s.c.italian FAQ (ARTS AND TOURISM) [6/8]

From: gg@madras.sodalia.it (Gianluigi Sartori) Newsgroups: soc.culture.italian,it.cultura,it.aiuto,it.notizie,soc.answers,news.answers Subject: s.c.italian FAQ (ARTS AND TOURISM) [6/8] Followup-To: soc.culture.italian Date: 2 Feb 1998 09:25:26 GMT Organization: Stanford University Computer Systems Laboratory Expires: 1 Mar 1998 07:00:00 GMT Message-ID: <6b43e6$j@server-b.cs.interbusiness.it> Summary: This posting contains a list of Frequently Asked Questions (and their answers) about Italy and soc.culture.italian. Archive-name: cultures/italian/arts-tourism Posting-Frequency: Monthly Version: 1.13 X-Newsreader: TIN [version 1.2 PL2] If you want to add or change any information in this FAQ, there are separate editors for the 8 parts. Here is a list with the names. Sending your contribution to the right person will speed up the process. Introduction Gianluigi Sartori <gg@angel.stanford.edu> Italy and Internet Paolo Fiorini <fiorini@telerobotics.jpl.nasa.gov> Italians in a foreign land Gianluigi Sartori <gg@angel.stanford.edu> Italian radio and TV Gianluigi Sartori <gg@angel.stanford.edu> Academics Gianluigi Sartori <gg@angel.stanford.edu> Arts and Tourism Gianluigi Sartori <gg@angel.stanford.edu> Customs and Standards Gianluigi Sartori <gg@angel.stanford.edu> Misc Gianluigi Sartori <gg@angel.stanford.edu> =====S6. ARTS AND TOURISM ==Q6.1= What are the lyrics of that famous song by XXX? Last modified: Oct 1 1997 esiste un songbook creato da Augusto Sarti <sarti@milano.berkeley.edu> e disponibile per ftp anonimo. Romano Giannetti <romano@sirio.iet.unipi.it> aggiorna il 1 Ottobre 1997: ... ho tolto la polvere dal nastro di backup (figurato) dove avevo il SongBook di SCI e l'ho messo a disposizione con ftp anonimo presso sirio.iet.unipi.it (131.114.9.148) login anonymous, directory /pub/SongBook. ATTENZIONE: questo e' un PC con Linux che io divido con altri utenti che spesso usano il DOS-Windows... quindi se non riuscite a fare login puo' essere che non stia girando Linux. Try again later, o senno' ditemi dove mettere i file. Nella directory /pub compare, tra l'altro: SongBook/ La directory SongBook contiene: *.tex: sorgenti della versione LaTeX del SongBook sb.txt: versione ascii del SongBook SongBook.ps Postscript songbook SongBookA4.ps Versione con due colonne per pagina (cosi' sono "solo" 85 pagine o giu' di li'). sbeven.ps, sbodd.ps pagine pari e dispari di SongBook.ps SongBook.README SongBook.tar.gz SongBook.tar.gz e' la stessa directory tarrata e gzippata (viva l'Italiano!). Riccardo Scateni <Riccardo.Scateni@crs4.it> writes: Nella sezione di letteratura del WWW server del CRS4 e' stata aggiunta una sezione dedicata alla canzone d'autore comprendente i testi raccolti a suo tempo da Augusto Sarti. L'URL e': http://www.crs4.it/HTML/Literature.html per la pagina della lettaratura e http://www.crs4.it/~riccardo/Letteratura/SongBook/SongBook.html per la pagina indice dei testi. Un altro songbook e' stato creato invece da Maurizio Codogno <mau@BEATLES.CSELT.STET.IT>. Il quale scrive: Alessandro Saffiotti mi dice che ha depositato il mio canzoniere su IRIDIA: % ftp iridia.ulb.ac.be % login: anonymous % password: <your full email address> % cd pub/saffiotti % bin % get canzoniere.tar.gz Inoltre con Maurizio Oliva ci siamo messi d'accordo e una versione e` ricuperabile sotto il gopher a italia.hum.utah.edu ==Q6.2= Can I buy books or CDs in Italian by mail? Last modified: August 9 1996 Steve Bookman <steveny@panix.com> writes: There is a specialist firm in New York City which has an extensive inventory of books in the Italian language. It is predominantly a mail order business, as well: S. F. Vanni 30 West 12th Street New York, NY 10011-8691 Telephone - 212 675-6336 A second possible source is the United Nations Book Shop, a store which has recently begun advertising its international book special-order service on the radio. You may telephone them at 212 963-8348. Powell's Books, while not specializing in either Italian books or Mail order sales, does have an extremely large selection which includes many books in Italian and they do ship, even internationally. Powell's City of Books (main store) 1005 W Burnside, 503-228-4651 Portland, Oregon One of the wonders of Portland. Powell's has new and used books by the millions. Its depth and coverage exceeds most large-city libraries. Also, if you are looking for Italian books in English translations, you can contact Italica Press. You can ask for a catalog at the following address: Italica Press, Inc. 595 Main St. NY, NY 10044-0045 Phone: 212/935-4230. Roy Sette <kl7@rahul.net> ads: The following U.S. company offers over 700 Italian language CDs. Their "Italian Catalog of Compact Discs" can be purchased for $2.50 Musicrama Inc. 43-01 22nd St. 6th FL. L.I.C., NY 11101 TEL (718)389-7818 FAX (718)383-5152 http://www.musicrama.com http://users.aol.com/nydistr/music.html Marino Duregon <marino_duregon@mentorg.com> writes: Tempo fa era comparso su s.c.i. un posting di Chaabouni World CDs (Westerville, OH) un mail-order business specializzato in CD di artisti di tutto il mondo, italia compresa. Spedisci una e-mail a cmoez@valhalla.cs.wright.edu richiedendo la lista dei CD italiani. Quando l'ho richiesta io v'erano almeno cinque titoli di Battiato (Come un cammello in una grondaia, Prospettiva Newski, Orizzonti perduti, Mondi lontanissimi, Fisiognomica, Giubbe Rosse, :-) ho la lista sotto il naso ...) tutti a $18.50 eccetto l' ultimo che e' un doppio a $38.50 piu', ovviamente, shipping and handling. ==Q6.3= Is there any Italian newsletter about arts? Last modified: January 30 1993 If you are a professional interested in Italian arts there is a free newsletter. The Treccani Newsletter offers information about history, expositions books and so on. Even fellowships to go to Italy. For more information write to: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana 12 E. 46th St. NY, NY 10017 Or call: 212/818-0515 ==Q6.4= Are there Italian texts available on Internet? Last modified: June 17 1993 - -- CPET DIGESTS NOW AVAILABLE VIA GOPHER AND FTP For the past four years, Georgetown University's Center for Text & Technology (CTT), under the aegis of the Academic Computer Center, has been compiling a directory of projects that create and analyze electronic text in the humanities. A relational database accessible via the Internet, Georgetown's Catalogue of Projects in Electronic Text (CPET) includes information on more than 350 projects throughout the world. Now digests of project information -- organized by humanities discipline and by language of the electronic text -- can be read, searched, and retrieved by means of the Internet's protocols for Gopher and anonymous FTP. There are digests for 40 different languages, as well as for linguistics, literature, philosophy, biblical studies, and a variety of others, ranging from Medieval and Renaissance studies to Archaeology, African studies, and Buddhism. Once inside the main Gopher directory, look for CPET files under: Other Gopher and Information Servers North America USA Washington, DC Georgetown University On the Georgetown server look into the directory CPET_PROJECTS_IN_ELECTRONIC_TEXT, where you will find the following files and subdirectories: 1. CPET_DIGESTS_INTRODUCTION.TXT (information on the digests) 2. CPET_INTRODUCTION.TXT (information on the CPET database) 3. CPET_USER_GUIDE.TXT (how to access the on-line database) 4. DIGESTS_DISCIPLINES.DIR (digests organized by discipline) 5. DIGESTS_LANGUAGES.DIR (digests organized by language) The digests are arranged in a similar structure in Georgetown's FTP server. To survey the digests, first enter the following command from your system prompt: ftp guvax.georgetown.edu (or ftp 141.161.1.2) When requested, login with the username ANONYMOUS and a password according to the formula YOURNAME@YOURSITE. Once within GUVAX, at the ftp prompt change directories as follows: ftp> cd cpet_projects_in_electronic_text Then if you then enter a directory command -- DIR -- you will find the same files and subdirectories that are described in the directions on gopher. If you have any questions or comments on this service, or would like to learn more about CPET and Georgetown's Center for Text and Technology, please contact the address below. Georgetown Catalogue of Projects in Electronic Text (CPET) Center for Text & Technology Academic Computer Center, Reiss 238 Georgetown University, Washington, DC 20057 USA tel: 202-687-6096 fax: 202-687-6003 Contacts: Paul Mangiafico, CPET Project Assistant pmangiafico@guvax.georgetown.edu Dr. Michael Neuman, Director, Center for Text & Technology neuman@guvax.georgetown.edu ==Q6.5= Can I use my credit card in Italy? Last modified: July 26 1993 La situazione 'carte di credito' in Italia e` diversa da quella statunitense. Si paga quasi sempre per contanti, con assegni abbastanza spesso (di solito se si e` conosciuti, se sono importi grossi, ecc.). Molti esercizi commerciali si stanno attrezzando per usare le carte di credito, soprttutto grazie all'iniziativa si quasi tutte le banche italiane, che si cono consorziate, creano una societa`, la Servizi Interbancari, la quale ha messo in circolazione una carta di credito, chiamata CartaSI, che e` stata "spinta" moltissimo. La CartaSI ha fatto degli accordi con MasterCard e VISA, per cui senza spesa aggiuntiva si puo' avere una CartaSI-Visa o una CartaSI-Mastercard, e quindi utilizzarla (all'estero) con questi circuiti. Non e' sicuro invece che un negoziante italiano che non esponga la vetrofania Visa ma solo quella CartaSi accetti una Visa. Credo che il 30-40% sia una buona approssimazione (per difetto) della penetrazione commerciale di questa iniziativa. Decisamente meno diffusi AmexCO e Diners. Ci sono rari cash-dispenser utilizzabili con carte di credito. Quando sono utilizzabili le commissioni tendono ad essere alte. ==Q6.6= Where is the closest US Consulate in Italy? Last modified: June 15 1993 * Milan Consolato USA Via Principe Amedeo 2/10, Milano tel 02/29003494, 02/29001841 ==Q6.7= Should I be afraid of Gypsies in Italy? Last modified: December 14 1994 No, just avoid rubbing your butt against ANY stranger when your wallet is sticking out from your rear pocket. ==Q6.8= How many dialects and languages are spoken in Italy? Last modified: June 9 1997 Several. Every region has his own dialect with great differences between the dialects of the same region. Sometimes it's an evidence of different dominations, for example the 'Trentino' spoken in Rovereto (that was part of "Serenissima Repubblica di Venezia" is different from 'Trentino' spoken in Arco, on the very north of Garda Lake (always part of the Austrian empire). Sometimes there's no other reason than 'we always spoke it this way'. Among the languages spoken in Italy there is: * German: in South Tyrol (about 280.000 inhabitants) More information: Amt fuer deutsche und ladinische Kultur Landhaus VII Andreas Hofer Strasse 18 I-39100 Bozen (BZ) Tel: 0471-993333 Fax: 0471-993399 * Ladin: The Ladin language evolved over many centuries to become an independent Rhaeto-Romance language around 450 A.D. This Ladin language - today scarcely changed - is the mothertongue of 90% of the inhabitants of the Dolomitic valleys. The respective dialects are: Gherdeina: Val Gardena (South Tyrol - about 8000 inhabitants) Badiot: Val Badia (South Tyrol - about 9000 inhabitants) Fascian: Val di Fassa (Trentino) Fodom/Ampezan: Livinallongo and Ampezzo (Belluno province) The reason, the Ladin language has been preserved, is the geographical isolation of these regions in the past, which remained unaffected by the great German migrations since the sixth century A.D. This migration was responsible for the semination of the German language throughout the South Tyrolean region, with the exception, as mentioned, of the Dolomite areas. More information: "Cesa di Ladins" (Museum) Via Rezia 83 I-39046 Ortisei (BZ) Tel: 0471-796870 * Albanese: spoken in a few communities in Calabria, Puglia, Molise and Sicily * Grico: in Puglia (it's a greek dialect) * Slovenian: around Udine and Trieste * French: in Valle d'Aosta Andrea Damini <damini@kfunigraz.ac.at> writes: Nessun dialetto o lingua parlata attualmente nella regione politica denominata "Italia" deriva da quella che e' considerata la lingua nazionale standard per tale regione politica. L'italiano standard e', come molti ricorderanno dal liceo, un'elaborazione, dotta e semi- artificiale, di un volgare (dialetto) parlato tra Firenze e Siena sancita a partire da Dante. Tale volgare e' stato accettato quale lingua dotta per un insieme di ragioni letterarie ma anche politiche. Bene ha detto qualcuno in un posting precedente che la diffusione dell'italiano standard e' iniziato con la TV. Lo stesso medium ha tuttora una funzione fondamentale nell'evoluzione della lingua "standard" che d'altra parte era rimasta fondamentalmente simile negli ultimi 300 anni. Tutti i dialetti, rispettivamente lingue (sardo, ladino, friulano), hanno chiaramente come ceppo comune il latino. La differente evoluzione e' consegenza del diverso latino che veniva parlato nelle diverse zone, ossia della lingua indigena (tosco, celtico, sannita etc.) substrato al latino. Tale influenza si e' conservata anche nel momento in cui il latino "di ogni giorno" non somigliava molto ormai a quello che e' considerato il latino "classico", fatto attestato gia' in epoca imperiale. Ulteriormente i dialetti sono stati influenzati dalle parlate di popoli invasori (es. langobardi in Friuli) o confinanti (es. nel dialetto triestino esistono molte parole di origine tedesca o slava). Mauro Bertolino <mabe@polen1.polito.it> adds: Occitan: the today occitan language is the modern version of the "langue d'oc", the language made famous by the troubadours of the medieval age, which broke up in several dialects after the XIII century. The Gavot (o Vivaro-Alpin) dialect of this language is still spoken in the italian valleys of the Alps, in the southern part of Region Piedmont on the border with France, among a population of more or less 180000, and in some villages of other regions. It is well preserved in the uppermost parts of the valleys, even though suffering for the problem of decreasing population, while in the lower parts tends to mix with the piedmontes dialect of italian. Informations: Ousitanio Vivo Via Marconi 26 12020 Venasca (CN) tel. e fax: 0175-567606 Related WWW sites are: http://www.cnnet.it/occitania/ under construction, in Italy. http://www.bambi.lptl.jussieu.fr/users/vanDenBossche/OC/OccitaNet.htm in France. Infine, Maurizio Morabito <mmorabito@geocities.com> aggiunge: volevo segnalare il Grecanico, parlato nel sud della Calabria da popolazioni di evidente discendenza greca. ==Q6.9= Is pizza really coming from Italy? Last modified: August 8 1993 Ugo Piomelli <ugo@eng.umd.edu> writes: A "false cognate" is a word that has the same sound in two languages but different meanings. "Pizza" is one of them. Flatbreads are as old as baking itself, and one can trace something akin to pizza to the ancient Greeks or perhaps the Etruscans. Pizza in its present form, however, was common in Naples as far back as the mid-1700s. Around 1850 two references to pizza can be found, one by Alexandre Dumas, in the "Grand Dictionnaire de la Cuisine", and one in "Usi e costumi di Napoli". The pizza they describe can still be bought in the streets of Naples today. Dumas mistakenly thought that the "pizza a otto giorni" was baked eight days before eating, whereas in reality it is paid eight days after it is eaten (see Marotta's "Oro di Napoli"). The basic pizza, the "Marinara" is made of a circle of bread dough, about 6-8 inches in diameter, flattened and covered with tomato sauce, sprinkled with oregano, basil, salt, garlic and olive oil, and baked for a few minutes in a very hot brick oven with a metal floor. "Pizza Margherita" was invented in 1889 to honor Queen Margherita who was visiting Naples. Don Raffaele Esposito, one of the premier pizzaioli of the time, used tomato sauce, fiordilatte (not mozzarella, which is made with buffalo milk and is too flimsy to withstand baking) and basil to obtain the colors of the Italian flag. Nowadays, numerous variations exist using artichokes, anchovies, ham and other ingredients (two or three at a time, however, never the horrendous mishmash found on American pizza). Pizza at its best, however, is still based on the careful juxtaposition of subtle, contrasting flavors and colors: the sweetness of basil and the burnt bitterness of the cornicione (the part that is left sauceless, which takes a burnt look and which, in Naples, is significantly wider than elsewhere). The white islands of fiordilatte parting the Red Sea of tomatoes. The green basil leaves standing out on the red background. Brought in the States, most likely, by Neapolitan immigrants around the turn of the present century, pizza has been modified to suit the American taste: quantity has replaced subtlety; meats (sausage, salami, ham and so on) have become a nearly irreplaceable ingredient; over-sweetened canned tomato sauces have replaced the simple strained tomatoes of the original; a thick layer of plastic cheese has replaced the fiordilatte islands. The result: a plastic animal that bears to the original the same resemblance that Hearst Castle bears to Palazzo Pitti. Ugo Piomelli again: Fast-food partenopeo, storicamente la pizza si basa su pochi ingredienti ben scelti ed accostati, e sull'abile mano e l'occhio attento del pizzaiuolo, che stende la pasta uniformemente, mantiene il forno alla temperatura giiusta, ed estrae la pizza al momento supremo. Il forno deve essere a legna, con pavimento di metallo e pareti in muratura. Originariamente, gli ingredienti erano pomodoro, basilico, origano e olio (pizza marinara). La pizza si mangiava per strada, e spesso si comprava a credito (la "pizza a otto giorni" de "L'oro di Napoli"). Alla fine dell'Ottocento viene introdotta la Margherita, in onore della regina, in cui il fiordilatte (di consistenza piu` robusta rispetto all'eterea mozzarella di bufala) permette di realizzare il tricolore. Al giorno d'oggi esistono varie combinazioni: bianca, con prosciutto, quattro stagioni, ed infine la pizzza frattale del Collettivo Immaginario. Personalmente, ritorno sempre ai vecchi standard: marinara e, raramente, Margherita. Preferenze personali: Pizzeria Trianon ai Tribunali e Bellini a Port'Alba. Entrambe a Napoli, naturalmente. ==Q6.10= What is the difference between mozzarella and fiordilatte? Last modified: August 8 1993 Based on a posting by Ugo Piomelli <ugo@eng.edu> Real mozzarella is made from buffalo milk. This may sounds surprising to many people that are convinced that buffalo only live in North America. The explanation is in the fact that people mix buffalo and bisons, but they are different beasts. Webster's dictionary says: buf-fa-lo \'bef-e-,lo^-\ [It bufalo & Sp bu'falo, fr. LL bufalus, alter. of L bubalus, fr. Gk boubalos African gazelle, irreg. fr. bous head of cattle -- more at COW] 1: any of several wild oxen: as 1a: WATER BUFFALO 1b: any of a genus (Bison); esp: a large shaggy-maned No. American wild ox (B bison) with short horns and heavy forequarters with a large muscular hump. The buffalo needed to make mozzarella are probably close to what is known as water buffalo in America (Bubalus bubalis), and yes it lives in Italy too. Since Bisons were not domesticated at the time, it is doubtfull that native Americans used to make anything similar to mozzarella using Bison milk. :-) Fiordilatte on the other hand is a cheese similar to mozzarella, but it is made with cow milk. (famous is fiordilatte made in Agerola). The confusion between mozzarella and fiordilatte is widespread not just in America, but mostly everywhere outside Naples. Fiordilatte is often sold as mozzarella. Most Italians living in the north have probably never tasted the real mozzarella. Good places where to buy mozzarella (in Naples of course): * Soave in via Scarlatti (quartiere Vomero). You can buy "bocconcini di mozzarella coperti di panna". * Mandara has many shops around town. * Or you can go to Mondragone where there are many small "latticini" that sell a good product. ==Q6.11= Where is a good restaurant in Florence? Last modified: March 14 1994 Eating Out in Florence by David Alexander and Rossella Rossi-Alexander There are, of course, hundreds of restaurants in Florence: the Guida rapida of the Touring Club Italiano lists a selection of 48 and the Michelin Guide to Italy mentions 35. But despite these recommendations, there is still a high risk that the stranger to Florence will end up in a place that is outrageously expensive and thoroughly uncharacteristic. The city's great paradox is that the tourists and the Florentines seem to inhabit separate worlds, but in the same physical space. Where do local people go out to eat? Here are some of their favourite locales: to find them, purchase a good city map from any newspaper stand and see the yellow pages of the telephone directory if in need of further directions. Let's start at the top. If one has just won the lottery and has about 300,000 lire to spend on a dinner to remember, one would go to Enoteca Pinchiorri or to Ristorante Sabatini in the heart of the city. The former offers a superb collection of wines, the finest international cuisine and a historical setting, and the latter is strongly dedicated to Florentine cullinary traditions. At the other end of the scale some remarkably good cheap restaurants are concealed at strategic points around the city. For example, Ristorante Cibreo can be found in a very picturesque setting at the side of the Mercato di Sant'Ambrogio. The restaurant itself is very expensive, but at lunchtime one can go around to the back door and dine in a tiny room next to the kitchen, sharing a table with the habitus. The inzimino (squid and spinach in a hot sauce) is excellent: so is the cibreo, an ancient Florentine dish made with offal. In the vicinity of Santa Croce, half way down Via di Mezzo, is a modest building with frosted glass windows in which one can find the Trattoria da Alessi, which offers the very best Florentine food at the very lowest prices. There is no sign outside: one has to know where it is or ask a local resident, but it is well worth discovering. Alessi once ran an up-market restaurant, but he closed it in order to run a cheap and cheerful "hole in the wall," full of local character. The food is utterly Florentine (Alessi has researched the city's archives for good mediaeval recipes) and utterly genuine. As with the Cibreo, it pays to arrive at 12.30 or 7.00 p.m. (very early, that is) as both places fill up with customers as soon as they open. The Trattoria Ada (in front of the Campo di Marte railway station) is one of the best things about Florence. It is run by a single, but very numerous, family. The minestra di farro (pearl barley soup from Lucca) is superb, and the prices are reasonable by Florentine standards. A number of local customers eat there every day! In more central locations, the Trattoria Tito offers dependable Florentine food, and the Trattoria da Cesare serves a very good baccala' (salt cod) on Fridays. The Ristorante Vegetariano in Via delle Ruote (off Via San Gallo) is excellent for macrobiotic food: on entering for the first time one acquires an annual membership card for a nominal sum which is easily recouped on the low cost of the meal (the daily menu is chalked up on a blackboard at the entrance and one writes one's own check). Likewise, after one has payed a tiny fee for membership, the Associazione Miro' at Via San Gallo 57/59 offers cheap local dishes in very pleasant informal surrounds. And now to the Oltrarno, the other side of the river. Ristorante Omero, at Arcetri in the hills above Florence, has a very good reputation and is usually thronged with local people, though it is not cheap. Beneath the Forte Belvedere, and accessible by the steps that run down from the southwest side of Piazzale Michelangelo, is the fairly expensive Ristorante La Beppa, which has a very good reputation. On the down-market side, the popular Trattoria Nello in Borgo San Frediano is the best place to soak up the real Florentine atmosphere of the artisan's quarter. The more expensive Il Drago Verde in Borgo San Frediano is also highly recommended. Thanks to mass tourism, many of the restaurants in the city centre are overpriced and disappointing. But some are very good. We recommend: La Maremmana, Il Pennello, La Casa di Dante, Del Fagioli, and Il Latini. In the quartiere San Lorenzo, Il Girone Infernale offers much better food than was served up in Dante's Inferno. Next door to each other at the Mercato Centrale di San Lorenzo the trattorie Da Mario and Zaza' are both worth patronizing. The Acqual'due in Via dell'Acqua is a very good place to relax until the small hours and to eat stuzzicchini, the characteristic Florentine snacks. Lastly, pizzerie. The ones dedicated to the tourist trade are awful, but we recommend several others. I Tarocchi in Borgo San Niccolo' is very good, as is the pizzeria in the beautiful Piazza Santo Spirito. In Borgo San Lorenzo there are many, including Nuti, one of the oldest Florentine eateries. Alternatively, one can get the no. 7 bus from Piazza San Marco to the main piazze at Fiesole, where there is an excellent pizzeria. Bus tickets, for 1100 lire per journey or 4000 lire for four trips (un biglietto multiplo dell'ATAF), can be bought from bars. Happy eating! Trattoria Ada, Viale Mazzini (Stazione Campo di Marte); lunchtimes only, closed Fridays Trattoria Alessi, Via di Mezzo (Santa Croce) Ristorante La Beppa, Via Erta Canina 6 (San Niccolo'); closed Wednesdays Trattoria da Cesare, Viale Spartaco Lavagnini Trattoria Cibreo, Via dei Macci (Mercato S. Ambrogio); weekday lunchtimes only Ristorante Omero, Via Pian dei Giullari 11 (Arcetri); closed Tuesdays and all of August Enoteca Pinchiorri, Via Ghibellina 87; closed Sundays, Monday lunchtimes and all of August. Ristorante Sabatini, Via Panzani 41; closed Mondays Trattoria da Tito, Via San Gallo ==Q6.12= Where can I go out for food and beer in Milan (Milano)? Last modified: May 15 1994 There are a lot of pubs in the Navigli area (south of the city-centre) Here is a list compiled by Daniele Pinna (pinna@ghost.sm.dsi.unimi.it): -------------------------------------------------------------------- LOCALE SPECIALITA` PREZZO INDIRIZZO Business Cafe` Cocktails 8.000 V.Calatafimi (1) Panini 6.000 [Vecchia fiera Live-Music 4.000 di Senigallia] Birre 6.000 Ludoteca Tequila Bum-Bum Cocktails 8.000 V.le Marche (2) Panini 6.000 [Sulla destra Birre 6.000 da P.le Loreto] Ludoteca Bar Mascagni Cocktails 7.000 V.le Brenta (3) Panini 5.000 [Ang. C.so Lodi] Birre 5.000 Saletta sotto Meeting Cocktails 8.000 V. Cartesio (4) Tartine 2.500 [P.zza della Panini 6.000 Repubblica] Toast al Tartufo 6.000 Chewing-Gum Cocktails 10.000 Nella via a sx (5) Panini 8.000 di Woodstock Karaoke C.O.10.000 Birre 6/8.000 P.M. Cafe` Cocktails 10.000 C.so di P.ta Romana (6) Panini 6.000 a dx di Medaglie d` oro Live-Music Focacceria di Focacce 5.000 Via dell` Ali- notte Birre 6.000 sarda traversa (7) di V. Albricci Carpe Diem Ristorante V.le F. Testi 148 (8) sud-americano 40.000 Birreria 6.000 Cocktails 10.000 Panini 5.000 Tipota Birre 6.000 V. Brioschi ang. (9) Panini 5.000 V. Zamenhov Bluesbikers Birre 6.000 V. Brioschi (10) Panini 5.000 Patatine 3/4.000 Primi 8/10.000 Secondi 10/15.000 Roca`s Birre 6.000 La Via che porta (11) Panini 5.000 a p.zza Baiamonti Bruschette 4.000 dallo Smeraldo Gesa Vegia Birre 5.000 Dietro il ponte (12) Panini 4.500 della Ghisolfa Bruschette 3.500 Patatine 4.000 Fashion Cafe` Piatti vari 8.000 P.zza S. Marco (13) Birre 6.000 Panini 6.000 Cocktails 8.000 Re Artu` Panini 6.000 C.so Lodi sul (14) Birre 6.000 cavalcavia Daniel`s bar Karaoke V. Della Chiusa (15) Birre 6.000 Panini 6.000 Rustego Live-Music Gnignano.Verso Lo- (16) Cocktails 9.000 cate Triulzi Bru-Gin Cafe` Cocktails 10.000 V.le Jenner (17) Panini 7.000 Birreria Uno Panini 6.000 Una in P.le ca- (18) Patatine 4.000 dorna.Una a Birre 6.000 fianco del Roca`s Gelateria Sanzio Gelati 7.000 V. Sanzio (19) Birre 6.000 Cocktails 8.000 Carlo Magno Panini 6.000 P.zza Missori 2 (20) Birre 6.000 Monza Cocktails 8.000 Bar-Bablu` Panini 6.000 V.le Umbria ang. (21) Cocktails 8.000 V. Comelico Ludoteca Le Chat Panini 6.000 V.le Murillo (22) Birre 5.000 Cocktails 7.000 Non Solo Musica Panini 6.000 V.le Brenta (23) Birre 6.000 Cocktails 8.000 Karaoke Cabaret Bar Novecento Panini 6.000 V.Savona (24) Patatine 4.000 Birre 5.000 Blues House Panini 6.000 V.Uguzzone (25) Birre 8.000 (Precotto) Cocktails 10.000 Live Music 10.000 +consumazione Stella Alpina Birre 7.000 V.Tabacchi (26) cocktails 10.000 Guardaroba 2.000 Discoteca Entropia Ristorante (?) V.De Amicis (27) Patatine 3.500 Birre 6.000 Far Out Panini 7.000 V.Commenda (28) Patatine 3.500 Primi 10.000 Secondi 10.000 Birre 6.000 Cocktails 10.000 Crepes 6.000 Old Fox Pub Cucina inglese 20.000 P.zza S. Agostino (29) Self-Service Birre 6.000 Gelateria 73 Gelati 6.000 V.le Zara "73" (30) Panini 6.000 Piadine 8.000 Cocktails 10.000 Birre 6.000 Birreria Stella Panini 5.000 V.le Argonne (31) Birre 5.000 Crepes 4.500 Margy Burgher Panini 5.000 P.zza S.to Stefano (32) Patatine 4.000 Birre 6.000 Piedra Del Sol Ristorante 35.000/ V. Cornalia 2 (33) Messicano 40.000 Cocktails 10.000 Birre 6.000 Mabensi` Panini 6.000 V.Solferino (34) Panzerotti 4.000 Patatine 4.000 Birre 6.000 Cocktails 10.000 Isola Fiorita Gnocchi 8.000 V. L. Il Moro (35) Risotti 8.000 Birre 7.000 Panini 4.000 Bar S.Maurilio Cocktail 10.000 V A. Vespucci 1/a (36) Birre 6.000 Toledo Panini 6.000 V.C.Da Sesto (37) Birre 6.000 Charlie Bar Cocktails 8.000 V.C.Da Sesto (38) Birre 6.000 Basset Town Birre 7.000 V.S.Marco (39) Le Ore Felici Ludoteca V. Gigante (40) Birre 7.000 Panini 6.000 ==Q6.13= What is important to know about region XXX? Last modified: March 14 1994 * Sardinia from Maurizio Pilu: The History of Sardinia This outline, by Francesco Cesare Casula, has been originally issued by the Tourist Board of The Autonomous Region of Sardinia within the institute of the National Council for Scientific Research on Italo-Iberian relations. The original paperback is printed by 2D Editrice Mediterranea, Sassari (Italy). Prehistory Sardinia is one of the most ancient lands in europe, visited way back in the Paleolithic period though inabithed permanently by man only much later, in the Neolithic age, around 6000 B.C. The first man to settle in Gallura and Northern Sardinia probably came from Italian mainland and, in particular, from Etruria. Those who populated the central region of the island arrived, it seems, from the Iberian Peninsula by way of the Balearic Islands. Those who founded their settlements around the gulf of Cagliari were in all likelihood Africans. Hence, it can be said that in Sardinia there never was one single people but really several peoples. As time passed, the Sardinian peoples became united in language and customs yet remained divided politically into various smaller tribal states. Sometime they were banded together, while at others they were at war with one other. Tribes lived in villages made up round thatched stone huts, similar to the present day pinnette of shepherds. Prehistoric arrowheads (III millennium B.C.) and sculpture of the the Mediterranean Mother Goddess may be found in the Archeological Museum of Cagliari. In the Archeological Museum of Sassari are some ceramics from the Copper or Aneolithic Age (2600 B.C.). >From about 1500 B.C. onwards the villages were built at the foot of a mighty truncated cone fortress (often reinforced and enlarged with embattled towers) called nuraghe. A nuragic village may be found in Barumini (Cagliari). The boundaries of tribal territories were guarded by smaller lookout nuraghi erected on strategic hills commanding a view of the enemy. Today some 7000 nuraghi dot the sardinian landscape. Ancient History Around 1000 B.C. the Phoenicians began to land with their ships on the shores of Sardinia with increasing frequency. Setting sail from Lebanon, on their trade routes as far afield as Britain they needed safe anchorages for the night or to weather a storm. With the local chieftains' consent the more common ports of call were those later named as : Caralis, Nora, Bithia, Sulcis, Tharros, Bosa, Torres and Olbia. They soon became important markets and after a time real towns inhabited by Phoenicians families who traded on the open sea and with the Nuragic Sardinians inland. A bronze statuette of a Nuragic chieftain and some Phoenicians handicraft are in the Archeological Museum of Cagliari. In 509 B.C., in view of the Phoenician expansion inland becoming ever more menacing and penetrating, the native Sardinians attacked the coastal cities held by the enemy who, in order to defend themselves, called upon Carthage for help. The Carthaginians, after a number of military campaigns, overcame the Sardinians and conquered the whole island apart from the most mountainous region, later referred to as Barbaria or Barbagia. For 271 years, the splendid Carthaginian or Punic civilization flourished alongside the fascinating local nuragic culture. A Nuragic massive head of warrior and a Carthaginian goddess are in the Archeological Museum of Cagliari. In 238 B.C the Carthaginians, defeated by the Romans in the first Punic War, surrendered Sardinia which became a province of Rome. The Romans enlarged and embellished the coastal cities and with their armies even penetrated the Barbagia region, thereby bringing down the Nuragic civilization. Medieval history In 456 A.D., when the Roman Empire was sinking fast, the Vandals of Africa, on their return from a raid in Latium on the mainland, occupied Caralis along with the other coastal cities of Sardinia. In 534 the Vandals were defeated at Tricamari, a place some 30 Km form Carthage, by the troops of the Eastern Emperor Justinian and Sardinia thus became Byzantine. The island was divided into districts called mereie, governed by a judex residing in Caralis (Cagliari) and garrisoned by an army stationed in Forum Traiani (nowadays Fordongianus) under the command of a dux. Along with the Byzantines and the Eastern monasticism of the followers of St. Basil, Christianity spread throughout the island, except in the Barbagia regions. Here, towards the end of the sixth century, a short-lived independent domain reestablished itself, with Sardinian-heathen lay and religious traditions, one of its kings being Ospitone. >From 640 to 732 the Arabs occupied North Africa, Spain and part of France. In 827 they began their occupation of Sicily. Sardinia remained isolated and was forced to defend herself; thus, the judex provinciae assumed overall command with civil and military powers. The continual raids and attacks by the Islamized Berbers on the Sardinian shores began in 710 and grew ever more ruinous with time. One by one the coastal towns and cities were abandoned by their inhabitants. The judex provinciae, in order to afford a better defence of the island, assigned his civil and military powers to his four lieutenants in the mereie of Cagliari, Torres or Logudoro, Arborea and Gallura. Around 900, the lieutenants gained their independence, in turn becoming judices (in Sardinian judikes means king) of their own logu or state. Each one of these four Sardinian states called giudicati constituted a sovereign kingdom, not patrimonial but independent since it was not the property of the monarch. But they were at the same time democratic since all the most important issues of national interest were not for the king (or giudice) himself to decide but were a matter for the representative of the people gathered in assembly called corona de logu. Each kingdom manned its own fortified boundaries to protect its own political and trading affairs, its own parliament, own laws (cartas de logu), own national languages, own chancelleries, own state emblems and symbols, etc. The kingdom or giudicato of Cagliari was politically pro-Genoese. It was brought to an end in 1258 when its capital, S. Igia, was stormed and destroyed by an alliance of Sardinian-Pisan forces. The territory then became a colony of Pisa. The kingdom or giudicato of Torres, too, was pro-Genoese and came to an end in 1259, on the death of the giudicessa Adelasia. The territory was divided up between the Doria family of Genoa and the Bas-Serra family of Arborea, while the city of Sassari became an autonomous city-republic. The kingdom or giudicato of Gallura ended in the year 1288, when the last giudice Nino Visconti a friend of Dante's, was driven out by the Pisans who occupied the territory. The kingdom or giudicato of Arborea was almost always under the political and cultural influence of the powerful marine republic of Pisa. It lasted some 520 years, with Oristano as its capital. In 1297, Pope Boniface VIII in order to settle diplomatically the War of the Vespers, which broke out in 1282 between the Angevins and Aragonese over the possession of Sicily, established motu proprio a hypothetical regnum Sardiniae et Corsicae. The Pope offered it to the Catalan Jaume II the Just, king of the Crown of Aragon (a confederation made up of the kingdoms of Aragon and Valencia, plus the peasants of Catalonia), promising him support should he wish to conquer Pisan Sardinia in exchange for Sicily. In 1323 Jaume II of Aragon formed an alliance with the kings of Arborea and, following a military campaign which lasted a year or so, occupied the Pisa territories of Cagliari and Gallura along with the city of Sassari, naming them kingdom of Sardinia and Corsica. In 1353, for reasons of state survival, war broke out between the kingdom of Arborea and the kingdom of Sardinia and Corsica part of the Crown of Aragon. In 1354 the Aragonese seized Alghero and reshaped it into an entirely Catalan city, which still today displays its Iberian origins. In 1353 Pere IV of Aragon, called the Cerimonious, granted legislative autonomy (a parliament) to the kingdom of Sardinia and Corsica which was followed in due course by self-government (Viceroy) and judicial independence (Royal Hearing). >From 1365 to 1409 the kings or giudici of Arborea Mariano IV, Ugone III, Mariano V (assisted by his mother Eleonora, the famous giudicessa regent) and Guglielmo III (French grandson of Eleonora) succeeded in occupying very nearly all Sardinia except Castel of Cagliari (today Cagliari) and Alghero. In 1409 Marti the Younger, king of Sicily ad heir to Aragon, defeated the giudicale Sardinians at Sanluri and conquered once and for all the entire land. Shortly afterwards he died in Cagliari of malaria, without issue, and consequently the Crown of Aragon passed into the hands of the Castilians Trastamara, and in particular Ferran I of Antequera and his descendants, with the Compromise of Caspe in 1412. The tomb of Marti the Younger is in Cagliari Cathedral. Modern history In 1479, as a result of the personal union of Ferran II of Aragon and Isabel of Castile (the so-called Catholic king and queen), married ten years earlier, was born the Crown of Spain. Even the kingdom of Sardinia (which in the new title was separated from Corsica since that island never was conquered) became Spanish, with the state symbol that of the Four Moors. Following the failure of the military ventures against the Musulmen of Tunis (1535) and Algiers (1541) Carlos V of Spain, in order to defend his Mediterranean territories from the pirate raids by the African Berbers, fortified the Sardinian shores with a system of coastal lookout towers. The kingdom of Sardinia remained Iberian for approximately four hundred years, from 1323 to 1720, assimilating a number of the Spanish traditions, customs, linguistic expressions and lifestyles, nowadays vividly portrayed in the folklore parades of S.Efisio in Cagliari (May lst), by the Cavalcade in Sassari (last but one Sunday in May) and by the Redeemer in Nuoro (August 28th). In 1708 as a conseguence of the Spanish War of Succession, the rule of the Kingdom of Sardinia passed into the hands of the Austrians who landed on the island. In 1717 cardinal Alberoni, minister of Felipe V of Spain, reoccupied Sardinia. In 1718 with the traty of London, the kingdom of Sardinia was handed over to the Dukes of Savoy, prices of Piedmont, who rendered it perfect from imperfect attributing it the summa potestas that is the authority to stipulate international treaties. The kingdom was then italianized. In 1799, as a consequence of the Napoleonic wars in Italy, the dukes of Savoy left Turin and took refuge in Cagliari for some fifteen years. The tomb of Carlo Emanuele of Savoy is in the cript of Cagliari Cathedral. In 1847 the sardinian spontaneously renounced their state autonomy and formed a fusion with Piedmont in order to have a single parliament. a single magistracy and a single government in Turin. The throne of the kingdom of Sardinia is in the Royal Palace in Turin. In 1848 the Wars of indipendence broke out for the Unification of Italy and were led by the kings of Sardinia for thirteen years. In 1861 the kingdom of Sardinia was transformed into the Italian state founded. Contemporary age In 1946 by popular referendum Italy became a Republic. Sardinia, administered since 1948 by special statute, is today on of the twenty Italian regions, with 1,628,690 inhabitants spread out over the provinces of Cagliari, Sassari, Oristano and Nuoro, retracing more or less the territories of the four ancient and glourios giudicali states. ==Q6.14= I will be travelling to Italy next summer. ======== Does anyone have any infos regarding accommodations in XXX ? Last modified: May 27 1994 Massimo Boninsegni <massimob@ncsa.uiuc.edu> writes: It is not ``inappropriate'' to seek this sort of information on sci; however, it is important to realize that sci was not specifically created to provide it, unlike other newsgroups such as rec.travel. Therefore, the person who posts such a request should not have unrealistic expectations. If the information is urgently needed, one should definitely consider more efficient ways of obtaining it, such as consulting one of the excellent travel guides available, such as Feodor's, or calling a travel agent, or even posting on rec.travel. Sure, on a lucky day, somebody who knows everything one would ever want to know about XXX, owns an empty apartment there and is seeking someone to rent it to, will happen to be on the net, with enough time to type everything in. More often, however, no useful reply will be received and this should elicit no offense or disappointment; it simply means that nobody, among the netters who are most frequently visiting the newsgroup at that time can provide the desired information. ==Q6.15== How do I find other people with whom talk about books and ======== literature? Last modified: September 15 1994 >From a posting by Roberto Celi <celi@eng.umd.edu>: Avete voglia di discuterne con altri SCIiti? Un gruppo di noi ha messo insieme un mini-database, di cui unisco l'introduzione, in modo che possiate farvi un'idea del contenuto. Se desiderate avere una copia dell'edizione di Settembre, mandatemi E-Mail (il database si annida nel mio Mac) o lasciate un "posting" su SCI. L'edizione di Settembre e' lunga circa sette pagine. 1. CHI HA CONTRIBUITO ---> Nomi e indirizzi Internet 2. LIBRI E CHI LI HA LETTI ---> Questa e' una lista di libri in ordine alfabetico per autore, con i nomi di chi li ha letti ed e' interessato (o interessata) a discuterne su SCI o privatamente. Questa sezione e' ora suddivisa in quattro parti: narrativa italiana, saggistica italiana, narrativa straniera, saggistica straniera. 3. RECENSIONI, DISCUSSIONI, CHIACCHIERATE ECC. ---> Questa e' una sezione in costruzione, dove possono essere inserite recensioni (apparse su riviste o giornali, oppure preparate da lettori di SCI), discussioni interessanti apparse su SCI, oppure discussioni private scambiate via E-Mail che i partecipanti vogliano inviarmi. Attenzione! Le discussioni prese da SCI sono chiaramente pubbliche, pero' non e' detto che gli estensori siano interessati a discuterne ulteriormente, quindi usate nomi e indirizzi con discrezione! Per favore tenete anche conto del fatto che posso avere eliminato pezzi del "posting" che non si riferivano al libro. 4. LIBRI ITALIANI TRADOTTI IN LINGUE STRANIERE ---> Questa e' una nuova sezione, contenente un elenco di libri italiani tradotti in lingue straniere, con informazioni utili a reperirli (per esempio casa editrive, anno, numero ISBN, ecc.) 5. INDIRIZZI UTILI ---> Dove trovare libri e riviste italiane all'estero. ==Q6.16== How do I play 'bocce'? Last modified: January 12 1995 Richard Palmieri <rpalmier@s850.mwc.edu> writes: Some time ago, someone asked for the rules of bocce, a bowls game played with nine balls, eight heavies and one small "pallino". This is a lawn game usually associated correctly with Italy, but it is closely related to a number of other European games of bowls. One suspects the Romans carried the game with them in their conquests. In any case, while there may be some official "rules" of the game, practice is quite variable from place to place in Italy. For example, competition may be played on a formal bocce field, but most persons simply play on any expanse of available land which can be lawn or hard-packed clay. In more formal play, the field is long and narrow and surrounded with a slightly raised curb which keeps the balls in play. In other words, bocce is usually played casually. The object of the game is to get as may heavies as close as possible to the pallino without allowing the balls of opponents to interpose themselves. Usually, the heavies are marked in some way, four for one team, four for the other. Thus, from two to eight players can play, one to four on each team. A toss of a coin determines the team that throws out the pallino to start the game. The player who throws the pallino must throw the first heavy. A player from the other team then tries to get his heavy closer to the pallino than the first ball. If successful, other members of the opposing team throw their heavies until one of them interposes thier ball. When this occurs, the opposite team begins to throw (and so forth and so on). After all the balls (heavies) have been thrown, the team with one or more balls closer to the pallino than the other team's closest heavy scores one point for each ball. Thus concludes a "frame" and other frames are played, usually until a team reaches 21 points. While I have used the term "throw", it is quite usual to simply roll the heavies into position (age may be a factor here). And while the object of the game is to position your heavy closest to the pallino, there is no rule against trying to knock away an opponent's ball, leaving the throwing team in scoring position, or to strike the pallino, thus moving it closer to the attacking team's heavies. In fact, much of the fun of this game is associated with just these sorts of play. Any sort of measuring device can be employed to determine scoring position and disputes over this effort also make the game peculiarly Italian! If it is determined that two heavies, one from each team, are equidistant from the pallino, no score results from that frame. The team that scores in a frame has the honor of throwing the pallino out in the next frame. Generally, a line is drawn on the ground beyond which a player may not step in throwing (or lobbing) his heavy; but this, too, is a local ground rule which varies from place to place and team to team. Lobbing to any height is acceptable as long as the heavy remains in play. Backward spin can be given to the heavy to make it stick when it lands. Almost anything is allowed so long as it doesn't result in profanity or tempers too hot to permit enjoyment. I remember very well my uncles playing bocce on Sunday afternoons out in the backyard while my mother and aunts were inside cleaning up after a monumental meal. Even now, one of my favorite pastimes is playing bocce with my elderly father who continues to surpass his son in technique and luck! I should add that, while I have never before thought of it, I have seen only men play this game. Women seem never to play it with, perhaps, the sole exception of little girls who pick the game up after the men are finished. Bocce ball sets are available in sports shops; I bought mine in an Italian hardware store in a Little Italy where I grew up.

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