I noticed people were looking for this on my site, so I discovered a cute new song. Singer/songwriter Roby Santini “the Country Boy” is obviously writing about his parents – they play themselves in the video. And apparently the family is from Pollutri, Provincia di Chieti, Abruzzo.
Category Archives: Italy
Lecco: Between Lake Como and the Alps
Want to see (and, in winter, ski) the Alps? Get off the train in Lecco and walk across the station parking lot to the bus stand in via Montello, where the #5 bus departs, roughly every hour, for the Funivia (you can buy bus tickets at the newsstands inside or outside the railway station, or on the bus itself, though that will cost more).
Take the #5 all the way up the hill to the end of the line at the Funivia (cable car). Take the cable car to Piani d’Erna:
…where you will find ski facilities, restaurants, hotels, bars, and an unbeatable view of this end of Lake Como (above).
Tourist Information for Lecco
Gallery: Milan Central Station
Milan’s Central railway station is a grand example of Fascist architecture, though these days it can be hard to see under all the advertising…
Italian Seasons
| January | 1 – New Year’s Day6 – Epiphany | Smog Days | |
| February |  |
14 – San Valentino | |
| March |  |
8 – Festa della Donna(Women’s Day)Carnevale | Italian Winter Weather |
| April | Pasqua (Easter) | Holiday Treats | |
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| May |  |
1 – Labor Day | Cambio di Stagione |
| June | 2 – Republic Day |
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July |
Air-ConditionedCommuting with NatureSummer Fun | ||
| August | 15 – FerragostoSummer Holidays | Feeling the SeasonsSummer Lovin’ | |
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| September | |||
| October | |||
November |
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December |
6 – San Nicolo’ (patron of Lecco)7 – Sant’ Ambrogio (patron of Milan)8 – Immaculate Conception
25 – Christmas 26 – Santo Stefano 31 – Capo d’Anno |
Winter HolidaysBridging the HolidaysHoliday Hell | |
Education in Italy: One Foreign Parent’s Views & Experiences
Caveat: The articles in this section are based on my family’s experience of the Italian education system in a specific time and place: Milan, and later Lecco, from 1991 to 2007. I haven’t lived in Italy all my life, nor ever attended any Italian educational institution myself, so my views may be biased, and your mileage may vary based on your location, specific school, and specific child.
- daycare
- preschool
- elementary
- middle school
- high school
- schoolbooks
- brighter sides
- in loco parentis
- integration
- news (2004):Â Compulsory School Age, Bought Diplomas
- school trips
- sex education
- socialization
- teaching evolution
- teaching religion
- teaching English
Homeschooling in Italy
Yes, it is possible. I don’t know much about it, though I investigated briefly a few years ago.
Adult Continuing Education
One option for distance learning: the Open University (I did my MBA with them).