Barbara Conelli's Blog, page 10

5 Fun Facts About Italian: The Language Of Temperament And Passion For Good Food And Wine

1. Italian, such as Spanish or French, is a Romance language that developed from Latin. Of all Romance languages, Italian is actually the closest to Latin, and shares about 85% of vocabulary similarities with Spanish and French. 60 million people speak Italian as a mother tongue, and 125 million people speak Italian as a foreign language.

2. Italian is the official language in Italy and San Marino, and one of the official languages in Vatican, some Swiss cantons, Slovenia and Croatia. Italian...

Italian Regions From North To South: Emilia Romagna

Emiglia Romagna is named after Via Aemilia, an ancient road connecting Piacenza and Rimini. As you probably know, Rimini is a famous seaside and spa resort on the Adriatic coast, together with Riccione and Cattolica.

Rimini

Riccione

Cattolica

But Emiglia Romagna is not just beaches and nightclubs. Its skiing resorts are just as good, the most popular being Cimone, Corno alle Scale and Cerreto Laghi.

Cimone

Corno alle Scale

Cerreto Laghi

Bologna is the capital of Emiglia Romagna. A beautiful city and...

Chique Secrets Of Milan, Italy: Peppuccio – A Legendary Milanese Tobacconist

Traditionally, Italy is a country of heavy smokers, but Milan, a city that’s proudly cosmopolitan, forward-looking and hip, condemned smoking already a couple of years ago when smoking in public places was banned, and the Milanese went gaga over yoga, feng-shui and New Age.

However, there are still a few traditionalists left. They have a cup of coffee and a cigarette for breakfast and spend evenings in shady bars drinking hooch and smoking their lungs off. Okay, maybe that’s a little exaggerat...

My Favorite Italian Song This Summer (And Fall Too)

This song by Giorgia has been my favorite tune for the last couple of months. It’s been blasting in my car, office, bathroom and iPod, and although it’s perfect for the summer with it’s bouncy, carefree rhythm and fab lyrics, I’m loving it even now at the beginning of the Indian Summer and into Fall. Have fun with Giorgia!

In case you want to watch it on YouTube, here’s the link

And both Italian and English lyrics…

Tu mi porti su

Tu mi porti su e poi mi lasci cadere

tu mi porti su e poi mi lasci c...

Chique Secrets of Milan, Italy: Hair Alla Milanese – Top Ten Insane Hairdressing Salons In Milan

Milan is a city that dates day and night. Which means that your hair must be perfect all the time – you don’t want to miss a hot date, do you? No wonder Milanese hairdressers thrive; Italian women take pride in their hair and most of them go to their hairdresser every week. Why bother washing and blowing your hair at home when the city is full of salons where haircare is easier and more fun?

Milan is not your usual city, and even its hairdressers are hip and extravagant. I have compiled a list...

Chique Video: 15 Fun Facts To Know About Italy

This Italian video reveals 15 Chique fun facts about Italy and about Milan. Every day I post them to my Facebook page, together with beautiful photographs. If you love Italy as much as I do, and if you like this video, please “like” my Facebook page for a daily dose of la dolce vita! Grazie, see you there! ♥

If you prefer to watch this video on YouTube, here’s the link.

Filed under: Italy, Milan Tagged: Barbara Conelli, Chique Secrets of Dolce Amore, Chique Secrets of Dolce Vita, Italy Photogra...

Italian Regions From North To South: Friuli-Venezia Giulia

Friuli-Venezia Giulia (FVG) is a northern Italian region that borders on Austria and Slovenia. This region has everything – high mountains (the Alps and Dolomites) in the north, and beautiful Adriatic beaches in the south.

Today’s region comprises two areas, Friuli and Venezia Giulia, as defined by the Peace Treaty in 1946. Its main cities are:

Trieste

Gorizia

Udine

Pordenone

Friuli-Venezia Giula has many natural parks with beautiful hiking trails, and stunning castles that used to serve as fortres...

Chique Secrets of Milan, Italy: The Flea Market Of Fiera Di Sinigaglia – Milanese Portobello Road

I love flea markets (mercati delle pulci in Italian) with their uselful and useless trinkets and adorable atmosphere. London has Portobello Road, Rome has Porta Portese, and Milan has Fiera di Sinigaglia that has been an inseparable part of Milanese Saturday mornings for more than a hundred years.

The market was named after Sinigaglia, or Senigaglia, the only Franconian port in Italy that used to host a huge market. It was created quite spontaneously in Bastioni di Porta Genova where tramps an...

Chique Secrets of Milan: Discover The Charm Of Old Milan In Vico Lavandai And Awaken The Artist Within

Navigli is one of the most charming districts of Milan. What used to be an intricate web of canals so important for the city’s business has considerably shrunk as the waterways have become redundant. But still, every Milanese loves it. The alleys surrounding Naviglio Grande, the main canal, are the center of bohemian lifestyle where the old and vintage meets the trendy and cool.

There’s a hidden gem in the heart of Navigli, that few people know about. It’s a tiny little alley whose size may be...

If It’s Venice, It Must Be Movies: 69th Venice Film Festival

La Biennale di Venezia started on 29th August and if you happen to be in Venice these days, you have a chance to see one of the 18 participating movies until 8th September.

If you’re not in Venice, enjoy at least some beauty, gleam and glamour through these photographs. Viva Venezia!

Filed under: Italy Tagged: Barbara Conelli, Chique Secrets of Dolce Amore, Chique Secrets of Dolce Vita, Italy Photographs, italy travel guide for women, italy travel tips, postaday, Travel to Italy, venice film fe...