La Bella Vita: Italian words reinvented in English and Italy's coolest places to escape the heat
From the travel destinations where you can beat the heat this summer to the true meanings of Italian words we use in English, our weekly newsletter La Bella Vita offers you an essential starting point for eating, talking, drinking and living like an Italian.
La Bella Vita is our regular look at the real culture of Italy – from language to cuisine, manners to art. This newsletter is published weekly and you can receive it directly to your inbox: go to newsletter preferences in 'My Account' or follow the instructions in the newsletter box below.
Italy’s intense and prolonged heatwave has finally retreated, leaving us with more bearable summer temperatures around the seasonal average. Which means that it’s definitely beach and gelato weather, but it’s no longer too hot to step outside during the day.
Some like it hotter than others though, and if you’d rather cool off over the summer holidays there are plenty of places where you can do so while enjoying scenic landscapes, good food, and everything else we love about travel in Italy.
Here’s a look at just a few of our favourite locations around the country where the temperatures (probably) won’t get beyond the high 20s (Celsius), even at the height of summer.
Six of the coolest places to go in Italy to avoid a heatwave
Barely a month goes by without a fascinating archaeological find being announced in Italy, and some major discoveries can completely change what we know about ancient history.
The Ancient Roman Teatro di Nerone, or Nero’s Theatre, has for centuries or more been a place of legend. That was until Wednesday, when archaeologists were able to confirm that it was indeed real, and that they knew its location, because they had found it.
Among other things, the theatre is said to be where the emperor “fiddled while Rome burned” during the Great Fire in 64 AD.
Experts say they recognised the theatre’s ruins from distinctive marble columns and gold-leaf plaster, which had been described in detail in the writing of Pliny the Elder.
An overview of the excavation of Nero's Theatre in Rome. Photo: Special Archaeological Superintendency of Rome
Archaeologists said coming across the theatre - uncovered during works ahead of the construction of a new hotel - was a “shock” that had left them “astonished”. The team shared some amazing photos of the site and of items they’ve discovered there, ahead of an exhibition later this year. See more in the article below:
‘A great shock’: How archaeologists unearthed Rome’s legendary Theatre of Nero
For language learners: some Italian words seem immediately familiar to English speakers. But use them with caution, because they might not mean what you think.
Sometimes that’s because they have the same Latin ancestor as a similar word in English, but the meaning has changed over the years, creating a ‘false friend’. Other times, it’s because we've simply borrowed them and changed the meaning.
From ‘al fresco’ to ‘pepperoni’, here are some of the Italian words and phrases that might cause confusion, or just a few raised eyebrows, if used the way we'd use them in English.
Ten Italian words stolen into English and reinvented
Remember if you'd like to have this weekly newsletter sent straight to your inbox you can sign up for it via Newsletter preferences in "My Account".
Is there an aspect of the Italian way of life you'd like to see us write more about? Please email me at [email protected].
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La Bella Vita is our regular look at the real culture of Italy – from language to cuisine, manners to art. This newsletter is published weekly and you can receive it directly to your inbox: go to newsletter preferences in 'My Account' or follow the instructions in the newsletter box below.
Italy’s intense and prolonged heatwave has finally retreated, leaving us with more bearable summer temperatures around the seasonal average. Which means that it’s definitely beach and gelato weather, but it’s no longer too hot to step outside during the day.
Some like it hotter than others though, and if you’d rather cool off over the summer holidays there are plenty of places where you can do so while enjoying scenic landscapes, good food, and everything else we love about travel in Italy.
Here’s a look at just a few of our favourite locations around the country where the temperatures (probably) won’t get beyond the high 20s (Celsius), even at the height of summer.
Six of the coolest places to go in Italy to avoid a heatwave
Barely a month goes by without a fascinating archaeological find being announced in Italy, and some major discoveries can completely change what we know about ancient history.
The Ancient Roman Teatro di Nerone, or Nero’s Theatre, has for centuries or more been a place of legend. That was until Wednesday, when archaeologists were able to confirm that it was indeed real, and that they knew its location, because they had found it.
Among other things, the theatre is said to be where the emperor “fiddled while Rome burned” during the Great Fire in 64 AD.
Experts say they recognised the theatre’s ruins from distinctive marble columns and gold-leaf plaster, which had been described in detail in the writing of Pliny the Elder.
Archaeologists said coming across the theatre - uncovered during works ahead of the construction of a new hotel - was a “shock” that had left them “astonished”. The team shared some amazing photos of the site and of items they’ve discovered there, ahead of an exhibition later this year. See more in the article below:
‘A great shock’: How archaeologists unearthed Rome’s legendary Theatre of Nero
For language learners: some Italian words seem immediately familiar to English speakers. But use them with caution, because they might not mean what you think.
Sometimes that’s because they have the same Latin ancestor as a similar word in English, but the meaning has changed over the years, creating a ‘false friend’. Other times, it’s because we've simply borrowed them and changed the meaning.
From ‘al fresco’ to ‘pepperoni’, here are some of the Italian words and phrases that might cause confusion, or just a few raised eyebrows, if used the way we'd use them in English.
Ten Italian words stolen into English and reinvented
Remember if you'd like to have this weekly newsletter sent straight to your inbox you can sign up for it via Newsletter preferences in "My Account".
Is there an aspect of the Italian way of life you'd like to see us write more about? Please email me at [email protected].
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