L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2020 www.italoamericano.org 12 L'Italo-Americano B o l o g n a : l a dotta, la gras- s a , l a r o s s a : " d o t t a , " t h e learned, becau- se home to the oldest uni- versity in Europe. "La gras- sa," the fat, because of her r i c h , d e c a d e n t f o o d . " L a rossa," the red, because of t h e t e r r a c o t t a h u e o f h e r buildings and, Italians know it, because of the historically leftist views of her people. This charming, friendly a n d h e a r t w a r m i n g t o w n , famous for her towers, good food and university, has also s o m e s e c r e t s t o d i s c l o s e , especially if you like urban exploring, history and lear- ning to know a place the way a local knows it. Yes, becau- se Bologna's sette segreti (her seven secrets) are unk- nown to tourists but dear t o h e a r t o f B o l o g n e s i . According to the Via che si va travel blog, created by a writer who knows Bologna well, but wasn't born there, the sette segreti are a great conversation starter and… a well established pick up line used by many a Bolognese when romantically intere- sted in a non-local. S o , l e t ' s t a k e a l o o k a t them, shall we? La Piccola Venezia Many a canal run through Bologna, vestige of a time w h e n t h e y w e r e u s e d t o feed the city's water mills. T o d a y , m o s t o f t h e m a r e u n d e r g r o u n d , b u t t h e y resurface here and there, creating a landscape truly r e m i n i s c e n t o f L a Serenissima. Via Piella is where you can get the best view of the first secret, but be aware: the canal is, some- times, dry! 2. Canabis Protectio The second secret brings u s t o t h e c o r n e r b e t w e e n Via Independenza and Via Rizzoli where, under t h e p o r t i c o s ' v a u l t s , a f a m o u s L a t i n i n s c r i p t i o n still welcomes passersby: Panis vita, canabis protec- t i o , v i n o l a e t i t i a , w h i c h translates with "bread is life, hemp is protection, wine is happiness." Hemp is protec- tion, you may ask: well, once upon a time Bologna gathe- r e d a l a r g e p a r t o f h e r wealth from the production a n d c o m m e r c e o f h e m p and, for this reason, it was likely seen as a "protection" from poverty and, by exten- sion, from hunger. 3 . N e p t u n e ' s … e r e c - tion Let's move on to Piazza M a g g i o r e a n d m e e t t h e third secret, which is a bit naughty and a bit silly, too, really. A bronze statue of the god of the sea, Neptune, guards the square from its pedestal, one hand holding a trident, the other strategi- cally placed in such a way that, if you look at the statue from a specific spot (marked on the ground with a dark stone), its thumb becomes, w e l l , y o u r e a d t h e t i t l e above and get the gist! 4. Il telefono senza fili While we are in Piazza M a g g i o r e d i s c u s s i n g Neptune's own manliness, we can also take a look at t h e f o u r t h o f B o l o g n a ' s seven secrets, the telefono senza fili, which is the way we Italians call the Chinese wispers' game. If you and a friend stand at the two diag- onally opposite corners of t h e P o d e s t à V a u l t (Voltone del Podestà) and speak normally while facing t h e c o l u m n s , y o u ' l l h e a r each other perfectly. 5. The three arrows Let's move to the wooden p o r t i c o o f S t r a d a Maggiore where, just in front of the Corte Isolani's entrance, you'll notice three arrows. Legends say that, o n c e u p o n a t i m e , t h r e e scoundrels had planned to rob a local gentleman, but were eventually distracted b y t h e a p p e a r a n c e o f a young lady who stood naked at the window. And that's why their arrows, ready to hit their designated victim, were haphazardly shot in three different directions, and can still be seen stuck in the wood. 6 . T h e b r o k e n v a s e o n t h e T o r r e d e g l i Asinelli The sixth secret is more o f a u r b a n l e g e n d t h a n anything else, because it's i m p o s s i b l e t o s e e i t : a broken vase is said to have been placed at the very top of the iconic Torre degli Asinelli, to symbolize the city's skills in conflict reso- lution. 7. Panum resis The last secret of Bologna is tied to her university and to the its historical see in Via Zamboni's Palazzo Poggi. Here, on one of its ancient tables, some say to h a v e s e e n t h e i n c i s i o n panum resis, that is, "know- ledge is at the heart of all choices," quite a motto for a university! D avvero (dahv- v a i - r o h ) m e a n s " f o r real." It comes from the locu- tion da vero, "which comes f r o m r e a l i t y , " a n d b e g a n being used in the early 14th century. It corresponds to other common words in Ita- lian, like veramente, and locutions, like sul serio. We Italians use davvero in so many ways. When we are i n c r e d u l o u s , w e u s e i t : Davvero hai prenotato un viaggio intorno al mondo? In this case, it tends to corre- spond to the English "for real," or "really:" "did you really book a trip around the world?," but also "did you book a trip around the world for real?". When we want to empha- s i z e a c h a r a c t e r i s t i c o f something, we use it, too: Quel film è davvero interes- sante, which means "that movie is really interesting." When employed this way, it could even get a quantitative nuance and be considered a synonym of molto. That's why you could translate the same sentence with "that movie is very interesting." Don't be surprised if you come across both davvero and molto in the same sen- tence, because that's very common, too, with the two terms basically reinforcing each other's meaning: Questa è una notizia davvero molto bella!, "this is truly beautiful news!" Davvero can also be used on its own, as an answer to something incredible or sur- prising, as in: "Mi sposo!" (I am getting married!) "Davvero?!" (Really?!) When you care a lot about someone and you want to stress it, you can say ti voglio davvero bene: if you say that, you're not telling lies! Same when you say ti amo davve- ro,, which means "I love you for real." Sono davvero stanco oggi. I am really tired today. H o c r e d u t o d a v v e r o a quello che mi avevi detto. Mi hai deluso. I really believed what you had told me. You disappoin- ted me. Davvero vuoi cambiare lavoro? D o y o u r e a l l y w a n t t o change job? LA VITA ITALIANA TRADITIONS HISTORY CULTURE Word of the day: davvero …for real? Yes indeed! Bologna and her seven secrets © Rosshelen | Dreamstime.com

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