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THE SIGNATURE
NOVEMBER 15, 2013
JUST SAY
IT!
Learn how to say these words in Italian!
English: I have a headache. Italian: Ho mal di testa. English: I have a stomach ache. Italian: Ho mal di stomaco. English: Can you give me something for the pain? Italian: Può darmi qualcosa per il dolore? English: I feel dizzy. Italian: Ho le vertigini. English: I’m allergic to … Italian: Sono allergico al
NASSIG Commanding Officer Capt. Christopher Dennis (right), ITAF Col. Alessandro Amendola (left) and Motta Mayor Angelo Giuffrida (center) pay their respect to the Italian fallen from all wars during the wreathlaying ceremony held at the Motta Unknown Soldier Memorial Nov. 4, during the traditional Italian Armed Forces Day commemoration. The memorial remembers the Italian soldiers who have given their lives to defend their country. The day marked the "Giornata delle Forze Armate,” a day of national unity remembering the Allied victory in World War I and paying tribute to all the Italian armed forces. (Photo courtesy of City of Motta Press Office)
English: I have a toothache. Italian: Ho mail di denti. English: The pharmacy opens at … Italian: La farmacia apre alle …
Highest-Paid Athlete Hails From Ancient Rome (IM) Ultra-millionaire sponsorship deals signed by some of today’s athletes pale in comparison to the amount earned by Gaius Appuleius Diocles, a charioteer who amassed the sum of 35,863,120 sesterces (the ancient Roman coins) in prize money, the equivalent of today’s $15 billion, according to Peter Struck, associate professor of classical studies at the University of Pennsylvania. As recorded in a monumental inscription erected in 146 A.D. by his fellow charioteers and fans, Diocles, “the most eminent of all charioteers,” was born in Lusitania, in what is now Portugal and south-west Spain, and started his spectacular career in 122 A.D., when he was 18. Experienced charioteers like Diocles drove hard-to-manage chariots driven by four horses. Often slaves who could eventually buy their freedom, these racers battled in brutal laps of competition at the Circus Maximum, the main center of chariot racing, running a total of about 4,000 meters (nearly 2.5 miles). “After seven savage laps, those who managed not to be upended or killed and finish in the top three took home prizes,” Struck wrote in the history magazine Lapham Quarterly. Their sporting equipment included a leather helmet, shin guards, chest protector, a jersey, a whip, and a sharp knife with which to cut the reins if the chariot overturned. “The drivers affiliated with teams supported by large businesses that invested heavily in training and upkeep of the horses and equipment,” Struck wrote. There were four divisions, or factions, of charioteers, distinguished by the color of their costumes: the red, blue, green and white teams. Diocles won his first race with the team of the Whites. He then briefly moved to race with the Greens. But his longest and most successful stint was with the Reds, with whom he remained until the end of his career at the age of “42 years, 7 months, and 23 days.” Diocles’ career was unusually long - many charioteers in fact died young. He is said to have won 1,462 of his 4,257 races, making nine horse centenari (100-time winners) and one horse, Pompeianus, a 200-time winner. His winning tactic, recorded on the inscription, consisted in taking the competitors by surprise by coming from behind. His signature move was a strong final dash. Although other racers surpassed him in the total number of victories, Diocles became the richest of all, as he run and won at big money events. Struck calculated that Diocles’ s total earnings of 35,863,120 sesterces were enough to provide grain for the entire population of Rome for one year. “Tiger [Woods, the world's highest-paid athlete according to Forbes' annual ranking, ed.] was never all that well paid when compared with the charioteers of ancient Rome,” he half-jokingly concluded.
Italian Astronaut Returns to Earth on Russian Space Craft, Parmitano Lands in Kazakhstan Aboard Soyuz Space Capsule
The breathtaking town of Agira, nestled on a hilltop in the center of Sicily, is an open-air museum as it features enchanting historic monuments and jaw dropping landscapes. (Photo of Agira Landscape by http://www.ladolciaria-agira.it)
Cassatella Festival in Agira, Nov 15 - 17 This family-oriented event celebrates the town's specialty, a mouthwatering half-moon shaped pastry filled with almonds, chickpea flour, sugar, lemon rind and sometimes cinnamon. This year, the festival will run Nov. 15 through 17 at the Centro Fieristico (fair center) located in the historic heart of the town. The festival kicks off Nov. 15 at 5 p.m. with a folklore show. On Nov. 16 and Nov. 17, festival grounds open at 10 a.m. On the last festival’s day, a horse show (“Battesimo della sella) will be staged at 10:30 a.m. and will be followed folklore parade held at 11 a.m. Entertainment will be performed every night starting at 8 p.m. Getting to Agira is fairly easy. Exit Agira on A-19 and then drive for about 10 miles. For more information and detailed festival schedule call the Agira Tourist Office at 0935-961111.
THE SIGNATURE
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H EADLINES
English: I feel unwell. Italian: Non mi sento bene.
NAS Sigonella Commanding Officer Attends Motta Ceremony
ITALIAN
NOVEMBER 15, 2013
(ANSA) Rome - Astronaut Luca Parmitano, the first Italian to walk in space, returned to earth last Monday from the International Space Station (ISS) aboard the Russian Soyuz spacecraft. It landed on the steppes of Kazakhstan with Parmitano and two of his colleagues from the space station, Russian Fyodor Yurchikhin and American Karen Nyberg. They also brought back the Olympic torch which will be lit for the Winter Olympic Games in early 2014 in the Russian city of Sochi. Parmitano, who was launched into space on May 29, was greeted with smiles and cheers after the three-hour trip through earth's atmosphere in the shuttle that reached temperatures of 1,600 degrees C. About 10 kilometers above earth, a parachute opened to slow the shuttle from speeds of about 864 kilometers per hour (kph) to about 324 kph. Parmitano, the youngest person to be given a long-
duration ISS assignment, celebrated his return to earth with a tweet on his Twitter feed. "Separation occurred. On the road to Earth" he wrote on Twitter, along with space photos of Sicily, where the astronaut was born 37 years ago. Parmitano's voyage was the first long-term mission for the Italian Space Agency (ASI) which counts his mission to be a success, despite at least one glitch. While Parmitano successfully completed two space walks, the second was interrupted when his space suit developed a leak that soaked his eyes, nose and mouth with water inside his helmet. The astronaut also completed more than 30 experiments during his time on the space station. Parmitano will travel to Houston next for a period of observation as scientists will conduct medical tests and measure any changes his body as it adjusts to the effects of earth's gravity. The pioneering astronaut from Paterno near Catania is a major in the Italian air force and trained for a year in Russia before co-piloting a Soyuz spacecraft to the ISS.
Grape Harvest in Pompeii Returns for the Annual Vendemmia (IM)
Naples - The 14th annual grape harvest began October 31 amidst the ancient Roman ruins of Pompeii. The harvest is part of an ongoing experiment to reproduce the wine grown in Pompeii before the town was buried by a volcanic eruption from nearby Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD. The effort has widened over the years from one hectare of land near Pompeii's Forum Boarium, an area used for the same purpose in antiquity, to an additional five other areas as well. The wine is made with local Piedirosso and Sciascinoso grapes using viniculture techniques from ancient Roman times, and has been named after the Villa dei Misteri (Villa of Mysteries), a Pompeii landmark famous for its cycle of frescoes. To determine which plants most closely matched the originals, experts leafed through numerous texts written in the 1st century AD by Pliny the Younger, a prominent politician and writer, and Columella, a Roman soldier who preferred farming to the military life. The experts also gleaned information from artistic depictions of grape harvests and bunches of the fruit, which appear in the most famous homes of the city, as well as the reconstruction of an ancient wine press still visible today. The idea was the brainchild of Antonio Mastroberardino, owner of a small wine-making company in the Avellino area near Naples and has been carried out through the Laboratorio di Ricerche Applicate (Laboratory of Applied Research).
Italy Exports Record 2 Billion Kg of Pasta, Up 6% in 2013, Farmers' Group Says on World Pasta Day (ANSA) Rome, - Italy exported a record 2 billion kilos of pasta in 2013, up 6% from last year, farmers' group Coldiretti said on World Pasta Day Friday based on data from national statistics' institute Istat. Coldiretti said the boom in exports was partly due to the industry's strategy to offer high-quality pasta made from 100% Italian wheat. Nevertheless, the farmers' group said Italian durum wheat was underpaid this year at 25 cents a kilo with farmers' revenues from sales down 20% which often made them unable to cover production costs. Europe is Italy's top pasta market with 73% of exports , followed by the US covering 13% of exports and the rest of the world at 14%. China is a booming market with exports up 60% this year, according to Italian Farmers' Confederation CIA. Overall Italy is the world's top pasta producer with an estimated 3.3 million tons worth 4.6 billion euros and the world's top pasta consumer with 26 kilos per person and top exporter with 1.9 million tons, according to data released Friday by CIA.
Bill De Blasio Victory Celebrated in Small Italian Town With Family Ties (CBS) Florence- Celebratory corks were popped in the southern Italian town of Sant' Agata de' Goti to toast ItalianAmerican Bill de Blasio's landslide victory in the Big Apple's mayoral race. De Blasio's maternal grandfather hailed from the town near Naples almost a century ago, and he still has cousins there today. Dozens of people gathered in the town's former movie theater during the night to follow the ballot counting and watch him give his victory speech. Celebrations went on until 4 a.m. local time, and were expected to continue this weekend. "Tonight I feel the deepest appreciation for generations of my family, including those no longer with us, and a special thank you to my Italian family and friends in Rome, and in my grandfather's hometown of Sant' Agata de' Goti, and my grandmother's hometown of Grassano. To them I say: grazie a tutti!" de Blasio said in his speech. Those present at the town's election party included mayor Carmine Valentino, who was very appreciative of de Blasio's mention of the town and his greetings in Italian after his win. "It is evidence that he has not forgotten his roots," Valentino said. "I am proud and convinced he will do good, not only in New York but also in our region and town." In the days before the election, red and yellow posters reading "Bill de Blasio for mayor" could be seen all over the Italian town and pasted on shop-windows. Youngsters wore t-shirts with his face printed on them. "Bill is an exceptional person. I am convinced he is the person for such an important task, said one of his second cousins, Roberta Mongillo, who said she was told by de Blasio that she will serve as his spokesman in Sant' Agata de' Goti. The new mayor has promised to send a message to be read out to the Italian press that gathered in the town. De Blasio last visited the small town, which has a population of 12,000, in 2010. He has said he's considered a fellow citizen, and the town council has already decided it will grant him honorary citizenship.
Banning "Defiant Looks" in Bari (IM) Is it possible to ban defiant looks? A new city ordinance by the mayor of Bari (Apulia) is trying to do just that. After several neighborhood committees protested to the city authorities to reduce crimes in public spaces and gardens, the mayor Michele Emiliano came up with a series of rules to be enforced in all major city squares. One such rule forbids from standing on a square for extended periods of time in groups of more than five people with a defiant, controlling or look-out attitude (which, we would add, seems very subjective to determine). Violators will be fined up to 500 euro and can also be reported to the authorities. The mayor, under fire for the new ordinance, claims that the rules apply exclusively to convicted felons and will be implemented to prevent crimes. “Everywhere in the world police can forbid groups of people from engaging in violent clashes before they actually occur,” he said. Even the protesting neighborhood committees said the new ordinance seems exaggerated. When we read the news, we couldn’t help but think back to the iconic scene from the 1976 film Taxi Driver where Robert De Niro, looking into a mirror at himself, uses a line that would become a pop culture icon and one of the top movie quotations of all times: “You talkin’ to me?”- well, he surely shows a hell of a defiant look there.