Hello friends! Are you ready to learn about a new country? I hope you are because today we will take a look at how some people live in Italy!
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This is Marzia, a 10-year-old girl who lives in Venice, Italy!
From Monday to Saturday she wakes up at 7 am because school starts at 8 am. Yes, students in Italy have school even on Saturdays! When Marzia sits at the table to have breakfast, she greets her family by saying “Buon giorno!” which means “good morning!” in Italian. Italians always prefer to have a light breakfast, and while Marzia and her older sister, Aurora, have milk and cookies for breakfast, their parents like to eat bread with butter and blackberry jam, and a cup of coffee.
Although Marzia’s school is not far from their home, it’s still quite far to get there on foot. So Marzia’s dad, Francesco, drives her to school on his classic Vespa, a scooter very popular in Italy.
On their way to school, Marzia and her father pass by several narrow streets with beautiful classic architecture, and bridges that go over the many canals of Venice.
Today, Marzia will learn about art in school, especially about Giotto, Michelangelo, and Leonardo Da Vinci, some of the most recognizable and most celebrated artists in the world! Their artistic wonders can be found everywhere in Italy, from churches and castles to historical residences.
Later, at 12:30 pm, Marzia eats lunch at school, and today the school offers Pasta alla Carbonara. All kinds of pasta are super popular in Italy, and although Marzia likes Pasta alla Carbonara, her favorite pasta is Lasagne alla Bolognese. Unlike her older sister who attends high school and leaves before lunch, Marzia leaves school after her lunch break.
On her way back home, Marzia spots several and very luxurious clothing stores like Prada, Gucci, Versace, and Armani. These and many more Italian brands are super famous not only in Italy but the whole world!
When Marzia gets home the first thing she does is her homework, but when she’s done with that, she goes out to the square and plays soccer with her friends! Known in Italian as “piazzas” squares are perfect for kids who want to have fun playing soccer, which is the most popular sport in Italy and to them, the sports is known “Calcio.”
Marzia counts the goals she and her friends score: 1 (uno), 2 (due), 3 (tre), 4 (quattro) and 5 (cinque).
Sometime later at 8:00 pm, it’s time for dinner, and Marzia’s mother, Emma, cooked a delicious Margherita pizza! To enjoy this meal, the whole family reunites, including Marzia’s grandparents, her aunt Sofia, her uncle Tommaso, and her cousin Matteo. Italian families love to get together for dinner and when they have friendly conversations, they use to move their hands a lot! Italians have a lot of different hand gestures, like when they pinch the fingers together and move the hand up and down to say “what are you talking about?”
While Marzia drinks fruit juice, all the adults like to drink wine or beer for dinner. Once every adult finished eating, they have a small drink called Grappa, a tasty after-dinner drink that some adults have after big meals. In Italy, these kinds of drinks are called digestivo.
While the adults enjoy their Grappa, Marzia and her cousin Matteo have a delicious strawberry gelato. Gelato is like ice cream, but way better; it has less fat, is silkier, softer, and more flavorsome!
A few hours later, when Marzia’s relatives have already left, she stays at home watching TV with her older sister, while their parents go out to have a romantic night slowly traveling on a gondola through the many canals of Venice.
Now, this is Alessandro, he is a ten-year-old boy who lives in Abruzzo, Italy.
There are no big cities in Abruzzo just small and cozy villages. And that’s why Alessandro loves to live here.
Every day after school he likes to go to town’s square and buy a couple of sugared almonds known in Italy as “confetti.” Alessandro loves the floral creations made up of confetti that decorate the candy stores.
Alessandro’s dad, Lorenzo works in a vineyard, wine is super popular in all Italy, but what Alessandro loves most about his dad’s job is that he can get to see the beautiful mountainous landscapes and lakes.
Today, Alessandro’s dad finishes work early and they can spend some time together. Last week they took a trip to the astonishing Trabocchi Coast, and this week they will visit the famous medieval town of San Gimignano.
But before they take this trip, Alessandro and his dad will eat something at Café Les Paillotes, owned by the famous Italian chef Heinz Beck. When Alessandro asks his dad if he can eat panna cotta, a classic Italian dessert made from milk cream, he says “Per favore” which means “please” in Italian. After his dad says yes, Alessandro says “Grazie” which means “thank you.”
Alessandro loves panna cotta, probably as much as he loves Abruzzo and Italy!
And those are a few things about Italy and how some Italian people live!
Arrivederci, amici!
