Page 24 - Italian American Herald - July 2022

24 ITALIANAMERICANHERALD.COM | JULY2022 ITALIAN-AMERICANHERALD ITALIAN MADE FUN & SIMPLE
introduction of apostrophe. Wars and foreign dominations brought a lot of Gallicisms and Hispanicisms in Italy. However, Italy also exported many words because of Italian supremacy in the cultural
and artistic fields.
In the next issue, we will conclude the
three-part series on the history of the Italian language. IAH
In the previous lesson, we discussed that learning a foreign language means exploring not only grammar, vocabulary, syntax, etc., but also the way the language developed over the centuries. In this issue we go to part two of our short history of the Italian language from Roman Latin to Italian today.
In the 14th century, Vulgar began to
have the same dignity as Latin for literary use. Among the most used Italian Vulgars, Sicilian and Tuscan, Florentine Tuscan dominated. This was because, within a few decades, Dante, Petrarca and Boccaccio became famous writers in Vulgar and they were all from Tuscany. The first one was Dante Alighieri, who decided to write a
huge narrative poem, something between metaphysics and science fiction. It is about his fantastic travel through hell, purgatory and paradise. Then there was Petrarca, who wrote very beautiful and tender love poems for his lover Laura, and Giovanni Boccaccio who wrote the Decameron, a collection
of short stories devoted to humoristic/
erotic subjects. The three of them were very popular among their contemporaries and had much impact, by emulation, on the authors from the other Italian regions.
The 15th century saw the comeback to Latin through the revival of the Greek and Latin classics. Humanists, as the scholars of that period are called, found texts, which were believed to be lost, and they discovered works, which were unknown at the time. Admiration for the classical world raised the
desire to imitate ancient writers and Latin was considered the only noble language
for literature. This period of decadence of Vulgar ended only at the end of the century, when some great authors, among them Lorenzo il Magnifico, who started to believe again in Vulgar’s potentiality and to use it
in their works. As the spread of printing
in Italy began around 1470, circulation of books grew and writers tried to establish rules, which standardized the writing of words. Punctuation was inadequate and the apostrophe did not exist. The articles el and il prevailed over lo. In the imperfect tense, the suffix –o for the first person (io dovevo) began to appear, but in the literary language –a was still predominant.
The 16th century saw the beginning of the great debate over the use of Vulgar Latin. There were three main viewpoints expressed by those who wanted Vulgar to replace classic Latin. Some people wanted the Tuscan of
the great writers of the 14th century due to the works of Dante, Petrarca and Boccaccio and of the great writers of that era such as Pietro Bembo and Ludovico Ariosto. Others thought that Italian should be a mix of the most elegant words of national dialects and finally a third group preferred the predomi- nance of a much-localized Florentine Tuscan. Spelling from the 16th century is still mainly Latin, but since the second half of the century h, x and ti instead of z tended to disappear. Punctuation becomes more complex and regular, and spelling is made clearer by the
PRESENZA – This surname is derived from the Latin first name “Praesentius,” meaning ready, powerful. It is only registered with the Bureaus of Vital Statistics in seven of Italy’s 20 regions, most in central and north regions, except for one in the south, Puglia. Variations: Presenzio, Presenzi.
PRESUTTI – This surname is derived possibly from the dialect word for prosciutto “presutte,” meaning ham. It is only registered with the Bureaus of Vital Statistics in 13 regions. It might indicate that the ancestors of the present-day families with that surname were pig farmers. However, a more competent origin may be derived from a change of consonants in the ancient name of the Praetutii peoples who inhabited the area of Teramo, Abruzzo in pre-Roman times. Variations: Presutto, Presutte.
PRETE – This surname is derived from the Italian word “prete,” meaning priest, which in turn is derived from the Greek “presbyteros,” meaning the eldest. This surname does appear in all 20 regions, given that many male inhabitants on the post-pagan Italian peninsula went into the priesthood. It is mostly present in Puglia and least in Val d’Aosta and Sardegna. Variations: Preti, Preite, Previte, Preve.
PRIMAVERA – This surname is derived from the Italian word “primavera,” meaning spring. It is registered with the Bureaus
of Vital Statistics in 18 regions. It is most prevalent in Abruzzo and least registered in Sardegna. It is not present in Trentino-Alto
Adige or Val d’Aosta. Variations: Primavere. PRINZI – This surname derives from the
Italian word “principe,” meaning prince. It
is only registered with the Bureaus of Vital Statistics in 13 regions. What is the possibility that present-day Italian families with this surname are descendants of royalty? Pretty good, considering that up until 1861, the Italian peninsula was broken up into many different city-states or ruled by foreign kingdoms like Spain, France and Austria- Hungary. Variations: Prinzio.
PROFETA – This surname derives
from the Greek word “prophetis,” meaning prophet. It is registered with the Bureaus of Vital Statistics in 17 of the 20 Italian regions. It is mostly present in Sicilia, which makes sense, given the island’s long connection to Greece. The three regions where it is not present are Trentino-Alto Adige, Val d’Aosta and strangely enough, Calabria, despite its historical ties to Greece.
PACINO – This surname first appeared regionally in Italy are with the -o ending typical of Sicily where it is most registered in the regions bureau of vital statistics. It is also present in 12 other regions. However, it is believed that the surname possibly originated from a first name, as documented in one Pacino da Bonaguida, a Florentine artist active about 1303-1347. The first name, as was customary in Tuscany and central Italy, changed to the plural Pacini to indicate the family group.
You can research your surname on these two websites:
• surnames.behindthename.com/names/usage/italian/ • cognomix.it/mappe-dei-cognomi-italiani.
The Herald is your exclusive opportunity
To reach the Delaware Valley Italian-American community.
To place your ad, contact: Advertising@italianamericanherald.com | 302.504.1335
Vol. 9 / No. 1
IN MEMORIAM
FOLLOW US ONLINE!
Broadcast pioneer
'Pat Delsi' passes away at age 86
PAGE 5
Find the latest Italian-American Herald features as well as an archive of back issues at our newly updated website, ItalianAmericanHerald.com
Add us to your favorite browsing sites and come back often!
A MONTHLY NEWSPAPER SERVING THE ITALIAN-AMERICAN COMMUNITY WWW.ITALIANAMERICANHERALD.COM
Belcastro in Calabria, close to the Ionian Sea and the mountains of the Little Sila, is one of many ancient towns offering homes for 1 euro.
By Jeanne Outlaw-Cannavo
to become homeowners in various locations across the country. The trend began in 2008 as an initiative by the government, mostly in rural towns and villages, to give new life to areas, which were experiencing sharp declines in population.
have lost so much of their population that they offered homes for free and even financial incentives for people to move there.
you will need the permit. Finally, you will need to open an account in an Italian bank. Well, this almost sounds too good to
be true and in a way it is. The payment of 1 euro is a good faith offer but the caveat
The sale of thousands of Italian homes
for the paltry sum of just 1 euro has sparked international interest in recent years. Italy has long been a top tourist destination, ranking in the top five visited countries worldwide and in the top three for those who live in Europe. Each year millions travel to Italy to experience its fascinating culture, its beautiful landscapes and artistic sites and delectable cuisine. Some visitors return numerous times because of their heritage and familial ties
and other because they fall in love with the country and its lifestyle.
Now Italy is giving many of these tourists an opportunity to become an integral part
of the country’s charm with the opportunity
The aging population and the large exodus of younger inhabitants in search of better jobs in larger cities or in other parts
of Europe, led to thousands of uninhabited houses which began to fall into ruin. The mayor of Salemi, a small town in Sicily, was the first to propose the initiative when he introduced the idea of selling homes that
had lain in ruin since a 1968 earthquake to anyone who would agree to renovate them for just 1 euro. Since then, hundreds of towns have set up these initiatives. Some towns
Of course, there are some regulations you must meet to purchase property. First you will need a passport just to look at properties and you will need to establish residency if you do not have Italian citizenship and plan to spend more than 183 days a year in your home. You also need to apply for a Codice Fiscal, which is comparable to a national insurance number and required to make any transactions and pay taxes. If you are buying a permanent residence, you do not have to worry about applying for a Codice Fiscale because the estate agent will get you one that does not also need a residency permit. However, if you are buying a holiday home
is that whoever purchases one of these houses must submit plans for renovation
to the town council and complete the work within a specific period. Some towns, such as Sambuca in Sicily, specify a minimum
of 15,000 euros for renovations and others may require insurance deposits of up to 5,000 euros. Each municipality has different requirements so that could make a difference in where a buyer might purchase a house. The cost will also depend on the size of the
How to buy an Italian home for 1 euro
Trend to revitalize rural sites presents unique opportunity
@ItalianAmericanHerald @HeraldItalian
JANUARY 2022
continued on page 5