By Daniela Gross Luciana Pacifici was only eight months old, when she was deported to Auschwitz along with her parents, her grandparents, and an uncle. She didn’t survive the horrible train transport, and all her family met its death in the extermination camp. Luciana was born in Naples on May 28, 1943, in a central …
By Daniela Gross An impressive “Western Wall” composed by the suitcases of Jewish deportees greets the visitors at the 2015 Venice Biennale. Titled “All the World Futures”, the major contemporary art exhibition, which opened last week, this year explores how artists react to the upheavals of our time. Not by chance, its curator Okwui Enwezor …
By Daniela Gross “On Liberation Day, flags with the Star of David should be welcomed with joy, relief, contentment – and some regrets, looking back to the past. They should be the heart of the march, not just a marginal component, that, moreover, requires to be protected against offenses and insults.” So wrote on Monday, …
By Daniela Gross “The Italian Memorial must stay in Auschwitz”. With this strong headline, an essay on the THE Corriere della Sera newspaper re-launched the issue regarding the Italian monument placed at the concentration camp back in 1980, in Block 21, to honor the Italians who died in the Nazi lager. The problem dates back …
By Daniela Gross Gino Bartali was the most famous and beloved Italian cyclist before World War II. His athletic victories are renowned: he won the Giro d’Italia three times, and the Tour de France twice. Until some years ago, however, the big effort he put in helping Jews against racial persecutions was less known. The …
By Daniela Gross “Italians are great politicians, but in the United States.” That headline appeared on Monday on the daily Il Fatto Quotidiano. There is obviously a joke, in the title, which alludes to troublesome Italian politics. But this is not the subject of the long essay by Francesco Chiamulera. On the contrary, he goes …
By Daniela Gross This announcement has nothing to do with the troublesome international current events of the last few days. But it is good news, in some ways more meaningful to the Jewish world than it would seem to be at first. Starting in October, the “King of Cheeses” – as Italian Parmigiano Reggiano has …
By Daniela Gross Some days ago, an Italian journalist tried to understand how it feels to be Jewish in an Italian Muslim neighborhood. To do it, he wore a kippah, and walked around for a couple of hours. Meanwhile, a hidden cameraman filmed his walk. The idea was not very original, since it was already …
By Daniela Gross Pio” is the Italian translation of Pius, a name which has Latin roots and means “pious, dutiful”. In the past, twelve popes chose this auspicious name, the last one being Pius XII. He reigned from March 2,1939 to his death in 1958, during the dramatic years of the World War II. He …
By Daniela Gross Purim is approaching, and if you have kids they will definitely have their “maschera” ready. In Italian, a “maschera” – the word of this week – means a mask or a costume. The Italian Carnival, especially the one in Venice, is famous all around the world. Our Purim, which has a completely …
By Daniela Gross The word of the week, “cittadini”, indicates the citizens and is usually opposed to the word “suddito”, which means subject. As in English, “cittadino” (to be pronounced chit-ta-dee-no) has a more political than geographical meaning. The word comes from the Latin “civitas”, which indicates the city, all its citizens, and the citizenship …
By Daniela Gross As we have learned since childhood, denial is a terrific way to escape from reality. When we tell our fantastic stories, all our misfits and mistakes seem to magically vanish. But when it comes to history, to deny reality assumes a really different nuance. It stops being a childish play, and becomes …
By Daniela Gross The Italian word “archivio” derives from Greek and Latin – “archium” or “archivium”. Except for the pronunciation, which is completely different (in Italian it sounds “ar-kee-vee-o), the word of the week is so similar to the English word “archive” that there is no need for translation. The role of the archives, to …
By Daniela Gross “Commerciale” is the Italian version of the English “commercial, mercantile”. It is a word deriving from the Latin “commercium”, that indicates the action of trading goods or money. In European history, for many reasons, Jews were often linked to the commercial and banking world. But it is not the subject of this …
By Daniela Gross If you followed the news last week about the recent terrorist attacks in Paris and its victims, maybe you encountered these two Italian words: “Bella Ciao”. It’s the title of a popular Italian partisan hymn played during the commemoration ceremony for Stephan Charbonnier. Charbonnier, also known as Charb, director of the weekly …
By Daniela Gross The word of this week is so beloved to the Italian way of life and thinking. “Cucina” – to be pronounced “kutchìna”- comes from the Latin. The “cucina” is the kitchen, and at the same time it is a verb, specifically the third person singular of the present indicative or the second-person …
By Daniela Gross “Tradurre è tradire”. It sounds like a tongue twister, and it is one of the best known Italian proverbs. It reminds us that “To translate is to betray”, and that any translation, even the most accurate one, is a kind of compromise that will inevitably fail to catch some nuances or subtleties. …
By Daniela Gross This is a difficult season for gardeners. When you look out the window and see only bare trees, dry lawns and no flowers for miles, it’s inevitable to feel a bit gloomy. However we can find comfort in fantasizing about our ideal garden. In these “gardening dreams” there is one fabulous unattainable …
By Daniela Gross “Luci”, the word of the week, is strictly related to Hanukkah. Admittedly, Hanukkah is Hanukkah in Italy as all it is around the world. The only difference is that sometimes Italians transliterate this Hebrew word as “Chanukkah”, which it is not a big deal. However, occasionally we prefer to use the Italian …
“Ponte” is the Italian word meaning “bridge”. It is a term that comes directly from Latin, and is very common in our country. We have bridges on rivers, and many of them are famous all over the world, such as the magnificent bridges on the Tevere in Rome, on the Arno in Florence, or on …