12/20/00 - Machiavelli: Prince of Politicians?
Maybe it's time Vice President Al Gore and Gov. George W. Bush brushed up on their Italian lessons and dusted off their copy of Nicolò Machiavelli's Il Principe, the definitive political guide written by the Italian Renaissance statesman almost 500 years ago.

12/06/00 - Buon Natale! Christmas in Italy
Green, white, and red—the colors of Italy's national flag, and the traditional Christmas colors as well. It may not be a surprise, then, that Christmas probably originated in Italy.

11/22/00 - Thanksgiving in Italy: La Festa del Ringraziamento
Thanksgiving in Italy? The distinctly American tradition doesn't translate well in the land of Etruscans, but for most Italian Americans Thanksgiving dinner means the inclusion of special Italian family recipes to accompany the traditional meal.

11/08/00 - Commedia dell'Arte
A brief history of Commedia dell'Arte, also known as Italian comedy, a humorous theatrical presentation performed by professional players who traveled in troupes throughout Italy in the 16th century.

10/25/00 - When Speaking Italian Was a Crime
With over 26 million Americans of Italian descent in the United States the Italian American community boasts a rich history and unequaled vitality. The country was even named after an Italian, the explorer and geographer Amerigo Vespucci. So it may come as a huge surprise to discover that speaking Italian was once considered a crime.

10/11/00 - Learn Italian With Your Children
It's never too early to learn a foreign language, whether it's nursery rhymes, counting exercises, or children's songs. Parents can introduce their children to a whole new world and encourage their appreciation of other cultures.

09/27/00 - The Origin of Musical Notation
"Do, Re, Mi..." sang Julie Andrews in The Sound of Music. Little did she realize that these syllables originated with an Italian monk over 1000 years ago.

09/13/00 - New Language Learning Software
Forget Berlitz - the totally wired crowd learns foreign languages by computer. New speech recognition technology is an excellent example of how powerful a PC can be in supplanting or improving on traditional teaching methods.

08/30/00 - Learn Italian: Discover Your Family Heritage
Many Italian Americans today are getting in touch with their family heritage by learning their ancestors' native language. Ultimately they are looking for ways to identify, understand, and bond with their family's ethnic background.

08/16/00 - The Verb Fare and Idiomatic Expressions
Learn the conjugations of the verb fare and its use in many idiomatic expressions and proverbs.

08/02/00 - Irregular Second and Third Conjugation Italian Verbs
The irregular verbs of the second conjugation (-ere verbs) and third conjugation (-ire verbs) are numerous. However, there is a consistent pattern in their differences.

07/19/00 - Accademia della Crusca
The Italian society was founded in Florence in 1582 to separate the literary wheat from the linguistic chaff, and maintain the purity of the Italian language.

07/05/00 - CILS Exam: Italian Proficiency Test
Speak Italian? Prove it with the CILS Exam, the definitive proficiency examination to prove competence in the language.

06/21/00 - Italians Reject English Phrases
Members of the Italian parliament have launched a campaign against English phrases that are flooding into their culture and language.

06/07/00 - Italian Language Exchange Program
Five separate itineraries to be conducted in Spring 2001 offer ten-day all-expenses-paid trip for students.

05/24/00 - Italian Language Summer Study Vacations
Whether it’s pottery classes on the Adriatic, learning about frescos in Florence, or studying on the island of Sicilia, there’s no better way to combine learning the Italian language with a valued skill while vacationing in enchanting Italy.

05/10/00 - Italian Nouns: Gender and Number
All nouns in Italian have a gender; that is, they are either masculine or feminine. They also have changes in their vowel endings to indicate number.

04/26/00 - Counting in Italian
Stop using your fingers and learn all about counting in Italian. With an explanation of both ordinal and cardinal number usage, notes on writing numbers, and special uses in dates and historical references.

04/12/00 - Who Needs Berlitz?
In the quest for a universal translator, spontaneous spoken language translation threatens traditional methods.

03/29/00 - How-To's
Quick, step-by-step instructions from your SiteGuide! Learn the essentials related to the Italian Language.

03/15/00 - Irregular First Conjugation Verbs
Learn the conjugations of the only three irregular verbs in the first conjugation and grammatical notes on their usage.

03/01/00 - To Have and Have Not
The verb avere and its many idiomatic uses.

02/16/00 - Petrarca: Love Sonnets
Head-over-heels in love with Laura, Petrarca wrote 365 sonnets, one passionate poem a day dedicated to his true love.

02/02/00 - Dante: Hell on the Web
Multimedia project allows visitors to explore Dante's 700-year-old vision of Hell, Purgatory, and Paradise.

01/19/00 - Forming the Imperative
Learn how to give orders, advice, and exhortations using Italian verbs. Includes grammatical examples and rules.

01/05/00 - L'Italiano È Più Facile da Imparare dell'Inglese!
Study shows it's easier to learn Italian than English!

More Features...

2009 Weekly Feature Articles
2008 Weekly Feature Articles
2007 Weekly Feature Articles
2006 Weekly Feature Articles
2005 Weekly Feature Articles
2004 Weekly Feature Articles
2003 Weekly Feature Articles
2002 Weekly Feature Articles
2001 Weekly Feature Articles
2000 Weekly Feature Articles
1999 Weekly Feature Articles