Italian for Kids: Astronomy (video)

My daughter Silvia, 7 has found a simple way to explain the basics of the Solar system. Here is a new episode of her video podcast series 'Italian for Kids', for the first time also starring my son Alessio, 4. Enjoy!

- Can't see the video? Watch it from YouTube
- iPod version (MP4 - 4.7Mb)

The cost of forgetting to validate your train ticket

I already mentioned in a previous post the requirement for all train passengers to punch their tickets before they get on board. The reason why I'm reposting this important detail is that TreniItalia, the organization that runs all trains in Italy, just raised their fines if you forget to validate your ticket.

The increase is significant, from €25 to €200 (which translates in $300 these days). If you pay the fine within 15 days then the amount is going to be reduced to €100, if you pay on the spot or at the final destination it is reduced to €50.

Should you forget to punch your ticket, a best practice is to inform the ticket conductor right away. While there is no guarantee that you'll avoid the fine (multa), it might help demonstrate your overall good faith.

N.B. First time in Italy? Check out our eBook with hundreds of time and money saving tips collected for you by real Italians.

Watch Italian TV news online

What do Italian families do at 8pm every day? They dine together and watch the evening news (Telegiornale).
RAI is the Italian public TV network and encompasses three main channels: RAI 1, RAI 2 and RAI3. While all three channels collaborate on reporting national and local news, they have been historically characterized by different political views of their respective newsroom management.

Nevertheless, RAI has stepped up considerably their commitment to Internet programming and they have been publishing online a wide variety of shows including my favorite Telegiornale, called TG1.

Here is how you can watch it too. Go to RAI Web site and click on the TG1 icon indicated by the arrow.



The latest TG1 video edition will show up in a pop up window and stream for 30 mins (you may need to enable pop ups for this site).
Don't forget to browse around for a wealth of other TV and radio shows including documentaries and cartoons for the youngest. Yes, everything is in Italian of course...

Rick Steves' new Italy audio walking tours

Rick Steves is a popular writer of European travel guidebooks and host in several travel shows on public television and public radio. His excellent Italy guides offer plenty of detailed information on places to visit and affordable accommodations in main Italy destinations (N.B. Our eBook is a perfect companion of Rick's guides as we focus on the Italian culture and how to deal with everyday things in your trip).

Among his new media initiatives that I like the most are the FREE audio walking tours of Rome, Florence and Venice.
These audio tours are downloadable MP3 files narrated by Rick himself that you can put on your portable device such as an iPod or SmartPhone. Rick explains the history of places like the Sistine Chapel, the Colosseum, the Uffizi Gallery and other important locations as if you were hiring a dedicated guide.

I praise Rick for embracing blogging and podcasting as a way to create conversations with his audience and I look forward to see his audio tours start covering more areas outside the classic tourist circuit.

Podcast #16 - Folk music from Milan

I CantaMilano are an Italian folk group performing traditional and popular songs from Milan. The lyrics are sometimes in local dialect and they tend to narrate romantic and fun stories of how simple people used to live in the past. I had the pleasure to record a few songs from them during a brief visit to Milan a few months ago.


Listen / Download this episode in MP3 format
(12Mb - 16:41 mins)

Don't miss future podcasts!

Podcast #15 - Learn Italian with free podcasts

Podcasts are a wonderful way to learn a new language, and luckily there are several good shows that focus on Italian. My favorites are My Daily Phrase Italian and LearnItalianPod. If you own an iPod or other MP3 player, you can take advantage of this medium to listen to Italian conversations while you are driving, commuting to work or just walking your dog.
It's powerful, effective and free.

In this episode, I interviewed Max Braglia, producer of the popular and successful language show LearnItalianPod.
Max shared with me some interesting insights on his podcast, how it all started and how he plans to evolve it in the future. Enjoy!


Listen / Download this episode in MP3 format
(11Mb - 15:37 mins)

Don't miss future podcasts!

Hot chocolate made the Italian way

Among my favorite treats I get all the times when I visit Italy are the cream filled croissant (brioche alla crema) and the hot chocolate (cioccolata calda). Every coffee shop (bar) will sell fresh croissants as they are part of the traditional Italian breakfast cappuccino e brioche.

American hot chocolate is usually prepared by mixing hot water with cocoa powder. If you order one in Italy, you'll find that the barista will mix the cocoa powder with real milk and stir and foam it for 15-20 seconds until a thick consistency has been achieved.

I often found that hot chocolates that could hold my spoon standing still were the most delicious ones.

Trentino: Traditional Flavors (video)

Enjoy this video about traditional food flavors of Trentino region. I previously covered this area in a podcast with the Trentino Tourism Office, which kindly granted me permission to post this video and a few more to come.

- Can't see the video? Watch it from YouTube
- iPod version (MP4 - 12Mb)

Italy online maps getting more sophisticated

Last January I posted a video demoing how you can explore Italy from the sky using Google Maps and Microsoft's Live Search Maps. They are both excellent tools and you'll not be disappointed either way.

Working myself at Microsoft though, I've done some extra research about the recent coverage improvements of the Italian territory using our services, and here is what I discovered.

New bird's eye views
Live Search Maps now offers bird's eye views for 70+ Italian cities. What it means is that you can enjoy aerial views at low altitude of several important cities in Italy and at different angles too!
Check out Udine, Milan, or Padua.
Here is a current unofficial list which will grow overtime.

To try yourself, go to Live Search Maps, enter one of the cities in the list, zoom a little closer until the Bird's Eye label in the toolbar is enabled. Then click it and enjoy!



Photosynth technology meets maps
I already blogged about this cool technology which turns photo into 3D experiences. Photosynth is still an unreleased product incubated by Microsoft Research. What excites me are the integration possibilities with online mapping services.
For example, you can start from a satellite view of Rome and drill down to the details of St. Peter's cathedral.
This video demos exactly this scenario.

Listen to Italian music online

Are you wondering where to find and/or discover new Italian music?
Check out Italia.fm, an aggregator of various Italian private and public radio stations that broadcast music, news and other shows over the web.

Podcast #14 - The Italian truffle

The truffle (tartufo in Italian) is a rare type of edible mushroom, or fungus that develops underground in relation to and dependent on the root of a tree. In ancient times truffles were considered the food of the Gods, with powerful aphrodisiac properties, much favoured by the passionate Jove.

The subject matter expert of this podcast is Mauro Mencaroni of Giuliano Tartufi, an Italian shop specialized in truffle products. He'll share some interesting insights about this very expensive garnish.

Please note that this interview is conducted in Italian.
We'd love to hear your feedback if you like us to continue producing from time to time some podcasts in Italian too.


Listen / Download this episode in MP3 format
(6Mb - 8:21 mins)

Don't miss future podcasts!

When should you go to Venice?

VeniceHotel.org offers an interesting online service: the crowd forecast. If you plan to visit Venice and your dates are flexible, then it's best to choose a time when the city is least crowded. The rooms cost less; there are shorter queues for the museums; and the city will be more enjoyable. The chart only forecasts the crowd for the next 20 days.

How to say Happy Holidays in Italian

How can you say 'Happy Holidays' in Italian? Here are a few words that are commonly used this time around:

Merry Christmas - Buon Natale
Happy Holidays - Buone Feste
Happy New Year - Buon Anno
New Year's eve - Capodanno
Best wishes for 2008 - I migliori auguri per il 2008
Filled with joy and peace - Pieno di gioia e serenita'

Our editorial staff Francesca and Paolo together with our associate podcaster Silvia, 7 (and future talent Alessio, 4) augurano a tutti voi Buone Feste!

Winter in Friuli Venezia Giulia (video)

If you listened to my podcast about Friuli Venezia Giulia, you may already know that this region offers a variety of opportunities to travelers who are ready to discover new itineraries beyond the classic Italy destinations.

This video, courtesy of the Agenzia Turismo Friuli Venezia Giulia, shows some of the activities that Friuli offers to its guests who prefer to visit this area in Winter time.

- Can't see the video? Watch it from YouTube
- iPod version (MP4 - 24Mb)
- Zune version (WMV - 18Mb)

Beppe Grillo

Beppe Grillo is one of the most popular Italian comedians. His shows focus on themes like political and corporate corruption, energy usage, finance, technology and freedom of speech, all topics that are very sensitive to Italian citizens.
If you are interested in taking a peek at the major 'pain points' of Italy, then check out Beppe's blog. According to Technorati, it's the #1 blog in Italy and #10 blog in all the blogsphere.
The New York Time has featured him today on their home page with a very educational video that summarizes it all:
Beppe Grillo: The Comic Who Shook Italy.

New Search feature (finally) available

Navigating through content on a blog is not easy. The chronological nature of postings suggests to follow new topics as they get published. But as the number of postings grow, this method becomes impractical. Tags (e.g. food, trains, lifestyle, etc.) may help some too.

Search is the best solution. That's why we implemented a new Search box on this blog. It makes your life easier to find what you need among the 100+ currently available and future postings. And you can extend your search on a number of other hand-picked Italy travel sites that we consider authoritative.

A side benefit for us is also learning what are the most popular searches. This will help us figuring out possible new topics to cover. E.g. in the past few days some of the most popular searches have been Italian food, hand gestures, goodbye in Italian and chinotto.

Please tell us if you know of any useful Italy travel site that we should add to our extended Search network.

Coffee shops and slot machines

I just returned from a two-weeks vacation in Italy where I collected plenty of new material for future podcasts and blog postings.
One of the emerging trends that I've been witnessing is the proliferation of slot machines (called New Slots) in Italian coffee shops (Bars).
Gambling is a heavily regulated activity in Italy. State laws have severely constrained the number of casinos on the territory. Nevertheless, many Italians keep fueling the flourishing business of state-run bingos and instant scratch games, such as Totocalcio, Gratta e Vinci, Enalotto and more.
The New Slots are an affordable way to pursue this thrill on a budget. The maximum bet is Euro 1 and you can cash out up to Euro 50 (slated to double next year to Euro 100). The chances to win are also extremely low. Overall, a bad deal across the board even if you feel homesick of your recent trip to Vegas.

Parmigiano Reggiano (video)

Parmesan cheese (Parmigiano Reggiano) is a hard, granular cheese that is made in a particular area of Italy.
This video offers an overview of the process perfected over the years by skillful Italian cheesemakers to make 'The King of Cheese'.

- Can't see the video? Watch it from YouTube
- iPod version (MP4 - 6.8Mb)
- Zune version (WMV - 5.7Mb)

What other Italian cheese do you like?

Podcast #13 - Trentino region and Dolomites

Dolomites, lakes, skiing and mountain climbing. Trentino region is located in the heart of the Italian Alps and is a mecca for active sport lovers.

In this podcast interview, Katia Vinco of the Trentino tourism office, describes a variety of opportunities to enjoy this area throughout the year.

Listen / Download this episode in MP3 format
(4.6Mb - 6:33 mins)

What's that small tray near the cash register?

Many people are surprised when, after paying for coffee or whatever you had at a bar, the cashier puts the change on a small plate next to the register instead of giving it directly to you.
The plate creates a kind of "transition area" for the money going from you to the cashier and, as in the case of your change, from the cashier back to you. This "plate rule" actually applies to most stores.
Thanks to our reader Caroline in California for suggesting this new blog topic. Got questions about the Italian culture? Write us and preview a chapter of our eBook for free.