rolled, imperfect pasta. Pici is often referred to as ‘pici Senesi’ because of its origins in Siena. From a brief google search, I found that this pasta dates back to Etruscan times. There is a tomb in ancient Tarquinia that has a fresco showing a servant carrying a bowl containing a long, irregular pasta. This tomb is from the 5th century B.C. and the pasta is thought to be the ancestor of pici. This pasta is fairly easy to make. To make the dough, one combines eggs and flour. Next, one must knead the dough until it is the right consistency. We then cut it into little pieces and rolled out each little piece into thin imperfect noodles. We paired this pasta with a homemade garlic tomato sauce. The instructor of our cooking class showed us how to make a fluffy garlic sauce. She blended cloves of garlic in a food processor at a specific speed that made it turn into a fluffy cloud of garlic. She then added a bit of water and blended again. We paired this with fresh tomatoes, lots of olive oil, and different seasonings. It was delicious. The pici pasta was our first dish.

For our appetizer, we made pomodori con riso (tomatoes with rice). We cut the tops off of whole tomatoes, scooped out the inside, and filled them with day-old rice which was mixed with tomato sauce. We then put bread crumbs and the tomato tops back on top and put them into the oven to bake. For our second dish, we had veil with tuna sauce and tomatoes with a herb glaze that was fully prepared by our instructors. For dessert, we prepared a type of flan dish that was delicious. I really enjoyed doing this cooking class and learning about the origins of these dishes.

Cinque Terre and Hard Conversations

I am just getting home from a weekend trip to the Cinque Terre as I write this blog post. It was one of the coolest places I have ever been. Our Airbnb was in La Spezia, the port city near the Cinque Terre. We then took the train everyday to the 5 cities which was super easy. We met up with other Notre Dame students there who are currently studying in Rome. We went kayaking, hiking, swimming, cliff jumping, and we tried a bunch of different foods. On Sunday, we went to the train station to go back to Siena, and we learned that there was a train strike going on. All trains and buses to Siena were canceled that night, so we were forced to spend another night in La Spezia. We got a quick Airbnb and ended up having a super fun night, getting all you can eat Sushi and then going to a salsa dancing party. We are just now finally making it back to Siena.

For this blog post, I would like to write about something my class discussed last week. We discussed the vaccine and how Covid has impacted the different countries around the world. We all shared our opinions and I explained how there has been a divide in the United States about getting the vaccine. We discussed the various reasons why people do not get the vaccine and what we believe is right. We also talked about whether it should be allowed to mandate the vaccine at schools and companies. I shared how I was personally thankful for the vaccine mandate at Notre Dame, as it allowed us to return to a more normal learning environment.

Italy was hit extremely hard by Covid and was one of the first countries to go into lockdown. Because of this, the general public attitude is very positive towards the vaccine. The vaccination rate is higher in Italy than it is in the United States, with almost 81% of the entire Italian population being fully vaccinated, whereas only 67% of all Americans are vaccinated. The discussions I had with different Italians across the country reflected these numbers. Italy has a partial mask mandate on public transportation, which will end in September.

Discussions about controversial topics such as the vaccine are conversations I have honestly tried to avoid in the past. I often find it difficult to voice my opinion in a way that is not offensive. Finding the perfect words to say is hard in English, and much, much harder in Italian. I am glad I did have these hard conversions though, because I learned a lot about Italian culture and it was a great way to practice voicing my opinions in another language.

The Palio and the contradas of Siena

Last weekend was Siena’s most important tradition, the Palio horse race. This is a tradition that started in 1482. It occurs twice a year, once in July and once in August. In class, we learned all about this tradition and the contrada system in Siena.

In Siena, there are 17 contradas that are basically like 17 different neighborhoods. Each one has its own small territory in Siena and is its own small community. They have their own governments, community celebrations, and events that occur throughout the year. Every contrada also has its own chapel, museum and unique history. Some of the contradas are allies and some are enemies, which is an important part of the Palio. Each contrada also has its own flag and is represented by a different animal or symbol. I live in the Lupa contrada, which means she-wolf in English.

The Palio is a horse race between 10 of the 17 contradas. Each year, the 7 contradas that didn’t get to race last year automatically get to race, and 3 more contradas are randomly chosen. The race happens in the large Piazza del Campo. The outside of the Piazza is turned into a track and the inside is where people watch the race. There are a number of different events that happen during the week leading up to the race. There are practice trials each morning and an initial race where 10 horses are picked from 35 to be the racing horses. There is also a large event where everyone in the city comes to the piazza to see which horse is assigned to each contrada. We went as a school to go watch this event on Wednesday. There were two horses that were considered “better” than the other horses as they had already raced in the Palio in the past. When the Istrice contrada heard that they got one of these horses, they all screamed and were extremely happy. They then ran to their horse and chanted their fight song as they left the piazza. Each contrada also has a big feast the night before the race. We were able to go to the feast of the Istrice contrada, which had more than 2,400 people in attendance. The food was really delicious. The next day, we watched the Palio race on TV in a restaurant. It was 95 degrees that day and we didn’t want to stand in the intense heat for 4 hours. The Drago contrada won the Palio, which lasted much longer than usual as there were many false starts. Everyone ran to the Drago contrada right after the race to celebrate with the community. It was a really amazing thing to be a part of and see.

The winner of the Palio has to pay all of the other contradas. The winner also gets the banner that is painted for that year. The contrada that wins is considered reborn and the “new baby,” while the contrada that has won least recently is considered the “grandmother.” The Palio is extremely intense and emotional. It is normal to see the losers crying immediately after the race and in the days following the race. My professor told me a story about a man he saw praying in the streets to God, asking why his contrada did not win. The man was balling and begging God for a victory. The contradas are extremely competitive. If two people are married and from different contradas, they won’t see each other for a couple of days before the race. Another interesting thing I learned is that the “worst” loss is not the contrada that gets last place, but the one that gets second place. This is because they were so close to winning, but did not win.

Gnocchi Alla Sorrentina

A dish that I chose, that is unique to my location of study, is gnocchi alla sorrentina. This dish originates from Campania which is a region in Italy. Within this region of Italy lies Sorrento, which is where I am staying/ studying. Gnocchi alla Sorrentina perfectly embodies all that Sorrento is. Amongst this dish lies three of Campania’s most famous ingredients such as fresh tomatoes, verdant basil and a creamy mozzarella. This dish is mainly served as a festive family lunch. The history behind revolves around the idea that this specific recipe was created in the 15th century in Sorrento. Furthermore, the tradition entails that it was created by a cook who was intrigued by the new botanical curiosity coming from the Americas. It is said that explorers returned to Europe with their ships full of foreign/exotic fruits and vegetables, among these were tomatoes and potatoes which are essential to this dish.

The ingredients for such a dish include floury potatoes, plain flour, egg yolks, mozzarella cheese, basil leaves, pecorino and sea salt. This is just for the Gnocchi but the tomato sauce has its own recipe. For the tomato sauce you need passata, extra virgin oil, garlic cloves, salt and pepper. In order to cook this dish you need to begin by adding olive oil in a pan with low heat. Then once the pan heats up, you must proceed to add the garlic until they become golden. You then proceed to add the tomatoes and a pinch of salt. Once the tomatoes begin cooking, you have to add boiled salted water. You then must add the gnocchi while ensuring that more water is boiling. Once it is almost cooked, take off from the fire and add the mozzarella. Mix until the mozzarella begins to spin and to close it off add parmesan and basil leaves. Speaking to locals, they said that a bad preparation comes from incorporating too many ingredients. What makes it a good preparation is the emphasis of the Mediterranean flavors of the tomato, parmesan, and mozzarella.

The Sorrento gnocchi owe their name to the cooks of Sorrento who added their taste of the Amalfi coasts to this dish. Throughout the time I have spent here, it is a dish that is easily found anywhere. It is one of the iconic dishes to the area. When tourists come to Sorrento, one of the first things they think of when deciding on a dish is Gnocchi alla Sorrentina. What makes this dish even better is that it is both it is rish of the Sorento culture and simple to prepare.

An array of takes on America: the Sienese edition

In my Summer Language Abroad program, I have had the opportunity to meet three to four times a week in a class with the other Notre Dame SLA Siena recipients and a teacher in the Dante Alighieri School of Siena. This teacher, Luca Bonomi, as the president of the school, has had decades of experience working in the school and interacting with Notre Dame, and more broadly, Americans. He even has visited the U.S. and Notre Dame specifically several times. While teaching us about the Sienese culture, Luca often has made comparisons with the culture he has observed in the United States. For instance, there was one day in class where he was talking about the practice of the Catholic faith. He made a stark contrast between that in Italy and that in the United States. This was something Professor Alessia Blad had previously noted in a culture class I took with her in the university, but it was interesting to see his perspective as well. In essence, what he perceived is that the Catholic faith in Italy is something that lingers out of tradition and the Church’s great influence in governmental decisions, rather than out of religious fervor. In contrast, he tells us, the Catholic faith in the United States is much more practiced with intentionality and passion. He mentioned some experiences in the states of Tennessee and Indiana, in which he went to a Catholic Church to find that, to his surprise, the pews were filled. Something that took me aback was that he said in the Duomo of Siena, the breathtaking and marvelous cathedral of the city, a Sunday mass is often met with a relatively empty nave. Because this was an insight Professor Blad had shared before, none of this was a complete surprise, but I still found it very interesting to hear his perceptions. Frankly, it strikes me as a shame because Italy has a wealth of churches with very awe-inspiring architecture. To see that they may go somewhat unappreciated besides the paying tourist (and perhaps not even then either) is a bit disappointing. But these are important considerations to keep in mind nonetheless!

A change of environment and a change of perspective comes in my daily runs to Il Bocconcino, the paninoteca right on the edge of Piazza del Campo. The piazza is a central hub of activity, so going there for lunch everyday always brings a new wave of joy and energy. I walk in with a friend or two, often Gabe, to see what panino I will choose today. The shop owners always greet us with a smile as I canvas the slew of options available. These panini have been the best I have had daily access to, because they are made with a wonderful bread, and a variety of cold cuts, cheeses, and salsa as you may see fit from the twenty-plus options that lie on the menu. The difference can really be seen from the fact that these panini are made freshly upon your order. Then the owners graciously give us discounts as students of the DA School. Aside from the fact that this is one of the great joys of each school day, I enjoyed hearing the shop owners’ response when Gabe and I told them we were from the United States. “Ah! Amiamo l’America!” And then they shared with us all of the places in the U.S. which they have visited. While this brief interaction was not particularly one in which I gained their insights of a specific aspect of American culture, it was heartwarming to see their joy upon hearing we came from the States.

It has also been enlightening to learn more about the passage of laws regarding women’s rights, etcetera when regarding the U.S. and Italy. Given some recent developments in the U.S., class discussion was recently redirected for a bit towards when major transformations in rights have occurred between the two countries. Even as we perceive our own granting of rights to different groups to be overdue in many moments, I learned that Italy has often been several decades behind in carrying out the same decisions. Making these comparisons has been important for me to develop a more well-rounded of how the world views different issues and takes action towards them.

A recurring theme of my classes has been the portrayal of Italy in American film. To hear the perspective of Bianca, my instructor, has been interesting. Native to Agrigento (Sicilia), she has grown up in Sicily and then about ten years ago, around eighteen years old, moved to Siena to study and then begin work after graduation. She has not yet traveled to America but has several times shared her comedic take on the American portrayal of Italians in film. We spoke continuously of the many gestures at the disposal of any conversation between Italians, and how they are often applied erroneously or in an exaggerated manner in American film. Furthermore, she has shared with us the romanticization of the Italian Mafia, such as of Cosa Nostra, in American film. We have spoken of several series and films that do this, and in fact some Italian series err towards romanticization as well. She has warned against this and has spoken of this in greater detail. This has been refreshing to hear, especially given her upbringing in Sicily.

Bianca, as well one of my classmates Lisa – recently immigrated from the U.S. – have shared some interesting insights into a few shortcomings of the Italian government structure. For instance, throughout Lisa’s search of Italian citizenship, she has often suffered from an overly-prolonged process and from several seemingly unnecessary setbacks. Even certain steps of her acquisition of a driver’s license, identification card, and what is called the “codice fiscale” are a bit overcomplicated. While in the U.S. there is often a level of complexity in the approvals and actions necessary to accomplish something related to the federal or state level, it seems even a bit more exaggerated in Italy. This has opened my eyes to the fact that many countries have some degree of bureaucracy that can be both beneficial and a hindrance.

All in all, my conversations with members of the community and the Dante Alighieri School of Siena have enriched my perspectives of Italy, even more so Siena, and of the United States in relation to each other, something that cannot always be taught through textbooks.

A Month Under the Scorching Siena Sun

For this week’s blog, I wanted to mention probably the only negative thing about my experience in Siena, that being the excessive heat during my whole month here. The weather has been very much constant here: high eighties or nineties every day, mostly sunny, and typically somewhat humid. My professors additionally informed me that this is especially unusual for that town at this time of year; it’s usually far more mild with warm daylight hours and cool evenings. Knowing this, I think I just have bad luck when it comes to weather and traveling in Italy. Of the four times I had been to the country, two have been during the most intense summers and two during the coldest winters in recent years!

With that said, I think there’s a lot that factors into this uncomfortable heat. For one thing, Siena is atop a very hilly terrain like many other medieval towns. Because of this, as I actually explored in a small research project about Sienese aqueducts, it’s very difficult and energy-consuming to bring water up to the main part of the city. When the city’s ancient aqueducts were not just being used for public fountains as they are today, they even had to have pumps installed many centuries later to support the demand for water with Siena’s growing population.

For another thing, the city is definitely somewhat congested this summer, and I’ve been to enough ND football games to know how much hotter that can make an environment even in the open air! With travel restrictions a lot lighter this year, it certainly seemed as though thousands of tourists were flocking to Siena, especially around the time of the Palio.

However, at the end of the day I just remember to keep a folding fan and water on me at all times. In all honesty, the heat was the only issue I ever had here, and you forget all about it when it comes to the excitement of seeing all the sights and just spending quality time in Siena!

Sorrento’s Valentine’s Day

A holiday very local and tremendously important to the town of Sorrento is Sant’Antonino. Sant’Antonino is celebrated every year on the 14th of February just as the widely popular Valentines Day in the US and other countries across the world. Scattered across the town are large monuments of Saint Antonino and churches. Sant’Atonino is Sorrento’s patron saint. On the morning of the 14th, a silver statue of the saint is paraded followed by a service and a feast in his honor. He is known as the saint that saved Sorrento. Across town on the 14th there are various stands and shows for children.

The story behind how this specific saint saved the town of Sorrento goes like this: In the sixth century a boy was found to be playing on the beaches of Sorrento. Then, a sudden creature appeared through the waves and swallowed him whole. His mother, with extreme panic, then ran to the local monastery where she begged the abbot to save her son’s life. Furthemore, he was able to save her son’s life and bring her child back from the shadow of death, meanwhile, remaining unharmed. This was just one of many miracles attributed to San Antonino.

As mentioned before, there are statues across the town that commemorate this Saint. Specifically, both statues pay a tribute to this miracle by attaching an interpretation of him defeating such a creature at the bottom of his foot. Furthermore, Sorrento also has La Basilica di Sant’antonino where two ribs from the sea creature hang to the right of the entrance. Amongst the church, there are different colors of marble that stand to represent the miracles attributed to this particular saint. Additionally, it is said that he was buried within the walls of the church. Throughout the church there are paintings illustrating his miracles.

When speaking to locals across Sorrento I found that most of their answers were similar, if not, the same. Each one went on to describe how this legend is the foundation of the town and how Sant’Antonino is celebrated yearly. Interestingly enough, everytime I asked about the holiday, they never failed to mention how it was the same day as our Valentine’s Day. However, they did make it known that Valentine’s Day is still very much a thing that exists but I noticed that most spoke with more enthusiasm about their patron saint. A fact that I found to be so interesting was that many people across Sorrento are named after this particular saint which is why you will find so many males named Antonino and so many females named Antonina.

A Palio Kind of Day

Before I arrived in Siena, Italy, I did some research on the city and found out a little bit about the way the city works and one of their most beloved traditions. I learned that Siena is divided up into 17 different contrade, or districts, and that twice a year 10 of the 17 contrade race a representative horse in the Palio. At first, I did not think of the Palio as anything more than just a common horse race, but during the course of my five week immersion into the contrade culture I learned that this tradition is the very essence of community in Siena.

Each of the 17 contrade in Siena is represented by a symbol and usually an animal as well. The 17 different contrade are Aquila (eagle), Bruco (caterpillar), Chiocciola (snail), Civetta (little owl), Drago (dragon), Giraffa (giraffe), Istrice (crested porcupine), Leocorno (unicorn), Lupa (she-wolf), Nicchio (seashell), Oca (goose), Onda (wave-dolphin), Pantera (panther), Selva (forest-rhinoceros), Tartuca (tortoise), Torre (tower-elephant), and Valdimontone (valley of the ram). Each contrada has its own community traditions and hosts traditional festivities for its members throughout the year, especially during Palio season. Preparation and excitement for the Palio is something that occurs all year long, and the rivalries between contrade are also ever-present. In the weeks leading up to the Palio, the city was alive with excitement of the upcoming race; the first since before the hit of the pandemic.

It was amazing to experience this part of the year as someone in the process of learning about the culture in Siena. I was attending the Dante Alighieri School, and all the faculty and staff were excited to share their knowledge about the Palio. In my culture class, my professor – a member of the Torre contrada – took us on a tour of the important buildings of his contrada. As a class, we were able to learn from someone who not only knows the history of the contrade in Siena but who is an active member of his contrada. Professor Luca Bonomi gave us the privilege of seeing historic clothing, banners, and items that Torre treasures.

As a visitor to Siena, I was lucky enough to experience a little bit of multiple contrade and feel like I had a connection to them in individual ways. First Torre, which is home to a marvelous aforementioned professor at the school. Next Tartuca, the contrada in which our school, where I grew to love both the staff and students, can be found. My apartment, where I was able to get to know my three brilliant roommates, resides in the Lupa contrada. Lastly, on the day before the Palio, the students of my class were granted seats in the traditional Gala Dinner hosted by the Istrice contrada, and we were guided by yet another wonderful professor of our school through the contrada he calls home.

Palio day was full of festivities and parades that all led up to the race. For hours the city and its residents held their breath in anticipation of the two-minute horse-run, waiting to see who would be the first winner in three years. My friends and I watched the race in similar anticipation, but what we felt could not compare to the intense emotions of the native residents of Siena. The race began after a frustrating delay, and upon its start we heard shouting as each contrada cheered on its horse and cursed at its rival. Suddenly the race was over, and the night was filled with tears of joy and sadness. This year’s first winning contrada was Drago; their celebratory festivities lasted all week, and we were able to experience the exhilaration of a Palio win that to Siena signifies the rebirth of the winning contrada. I feel so incredibly lucky to have experienced a taste of life in Siena during the Palio season, and I plan on keeping up with the turn-out of future Palii.