| curlee's Italian Page |
| Among the most wonderful things in my life are my study of the Italian language and culture, and our trips to Italy. I have loved Italy and all things Italian since I was a young girl standing in Rose Iovino's kitchen watching her cook and listening to her speak the language. In high school I took an Art History course where I was introduced to the Italian Rennaisance, Michelangelo and Leonardo. I was totally hooked. Thanks to my high school art teacher, Carol Rosen, I was instilled with a passion that has led to a life long study of the history of Italian art. The first time Gill and I went to Italy was 1983 as a celebration of our 15th wedding anniversary. We landed in Rome, and after renting a car, we drove north spending 3 weeks seeing Florence, Assisi, Pisa, Venice, Lake Como and Milan. It was a dream come true. In 1998 I decided to finally follow a dream to learn the Italian language. I began with a book by Gabrielle Euvino, The Complete Idiot's Guide to Learning Italian. September 2000 Gill and I started taking classes with La Signora Vita Mesnick at Poughkeepsie Continuing Education. July, 2002 we completed the two year course. At La Signora Mesnick's suggestion, I am now using an all Italian dictionary to supplement my Italian-English dictionary. September, 2002 we entered her class Parliamo I, which began to expose us to Italian literature and poetry. In January, 2003 we moved to Fernandina Beach, Florida where we took classes with La Signora Luisa Onstead at Florida Community College Jacksonville. We have also started an advanced discussion and learning group in Fernandina Beach. We had the wonderful opportunity to go to Rome December 2000 for six weeks. We went to school for two weeks at La Scuola Leonardo DaVinci. Then we spent the following four weeks practicing our Italian with our friends and the city of Rome. We had the most wonderful gift in our lives to be able to spend Christmas and New Year with our friends in Rome. We will always remember that special holiday season and being welcomed as family. The summer of 2001 we met Gabrielle Euvino and began classes with her as well as La Signora Mesnick. Gabrielle was writing her new book, The Complete Idiot's Guide to Italian History and Culture. She said that she could use some help, and we had a wonderful time as we spent June and July, 2001 helping her with research and editing. In 2004 I helped her with the third edition of The Idiot's Guide to Learning Italian. In March of 1999 I began an email group: [email protected]. It began with just a half a dozen of us who were learning Italian as a way to support each other. There are now almost 1500 members from all over the world who share the passion for Italy and the language. On the next pages you can see some of my favorite pictures or our trip to Rome, recipes and links to some of my favorite sites. As with my study of Italian and my love affair with Italy, this site is an everchanging and growing entity. You can email me by clicking here |
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