Page 18 - Italian American Herald - April 2022

18 ITALIANAMERICANHERALD.COM | APRIL2022 ITALIAN-AMERICANHERALD ITALIAN MADE FUN & SIMPLE
Easter is upon us. Therefore, it’s time to review a few practical expressions that you may have forgotten or might like to learn that
are good to know to celebrate the holiday. Easter time is known in Italian as il Periodo Pasquale and is still firmly rooted in religious traditions. If you think che manca qualche parola (important words are missing) then they probably don’t yet play a significant role in Italy during the Pascal season. We’ll start at Lent, then
check out useful expressions through Easter Monday.
Important days of Lent
Domenica delle Palme Palm Sunday
Giovedì Santo Holy Thursday
Venerdì Santo Good Friday
Sabato Santo Holy Saturday or Vigil of Easter Pasqua Easter Sunday
Pasquetta Easter Monday or Little Easter Pentecoste Pentecost
Words associated with Easter
La processione Procession
La ceremonia Ceremony La Santa Messa Mass
Falò Bonfire
La Passione The Passion La croce Cross
Il Cenacolo or The Last Supper L’Ultima Cena
Il discepolo Disciple
Ponzio Pilato Pontius Pilate
As always, food takes center stage in any Italian celebration and Easter is no exception. Here is vocab- ulary for some Easter foods.
Il pane Bread L’agnello Lamb
La cioccolata Chocolate L’uovo Egg
Chocolate at this time of year is almost always in the shape of an egg followed by chocolate crosses.
Breads made during Easter are beyond the imagination with almost every region boasting one or two specialties.
The one bread that is common to the entire country is the traditional columba, a sweet bread shaped like a dove.
The seasonal greeting is Buona Pasqua (Happy Easter).
Here in the United States there are certain Easter words and traditions that Italians maintain and others that either never took hold here or have fallen by the wayside because of assimila- tion. Much of what is retained in the United States has a food connection to a particular region and the associated vocabulary is in dialect. Let’s look at two of these food items that you may have heard and explain their significance.
The first is the Sicilian cuddura cu l’ova. Once you leave Sicily, it is almost impossible to find a bakery on the Italian mainland that bakes this Sicilian Easter favorite. Here in the United States the tradition of the cuddura cu l’uva transcends the Sicilian Americans and is popular among the Italian Americans-at-large. In fact, it is easier to find the cuddura here than on the Italian mainland. What exactly does this Sicilian word mean and what would be the Italian equivalent? ThetranslationfromSiciliantoEnglishisbestputlikethis,“braidedwitheggs” which leaves us now with the proper Italian to be defined. Given this is not an item that crosses the Straits of Messina very often, there is no other way to refer to this short of a
literal translation to Italian which would look something like this, Treccia con le ova,
which ifsaidtoanItalianmightelicitastrangelookfromhim/her.
Another popular food, la pastiera from Naples, is also popular in the United States not only among Neapolitan Americans, but again has garnished popularity among many Italian Americans. However,asearchthroughanItaliandictionaryrevealsnosuchwordaspastiera in Italian. It can best be described as an Easter sweet grain pie.
This month’s proverb is of Corsican origins:
This month’s proverb
Corso: A quandu Pasqua, à quandu tasca.
Italiano equivalent: A volte è festa, a volte è miseria.
English literal: At times it’s Easter, at times it’s pockets. Figuratively it is meant to imply
“At times it’s festive, at times it’s misery, as in having empty pockets.
This month’s falso amico
It is deluso. It doesn’t means “deluded,” but in fact it means “disappointed.”. The verb deludere is “to disappoint,” “to betray”or “to let down.” The verb “to delude” on the other hand is illudere. They all have roots in the Latin ludere meaning “to play.” So, the English “to delude” is from the Latin deludere, “to play false,” but the meanings have evolved in slightly different directions over the centuries.
You can research your surname on these two websites:
• surnames.behindthename.com/names/usage/italian/ • cognomix.it/mappe-dei-cognomi-italiani.
PETTI – This surname derives from
the Italian word “petto,” meaning breast,
or from the origin of a place called Petto,
like Pettorano in Abruzzo or Pettoranello in Molise. Though in small numbers, it appears in the vital statistics in 19 of Italy’s 20 regions. It is most present in Campania and least in Trentino-Alto Adige. It is not present in the Val D’Aosta region
PICCIANO – This surname derives
from the name of the town of Picciano in the Abruzzese province of Pescara. It is present in only 13 regions, mostly in Molise and least in Veneto. Variations: Picciani, Picciana.
PICCININI – This surname derives from the Italian word “piccino,” meaning little, little baby, etc. It was used as a nickname a short person. It appears in the vital statistics in 19 of I regions. It is mostly present in Emilia-Romagna and least in Basilicata. It
is not present in the Val D’Aosta region. Variations: Piccirilli, Piccini.
PICCIONI – This surname derives from the Italian word “piccione,” meaning pigeon. It appears in the vital statistics in 19 of Italy’s 20 regions. It is mostly present in Lazio and least in Sicilia. Basilicata is the lone region where there is no presence. Variations: Piccioni, Piccione.
PIERDOMENICO – This surname derives from the two first names Pietro and Domenico. It appears in the vital statistics in only 11 of the 20 regions, all of which are in the central and northern regions of Italy. Variations: Pierdomenici, Pierdominici.
PIERFELICE – This surname derives from the two first names Pietro and Felice. It appears in the vital statistics in only 10 of
the 20 regions, almost of which are in the northern regions of Italy and down along the peninsula’s western coast. Variations: Pierfelici, Pierfeliciano.
PIERSANTI – This surname derives from the two first names Pietro and Santo. It appears in the vital statistics in only 16 of the 20 regions. The four regions that do not have a presence are Molise, Val D’Aosta, Friuli- Venezia Giulia and Liguria.
PIETRANTONI –This surname derives from the two first names Pietro and Antonio. It also appears in the vital statistics in only 16 of the 20 regions. The four regions that do not have a presence are all in the southern part of the country. They are Molise, Puglia, Calabria and Basilicata.
PIETRANOIA – This surname derives from the Latin “petra rubea,” meaning red stone. It indicates a place the family’s origins are. This surname is very sparsely present. In fact, its only is presence is in six regions.
PIETRO –This surname derives from the first name Pietro, the Italian equivalent of Peter. It is very uncommon as a surname. It is present in only seven regions and with the number of families with Pietro as a surname in the single digits. Without question, it
is much more a first name rather than a surname.
PINELLI – This surname derives from the first name Pino, which is a diminutive of Giuseppe. This surname is very present appearing in all 20 regions. It is most registered with vital statistics in Emilia- Romagna and least in Basilicata. Variations: Pinello, Pino, Pinato.