Page 14 - Italian American Herald - April 2020

14 ITALIANAMERICANHERALD.COM | APRIL2020 ITALIAN-AMERICANHERALD ITALIAN MADE FUN&SIMPLE
Easter is in in the middle of April and so in just a couple of weeks Lent will be over and Easter will celebrated by Christians around the world. In keeping with the season and the theme of Lent and Easter, in this edition’s lesson, we’ll focus on these holiday
periods in Italy while building your Italian vocabulary with food names, greetings, and religious words. We start off with the vocabulary that ushers in the period leading to Lent and that of the Lenten/Pascal season.
Fat Tuesday Martedi` Grasso Carnival Il Carnevale
Lent La Quaresima
Ash Wednesday Mercoledi` dei Ceneri Palm Sunday Domenica delle Palme Happy Easter Buona Pasqua
bunny rabbit il coniglietto Crucifixion la crocifissione Peace la pace
Easter Monday la Pasquetta spring la primavera Resurrection la resurrezione Holy Week la settimana santa Last Supper l’Ultima Cena Eggs le uova
Holy Friday Venerdì Santo
Surnames and Their Origins
Easter dishes include carciofi fritti (fried artichokes), a main course of either capretto
o agnellino al forno (roasted goat or baby lamb) or capretto cacio e uova (kid stewed with cheese, peas, and eggs), and carciofi e patate soffritti, a delicious vegetable side dish of sautéed artichokes with baby potatoes.
Le uova di Pasqua by some producers are distinguished between their chocolate eggs for children (sales numbers are a closely guarded secret, but the market for these standard quality eggs is said to be shrinking with Italy’s birthrate) and expensive “adult” versions. All except the tiniest eggs contain a surprise. Grownups often find their eggs contain little silver picture frames or gold–dipped costume jewelry. The very best eggs are handmade by artisans of chocolate, who offer the service of inserting a surprise supplied by the purchaser. Car keys, engagement rings, and watches are some of the high–end gifts that have been tucked into chocolate eggs in Italy.
This month’s proverb
It is from the region of Veneto.
Veneto: Chi rompe de veccio, paga de novo.
Italiano: Chi rompe il vecchio ripaga con il nuovo.
English: Break the old and repay with the new. (literal) In English this proverb is best
expressed as, “The grass always seems greener on the other side.”
This month’s falso amico
It is stampa. This does not mean stamp as in postage stamp. Stamp in Italian is fracobollo. Stampa in Italian means press and in the media. For example, Conferenza stampa means press conference.
You can research your surname on these two websites:
• surnames.behindthename.com/names/usage/italian/ • cognomix.it/mappe-dei-cognomi-italiani.
In this issue we begin with Italian surnames starting with the letter “N.”
NANNI – This surname derives from the first name Nanni, an abbreviation of the first name Giovanni. It is a very popular surname found in all 20 regions. It is most prevalent in Emilia-Romagna and least in Val D’Aosta.
NAPOLEONI – This surname derives from the first name from the German first name “Nibelung,” from the word “nebel” meaning fog. NAPOLEONE, NAPOLIONI. It is found in only 13 regions. Where it is registered, the highest concentration is in Lazio. Variations: Napoleone, Napolioni.
NARCISI –Thissurnamederivesfrom the first name Narciso of Greek origin. According the legend it is the name of the
mythical handsom youth. Also the name of a flower. Probably used as a nickname to indicate a vain person. Variations: NARCISO, NARCISA.
NARDI – This surname derives from the first name Nardo, deriving from the first name Leonardo or Bernardo. This surname is very popular. It is registered in 19 regions. It is most prevalent in Tuscany and least in Val D’Aosta. The only region where it does not appear is Molise. Variations: NARDO, NARDELLI, NARDELLO, NARDIELLO, NARDELLA, NARDILLI, NARDULLI, NARDINI, NARDIN, NARDUCCI, NARDUZZI, NARDONI, NARDONE, NARDON, NARDARI.
NASUTI – This surname derives from
the word Italian “naso,” meaning nose. It
is often used as a nickname to someone who has a big or strange nose. Probably the modern-day Nasutis had relatives with big noses. It is present in 13 regions, mostly Abruzzo. Variations: NASUTO, NASUTA.
NATALE – This surname derives from the first name Natale meaning Christmas, which derived from the Latin “dies natalis” meaning day of birth, name given to the children born on Christmas Day. This surname is found heavily in Italy. It is present in all 20 regions. It heaviest concentration
is in Campania and least present in Val D’AostaVariations: NATALI, NADALI, NATALETTI, NATALINI, NADALINI, NATALUCCI, NATALIZI, NADALUTTI, NALETTO, NADINI, NALATO, NALESSO.
NEPA – This surname derives from an Italian dialect word “nappa,” meaning big nose, or derived from another dialect word “nepitella,” meaning wild mint plant.
NIRO – This surname is derived from the first name Rinieri, a, popular form of the Tuscan surname Ranieri, or also thought to be derived from the Italian word “nero,” meaning black. It is present in 17 regions. It is not present in Basilcata, Trentino-Alto Adige and Val D’Aosta. Variations: NERI, NERINI, NERUCCI, NERONI.
NOBILIO – This surname drives from
the Italian word “nobile,” meaning noble. It’s possible modern families with this surname are of noble descent. This is a very uncommon surname found only in 8 regions and all regions where it is present are in central and northern Italy. Variations: NOBILI, NOBILINI.
NORI – This surname is from the Latin word “nurus,” meaning son-in-law. This surname is present in 16 regions. It is most prevalent in Lazio and least in Campania. It is not present in Sicily, Calabria, Basilicata and Molise.
NOTTE – This surname derives from the Italian word “note,” meaning night. Families with this surname may have had ancestors who worked during the night. It is a very uncommon surname with small numbers of families with that surname found only in 15 regions.
NUCCI – This surname derives from the first name Nuccio or Nuzzo, an abbreviation of Antoniuccio, Rinuccio, etc. It can also
be attributed to the town of Nuccio in the Sicilian province of Trapani. It is present in all 20 regions with the highest number of families with this surname in Tuscany and least present in Basilicata and Val D’Aosta. Variations: NUCCIO, NUZZI, NUZZO, NUZZOL.
Next month we begin to look at Italian surnames that begin with the letter “O.” IAH
Come visit the first Italian national parish in America. Discover our rich history and marvel over our two strikingly beautiful churches. Seated in the heart of the Italian Market in South Philadelphia.
Celebrate 10am Sunday Mass at St. Mary Magdalen or 12 noon Mass at St. Paul Church. For more information go to our website: www.stpaulparish.net
Saint Paul Church
923 Christian Street
St. Mary Magdalen de’ Pazzi Church
712 Montrose Street