Italian Word of the Day – “Ricominciare” (+ Visa Update)

La Maestra Maldestra

It’s been a long time since I last published a Word of the Day post, but I figured this was fitting. Today we’re going to learn about the word ricominciare.

ri (again) + cominciare (start) = to start again

And that’s exactly what I have to do with this whole Italian Visa process, folks.

Grazie to all of you who took the time to leave a comment, send a message, say a prayer or light a candle for me when I went to apply for my Italian work Visa a couple weeks ago. Things didn’t quite go as planned (obviously) and now my team of trusty friends and I have to ricominciare da zero (start back at square one) with the whole process.

Back to the drawing board…

Having to re-do things because they weren’t quite right the first time isn’t as disheartening, however, as hearing that something’s impossible. And I’m (thankfully) sitting in the first camp. So now I know how things go. Now I know what to do, who to see, what to send and what to sign. This Visa is still within reach, and so is my dream of living and working in Italy (again).

So, to ricominciare is not all bad. No, not at all. Besides, I’m not the only one who has to fare salti mortali (jump through hoops) to get something done on the Visa or Permesso di Soggiorno (permit to stay) front.

Take a look at these posts from other great Italy bloggers to read their trials and tribulations:

Girl in Florence – How to Survive Your Next Permesso di Soggiorno Renewal

Italy Project 365 – How to Obtain a Permesso di Soggiorno per Lavoro

The Florentine – Let’s Talk About Visas II

And just because we are still talking about our Word of the Day, take a listen to Adriano Pappalardo’s 1979 hit, “Ricominciamo” (Let’s Start Over).

(If the original music video is available in your area, take a look. The guy looks like a pro wrestler-turned-singer!)

Canzoni Recenti Italian Playlist

Ciao tutti!

Just a quick note to let you know to check out a new page under the Italian Playlists Menu entitled Canzoni Recenti. The page is full of – you guessed it!- recent Italian song suggestions for your listening pleasure. The mix might be a little eclectic, but they’re songs I like and which I think you might as well. As always, I’ve linked the song titles to YouTube for easy access.

Buon ascolto,

Sarah 

 

Great Italian Love Songs

By now you all know how great my love of Italian music is. And if you don’t, well, feel free to check out the Italian Playlist page for an explanation as to why I love it so much.

I’ve just created a new playlist entitled Grandi Canzoni D’Amore, or Great Love Songs made up of songs from the 60s, 70s and 80s – most of which I was forced to listen to as a kid on my Italian Babbo’s (Dad’s) cassette tapes, 45s and LPs. (Do people even know what those are any more?!) Other songs weren’t introduced to me by Babbo (I actually introduced some of them to him) but by friends in Italy and bring back memories of many afternoons and evenings spent sipping Prosecco at my favourite hangout in Siena.

Some of the singer-songwriters on the playlist have been writing, singing and performing music for more than four decades and they’re still bravissimi (great). My 70-year-old Nonna still marvels at Gianni Morandi’s “straight, white, beautiful” teeth! I tried to include as many original video clips as I could, purely for entertainment purposes. (Would you look at the hair on Claudio Baglioni!)

Along with my Dad and my Nonni (grandparents) I’ve been lucky enough to even see some of these guys in concert, yes, all the way across the pond here in Canada. Who? Toto Cutugno and Gianni Morandi, for starters, both of whom appear on this new playlist.

Take a listen, and I hope you enjoy!

Buon ascolto!