Italian All-in-One For Dummies (64 page)

Torna/Torni/Tornate/Tornino!
(
tohr
-nah/
tohr
-nee/tohr-
nah
-teh/
tohr
-nee-noh!) (
Go back!
)

Attraversa/Attraversi/Attraversate/Attraversino!
(aht-trah-
vehr
-sah/aht-trah-
vehr
-see/aht-trah-vehr-
sah
-teh/aht-trah-
vehr
-see-noh!) (
Cross!
)

Notice that the endings of these verbs vary, apparently without any consistent pattern. These aren't typing mistakes — they're determined by the ending of the infinitive form of the verb (
-are, -ere,
or
-ire
) and also whether the verb is regular or irregular. The easiest way to handle this is to simply memorize the verbs and their endings. You may want to know how near or far you are from your destination. Some typical questions and responses are as follows:

Quant'è lontano?
(kwahn-
teh
lohn-
tah
-noh?) (
How far is it?
)

È molto lontano?
(
eh
mohl
-toh lohn-
tah
-noh?) (
Is it very far?
)

Quanto dista?
(
kwahn
-toh
dees
-tah?) (
How far is it?
)

Saranno cinque minuti.
(sah-
rahn
-noh
cheen
-kweh mee-
nooh
-tee.) (
About five minutes.
)

Circa un chilometro.
(
cheer
-kah oohn kee-
loh
-meh-troh.) (
About one kilometer.
)

Non saranno più di 150 metri.
(Nohn sah-
rahn
-noh
pyooh
dee
chehn
-toh-cheen-
qwahn
-tah
meh
-tree.) (
It's no more than 150 meters away.
)

No, un paio di minuti.
(noh, oohn
pah
-yoh dee mee-
nooh
-tee.) (
No, a couple of minutes.
)

Posso arrivarci a piedi?
(
pohs
-soh ahr-ree-
vahr
-chee ah
pyeh
-dee?) (
Can I walk there?
)

Certo, è molto vicino.
(
chehr
-toh,
eh
mohl
-toh vee-
chee
-noh.) (
Sure, it's very close.
)

È un po' lontano.
(
eh
oohn
poh lohn-
tah
-noh.) (
It's a bit far away.
)

È proprio a due passi.
(
eh
proh
-pryoh ah
dooh-
eh
pahs
-see.) (
It's very close.
)
(Literally:
Just a couple of steps away.
)

È all'incirca 20 metri di distanza.
(
eh
ahl-leen-
cheer-
kah
vehn
-tee
meh
-tree dee dee-
stahn
-tsah.) (
It's about 20 meters away.
)

Exploring Italian Cities and Towns

If you look at a map of an Italian city, you can easily distinguish
il centro storico
(eel
chehn
-troh
stoh
-ree-koh) (
the historic downtown area
) from the rest of the urban space. In the historic area, the roads are often narrow and winding because they were drawn when there were no cars. Here, you also find the city's most important
palazzi e monumenti
(pah-
laht
-tsee eh moh-nooh-
mehn
-tee) (
buildings and monuments
). Moreover, the historic downtown area has a strong appeal for its commercial activities and for the presence of many offices.

The distinction between center and periphery is relatively recent, dating to the late 19th century, when industrial activities grew and led to the growth of cities. In Italian cities, the most recent
quartieri
(kwahr-
tyeh
-ree) (
neighborhoods
) have expanded dramatically and are now larger than the downtown area. Consequently, cities are no longer defined by
mura di cinta
(
mooh
-rah dee
cheen
-tah) walls, as in medieval times, but by the expressways and highways that surround the modern neighborhoods.

La piazza: The heart of the Italian city

In Italy, every city or village has a
piazza
(
pyat
-tsah) (
town square
) — tiny or large, medieval or Renaissance, modern or ancient. In the Italian
piazzas
you find
chiese
(
kyeh
-seh) (
churches
) as well as shops, restaurants, and bars. The
piazza
is the heart of Italy, the hub of city life. It's the place where young and old alike come together, meet, do business, and enjoy each other's company.

Viewing famous sites and architectural styles

To journey into the past, begin by visiting the main
resti preistorici e romani
(
reh
-stee preh-ee-
stoh
-ree-chee eh roh-
mah
-nee) (
prehistoric and Roman ruins
) and the Christian
catacombe
(kah-tah-
kohm
-beh) (
catacombs
) in Rome. Then continue your journey by visiting the great Florentine churches of
Santa Maria Novella
(1279),
Santa Maria del Fiore
(1296), and
Santa Croce
(
Holy Cross
) (1294 to 1295); the
Basilica di San Petronio
in Bologna (1390); and the
Duomo di Milano
(
Cathedral of Milan
) (construction began in 1386 but was completed several centuries later). In Naples, the Angioinis' rule (1265 to 1442 AD) coincided with the construction of several impressive
edifici in stile gotico
(eh-dee-
fee
-chee een
stee
-leh
goh
-tee-koh) (
Gothic buildings
), including the
Basilica of San Lorenzo Maggiore
, the church of
San Domenico Maggiore
, the monastery of
Santa Chiara
(largely rebuilt after World War II), and the
Cathedral.
The Gothic style of architecture was not, however, very popular in Rome. The only Gothic piece in this city is the church of
Santa Maria sopra Minerva
(
Santa Maria over Minerva
).

If you travel to Veneto (one of 20 regions in Italy), don't miss the
Palladian Basilica
, the
Palazzo Chiericati
, and
Villa Capra
in Vicenza, as well as the
Basilica of San Giorgio Maggiore
and the
Chiesa del Redentore
(
Church of the Redeemer
) in Venice. They're all extraordinary examples from the
Rinascimento
(ree-nah-shee-
mehn
-toh) (
Renaissance
). However, if you want to experience full-immersion
nell' arte e nell'architettura barocca
(nehl-
lahr
-teh e nehl-ahr-kee-teht-
tooh
-rah bah-
rohk
-kah) (
Baroque art and architecture
), stay in Rome, where you can visit
Chiesa di Sant'Andrea al Quirinale
(
Church of Saint Andrew at the Quirinal
),
Chiesa dell'Assunzione
(
Church of the Assumption
)
at Ariccia,
Chiesa di Sant'Agnese in Agone
(
Church of Saint Agnes in Agone
),
San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane
(
Saint Charles at the Four Fountains
),
Sant'Ivo alla Sapienza
(
Saint Yves at La Sapienza
), and the nave of
San Giovanni in Laterano
(
St. John Lateran
) and civic buildings (
Palazzo Barberini
[Barberini Palace] by Gian Lorenzo Bernini [1598 to 1680] and Francesco Borromini [1599 to 1667],
Palazzo Montecitorio
[Montecitorio Palace], and the
Galleria Spada
[
gallery of the Spada Palace
]). The most famous
fontana
(fohn-
tah
-nah) (
fountain
) and
piazza
(
pyaht
-tsah) (square) in the world are also Baroque:
Fontana di Trevi
(
Trevi Fountain
)
and
Piazza di Spagna
(
the Spanish Steps
)! If you like walking outdoors, visit the city of Caserta in Campania (a region in central Italy) and admire
la
Reggia e i Giardini
(lah
rehj
-jah eh ee jahr-
dee
-nee) (
the Royal Palace and Gardens
), begun in 1752 by Luigi Vanvitelli.