Italy About Italy

10 Hottest Italian Soccer Players (According to Jessica)

In light of the upcoming Euro 2008 Championships in which Italy’s national soccer team is playing (and favored, at least by some, to win), I thought I’d introduce a lighter side of the sport for those of you who aren’t so terribly interested in the yellow cards or offside calls. I’m calling it: Italy’s hottest soccer players.

Just so you know, I’m admitting right up front that this is a biased list. Your choice for #1 Italian soccer hottie might not have made my list, but that’s just it - it’s my list. Of course, your suggestions are welcome in the comments, because I’m also admitting that I haven’t seen every single Italian footballer so I might have missed someone who’s completely worthy of being included here.

At any rate, here are my picks for my top 10 hot Italian football players (and that means it doesn’t matter who they play for, as long as they’re Italian). They’re not in any real order, except I’ve reserved my pick for #1 for last. The teams each guy plays for are in parentheses after his name. Oh, and there’s a special surprise treat at the bottom of this post. Well, it’s a treat for anyone who likes seeing beautiful men in their underwear, anyway. The rest of you might want to look away.

Date: May 12th, 2008 | 4 comments

12 Celebrities With Homes in Italy

Being an international celebrity would probably be annoying on some levels, but if it meant I could buy houses anywhere I wanted that wouldn’t be so bad. Some famous folks have taken advantage of their wealth and bought houses in Italy (who can blame them?), but tracking them down is, I’ve found, a bit of a challenge. Now, I’m not saying I’m trying to become a stalker, or that I’m encouraging you to become stalkers, I’m just trying to compile a list of people who own property in Italy. This is what I’ve got so far, and I’m hoping y’all can help me add to this list of celebrities with homes in Italy!

I should mention that this list doesn’t include Italian celebrities, because while they are famous in Italy they could probably walk right up to you and slap you in the face and you wouldn’t recognize them. So while there are certainly more celebrities with homes in Italy than are on this list, I’m trying to restrict the list to international celebrities. So, on with the list of the famous people with homes in Italy:

George Clooney
Anyone who pays attention to this kind of thing (and lots of people who don’t) knows that George Clooney has a house on Lake Como in Italy. He’s owned Villa Oleandra since 2002, and he actually resides there part of each year. Not long ago he thought about leaving because the town of Bellagio was contemplating putting in extra parking lots to sort of encourage people to come gawk at where Clooney lives… They put a stop to that talk when he threatened to just leave instead. Kudos to George, he likes Bellagio just as it is. And by the way, in addition to any potential Clooney-sightings you might have while on Lake Como, there has been a near-constant parade in town of George’s famous friends as well - including the entire cast of “Ocean’s Twelve” when they were on filming breaks.

Brad Pitt
While most of what I found about Brad Pitt and Italy involved the rumors that he and Angelina Jolie were going to use pal George Clooney’s Lake Como villa as the site for their nuptials, there was also a reference or two to Pitt’s having bought his own villa in a town not far from Clooney’s place. If your heart palpitates like mine does at the thought of seeing Clooney on Lake Como, then have a defibrillator handy on the off-chance that you see him at the same time as you see Brad Pitt. That image alone makes me really hope it’s true that Pitt’s got a place on the lake. Can anyone confirm or deny this one?

Sting
Among several other dwellings owned by the former Police frontman is Il Palagio in Tuscany. And while you may never be invited to share a meal with Sting and his family, you can pour his organic olive oil on your own ribollita and call it good. From the looks of the Il Palagio website, I can’t imagine that Sting still lives there, but I wouldn’t worry about him being homeless anytime soon. Incidentally, in researching this article I also found one article saying Sting has a house on Lake Como as well. I guess the man likes Italy.

Date: April 21st, 2008 | 3 comments

Italian Swear Words - Jessica's 8 Favorites

When you’re learning a new language, one of the most fun parts is learning how to swear. Of course, Italian swear words always sound prettier to my non-Italian ear than their English equivalents, but just because they sound prettier doesn’t mean their meaning is! When I was teaching Italian, one of the most common questions I’d get from students - always after class, in hushed tones - was stuff like, “How do you say ’shit’ in Italian?” With that in mind, here are my 8 favorite Italian swear words.

8. Accidenti! (ah-chee-DEN-tee)
Let’s start with something G-rated, shall we? This is the less-questionable version of “merda” (see #6) - when you want to say a euphemism like “crap” instead of swearing and saying “shit,” you’d say “accidenti.” It looks so much more innocent, doesn’t it? Almost like, “Oh, what a horrible accident that I almost said a bad word” or something. Anyway, this is the one to internalize so that you don’t let loose with any of the really bad ones in front of passing nuns.

7. Madonna! (mah-DOHN-nah)
While many Italian stereotypes turn out to be less true on the ground in Italy than you might have expected them to be, the one about Italians using “mamma mia!” as an exclamation of surprise or annoyance holds water - they actually do use it. But personally, I prefer the equally common “Madonna!” if for no other reason than it amuses me in this predominantly Catholic country. You can even pair this one with “porca” (see #1) for more emphatic (and less polite) uses.

6. Merda! (MEHR-dah)
Now, because I’d often get the “How do you say ’shit’ in Italian?” question from students, I’ve learned this one - but I’ve honestly not heard it as much in Italy as I have some of the other swear words on this page. This is, however, how you say “shit” in Italian, and it’s used in exactly the same way we use it in English. It also is incorporated into other phrases for more colorful meanings as well.

Date: April 14th, 2008 | 31 comments

Milan Makes the List for the Most Beautiful Locals

It’s official, folks. Milan has been declared one of the “12 places to see really good-looking locals.” Allow me to gloat, while I also quote from the article:

The financial and fashion capital of Italy combines the country’s famous ethic of always dressing to impress with an urban-European sophistication that isn’t present once you get south of the shin in the boot.

It’s true, there’s something about the people who rush to and fro on Milan’s streets every day - an awfully high percentage of them are either knockouts or dressed to the nines… And more often than not, they’re both. I remain baffled at how the Milanese women manage to wear the stiletto heels many of them favor without breaking a heel or (even worse) an ankle on the cobbles and uneven paving of some of central Milan’s streets, but that’s beside the point. The point is that they wear great-looking clothes and shoes that often seem completely impractical, and they pull it off.

And while it’s easy to focus on the women in Milan, the men are nothing to sneeze at. These guys know how to dress, I’m telling you - whether it’s the businessmen hurrying through Duomo Square in their tailored suits or the young guys with their designer jeans, these are men who know what clothes make them look good. It doesn’t seem to matter whether they’re clean-shaven or not, either, they always look put-together.

Date: March 30th, 2008 | 2 comments

Stop the Madness: Decoding City Addresses in Italy

This article was written and submitted for publication on the Italy Logue by Chris Bright.

As any traveler to Italy can attest to, finding one’s way around can be a confusing and frustrating experience. The anxiety only rises when seeking out a specific address, such as a hotel when first arriving. Many of us from the New World are at a distinct disadvantage because all the rules we’ve grown up with are thrown out the window. We are accustomed to grid layouts, typically aligning to the points of the compass, and long avenues where each block resets to the next 100. It all makes perfect sense, right? Well, those cities weren’t built two thousand years ago, now were they? So that’s the trade-off.

This article will provide some simple tips that should help you when faced with finding your hotel or restaurant in cities and towns throughout Italy.

City Layout: Start at the Center

The challenge of navigating Italian cities starts in the same place that draws most of us to Italy, namely the countless centuries of history. For the most part, the layout of the cities are defined by their historic growth going back centuries. When looking at a map, they often grow in concentric circles outward from the center, much like the rings of a tree. The center is occupied by a cathedral or central piazza and is often the epicenter for most visitors. When arriving, locate this area and it will become the North Star for your navigation in this locale.

Date: March 14th, 2008 | 1 comment