Acqua alta (high water)
In Venice, high water is always high tide, but high tide is not always high water. Sea level is subject to a cycle of variable rise and fall over time, fluctuating globally in response to the increasing or...
Enciclopedia
Acqua granda or aqua granda (big water)
High water in Venice and the lagoon is often annoying, uncomfortable and sometimes harmful — and the current climate change is accentuating the phenomenon in frequency and intensity. However, there are two episodes...
Enciclopedia
Andémo béver un'ombra
How often do you hear people say among the calli: 'Ciò, andémo béver un'ombra!'...? It is an invitation that has been handed down for generations and is gladly accepted especially by those who do not disdain good...
Enciclopedia
De zioba grasso tute łe boche łica. 'On fat thursday, all mouths can lick'
As many know, the term grasso (fat) in reference the two days of Carnival, Tuesday and Thursday, indicates a period in which particularly nutritious foods, sweets, or fats were consumed. This is because the period of...
Enciclopedia
Duri i banchi!
One of the most popular idioms in modern speech. It means "hold on", "go ahead" despite the problems and is often used as moral support in difficult situations, towards each other: "Duri i banchi vecio!" (hard at...
Enciclopedia
Fiłar całigo (to spin through the fog)
The word caligo comes from the Latin caligo (-gĭnis) and means caligina, fog, mist, not seeing clearly, obscuring. It is a highly figurative expression, describing the act of trying to spin through the fog, as if it...
Enciclopedia
Tagiar ła testa al toro ‘Cut the the bulls head’ (To bite the bullet, to cut to the chase)
The meaning of this saying is well-known: to remove obstacles, to end something quickly, to put to end an issue without providing further alternatives, to get something done. What may not be known is that the...
Enciclopedia