11/07/01 - Italkian: A Judeo-Italian Dialect
Italkian, a Judeo-Italian dialect spoken mainly in urban areas in Rome and in central and northern Italy from the 10th to the 17th centuries in Italy, is on the verge of becoming extinct.

10/24/01 - Idiotic Italian History and Culture
Get ready to indulge! Whether you're a primadonna or a fanciulla, a mammone or a Medici, The Complete Idiot's Guide to Italian History and Culture is like a delicious hours-long Italian meal with great friends and terrific conversation that will leave you sated long after the table is cleared.

10/10/01 - National Italian American Heritage Month
Every October the U.S. president signs an executive order with a proclamation in recognition of the many achievements, contributions, and successes of Americans of Italian descent as well as Italians in America.

08/15/01 - Business Italian: Writing a Formal Letter
Gent.li Sig.ri! Dealing with bureaucracy in your own country is challenging enough, so imagine the difficulty of writing a letter in Italian to request a copy of a vital documents, contact long-lost relatives in Italy, or reserve a hotel room.

08/01/01 - Look It Up: Italian Dictionaries
One resource common to all, whether a beginner or advanced student, a native Italian speaker or a teacher, is a dictionary. Consult this guide to online, print, and downloadable Italian dictionaries and you'll always know the meaning of the word.

07/18/01 - AP Italian Language: Feasibility Study
The College Board AP Program is exploring the feasibility of offering a new AP course and exam in Italian language. Only with sufficient interest will the advanced placement program be offered to high school students of Italian language.

07/04/01 - What Italian Do You Speak?
Most regions in Italy have their own accent, dialect, and sometimes their own language. The various languages and dialects spoken in Italy evolved over centuries and remained distinct from standard Italian for a variety of reasons.

06/20/01 - Speaking Italian With Your Hands
Italians use body language and hand gestures to punctuate an expression and give it a shading that the word or phrase itself lacks.

06/06/01 - The Complete Idiot's Guide to Italian
Start turning the pages of this book for down-to-earth advice on communicating in Italian, idiot-proof tips for enlarging your vocabulary, and a handy quick-reference of commonly used phrases.

05/23/01 - Italian Baby Names
Guide to Italian baby names with over 1,000 of the most common names. Each entry contains a description with an account of the historical origins of the Italian name, its significance, the English equivalent, the name day, and other related Italian names and variations.

05/09/01 - Smoke Signals: Electing a New Pope
Secret ballots. Black and white smoke. Tapping the forehead of the dead pope with a hammer. There are many elaborate rites and traditions involved when electing a new pope.

04/25/01 - Bel Canto, Bella Lingua: The Italian Connection
The term bel canto, "beautiful singing," has probably meant different things at different periods in music history, but its origins are shrouded in the past.

04/11/01 - eDay: Your Own Italian Language Newspaper
Once upon a time, if you didn't live in Italy and wanted to read an Italian-language newspaper or magazine there were only a few choices. Now there's a Web site that allows you to customize and print out your very own full-color Italian language daily newspaper.

03/28/01 - Pesce d'Aprile: April Fool's Day in Italy
In Italy, as in much of the world, April 1st is traditionally a day of practical jokes, pranks, and silliness. The origin of this custom is ancient and ambiguous, but one thing is certain: much buffoonery and hilarity will take place.

03/14/01 - Buona Pasqua! Easter In Italy
Tradition and ritual play a strong role in Italian culture, especially during celebrations such as Easter. No matter what date Easter falls on, there are many ceremonies and culinary customs that are religiously upheld.

02/28/01 - The Sopranos? Fuhgeddaboutit!
Is Sopranospeak a new Italian American dialect? The vernacular of this famiglia has become so popular that it's been codified in a glossary and Tony Soprano even has his own form of currency.

02/14/01 - Be My Italian Valentine!
It may have originated in ancient Rome, but contemporary Valentine's Day celebrations are not particularly romantic in the land that practically invented seduction.

01/31/01 - Italian Slang: Le Parolacce
It's the dirty little secret of foreign language learning that often takes place by referring to banned books, spoken in hushed tones with a wink and a nod, or cornering someone in the know.

01/17/01 - Boccaccio: The Ultimate Survivor
Was Il Decamerone the precursor to reality-based TV shows? Regarded as a masterpiece and a model for Italian classical prose, Boccaccio's influence on Renaissance literature was enormous and continues even in contemporary times.

01/03/01 - Italian Musical Odyssey
Mention Italian music and most people think of opera and operatic singers. They might have heard of the San Remo Music Festival or sung along to recordings of classic Neapolitan songs. But Italian folk music is a tradition that's had a long and creative history and is now enjoying a revival.

More Features...

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