Page 26 - Italian-American Herald - June 2024

26 ITALIANAMERICANHERALD.COM | JUNE2024 ITALIAN-AMERICANHERALD PER I BAMBINI
Cosa facciamo? Describe what you’re up to with some Italian pizzazz
By Melissa Cannavo Marino with Maverick and Darla
Summer is here and school is out! Time to decide cosa facciamo (what we are doing). Every day mamma teaches Darla and me some Italian, so we understand her when she speaks in this bella lingua (bel-la leen-gwa) beautiful language. Now we are ready to teach you a few words that are part of the many fun activities that you can enjoy now that the weather is warmer.
If you live near l’oceano (lo chey-ah-no) the ocean you will probably spend some time at la spiaggia (la spee-ah-ja) the beach. In Italy they say andiamo al mare (ahn-d-amo
al mar-a) let’s go to the sea when they are going to the beach. In the United States we can swim at beaches along the Pacific and Atlantic oceans or find a swimming site at laghi (lah-gee) lakes and golfi (gol-fee) gulfs.
In Italy people can choose from four seas which surround the peninsula. The country has more than 4,700 miles of coastline which are along Il Mar Tirreno (eel mar teer-a-no) the Tyrrhenian Sea, il mare Adriatico (eel mar-a ah-dree-ah-tea-ko) the Adriatic Sea,
il Mar Ionio (eel mar e-oh-nee-o) the Ionian Sea, and il Mar Ligure (eel mar lee-gor-a) the Ligurian Sea. Of course, some people can just walk outside their home and swim in una piscina (ooh-na pee-she-na) a pool. There are even dei fiumi (day fee yoom me) some rivers where people can swim. Many of these sites have bagnini (bahn-yee-knee) lifeguards to protect swimmers but others do not.
Another great thing to do in the summer is to have una scampagnata (una scam-pan- ya-ta) a picnic outdoors or un barbecue (oon bar-bih-kyoo) a barbecue at home or in a park.
Going to a carnival is also a fun thing to do in the summer. There are a number of carnevali (car-nay val-a) carnivals set up for special days. These offer giostre di carnevale (gee-oh-stray d car-nay-val-a) carnival
rides and giochi (gee-oh-key) games. Some favorites are la giostra va in giro (la gee-oh- stra va een jeer-oh) the merry-go-round, la ruota panoramica (la roo-oh-ta pahn-or-ah- me-ka) the ferris wheel and gli autoscontri (yee ow-toe scone-tree) bumper cars and much more.
Families may plan a day or more at parchi divertimento (par-key dee-vair-tea-men-toe) amusement parks which are open year- round. They offer exciting rides for bambini piccoli (bam-be-knee pea-ko-lee) young children, adolescenti (ah-do leh shen-tea) teens and adulti (ah dull-tea) adults.
Summer is also a good time to play outside. Games of calcio (cal-cho) soccer are extremely popular for children across the
world, and baseball is also a favorite. Simple games like nascondino (nas-cone-d-no) hide and seek or soffiando bolle (so-fee-ahn-do bowl-lay) blowing bubbles are a relaxing way to pass the time on un giorno soleggiato (oon jor-no sol-a-ja-toe) on a sunny day.
A warm summer day is also a wonderful time to visit a zoo. Here you can watch and learn about different mammiferi (ma-me
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fair-a) mammals, rettili (reh-teal-a) reptiles, vita marina (vee-ta ma-rina) marine life and insetti (een she-tea) insects. But that is a story for another time! For now, we wish you a summer full of fun and adventure. IAH
The writer of this feature, Melissa Cannavo Marino, is also the host and director of ARA Delco’s Italian-American radio programs.
NEWS FROM ITALY
Builder’s assurance: Jumbo ships will fit under planned bridge
ANSA
ROME – The world's tallest ships will be able to pass under the future Messina Straits Bridge, the CEO of the Stretto di Messina contracting company, Pietro Ciucci, said recently after logistics federation Federlogistica voiced doubts about mammoth cruise liners and tall ships getting under what would be the world's longest suspension bridge linking Sicily to mainland Italy.
"The navigable height of the bridge is 236.22 feet, with a width of 1968.504 feet, and only drops to 213.255 feet in exceptional conditions of heavy road and rail traffic,"
he said.
"These parameters are in line with the existing bridges on the great international navigation ways, in coherence with the
procedures established by IMO (International Maritime Organization) norms.”
Federlogistica President Luigi Merlo had said earlier that a height of 213.255 feet was too low for the great ships of the day.
Last week the European Parliament approved the updated guidelines for the development of the Trans-European Transport Network (Ten-T), which connects over 420 major cities in the EU, and included in the plan Italy's ambitious project to build the Messina Strait Bridge.
Work on the bridge will start this summer, Transport and Infrastructure Minister Matteo Salvini said after the environment ministry asked the contracting company to explain 239 parts of the project.
Salvini has pushed strongly to revive a project mooted by successive past center- right governments but never actually started
due to environmental, mafia infiltration and seismic concerns and the significant cost. The bridge currently has a price tag of
some 14.6 billion euro, roughly $16.14 billion, or about one percent of Italian GDP, and is scheduled to come into use in the late 2030s.