P. L’ITALIANO
Praticare l’Italiano Lesson 2
by Mariagrazia Pia
Common saying …. from the taste buds! The wisdom and madness of a people of artists and sailors!
H
ere is summarized, without religious references, the Ethics, the peasant Morality, of those who think of the essential in their lives and in economic difficulties, which the Covid19 pandemic has perhaps made it less shameful to mention, even for those who accompanied bread with precious foods and the wines were recommended by sommeliers! Understanding the meaning of this sentence, pronouncing it in Italian, means being or remembering to be Italian: the essential, what is vital, is what cannot be altered, counterfeited. We are not just talking about GMOs or about the fight against sophistication in wine, of which Italians are proud producers and exporters. The wine, then, must not be watered down .... the Truth has its alcohol content!
“Nell’acqua che non vuoi bere… anneghi”! We cannot forget the water, but the water of our Italian grandparents was sometimes from the well, rain from gutters that are not always so clean .... Better, the wine that was healthier for fermentation. Drinking from rivers, near streams, could be dangerous, if grazing or wild animals had just immersed themselves in them ... you could get sick! Yet in the water you do not want to drink ... you drown: fate, tragic, leads you to face what you wanted to avoid and, at times, this people of fishermen and sailors, metaphorically, drown. It is important to understand this popular saying of generations ago, when people were still leaving for America, (“Merica” as those who did not think they had to take a language course to emigrate said ....) One cannot fail to mention Dante, the sad experience of exile for him, of emigration for others ....
“saprai quanto sa di sale il pane altrui”.
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I’M ITALIAN - SPRING - 2022
