Italian idioms

 In Montepulciano for a month of living and learning.  What is better?  What magnificent star was I born under?  What bliss is this for a mere mortal such as I?

Montepulciano is a hilltop city with ancient roots.  Scholars can date the use of this hill as habitation as far back as the 4th century, BC with the Etruscans.  In fact, there are museums quite full of Etruscan marvels in nearby Pienza and Chiusi.  E veramente bella:

I love it.  To feel so connected to the past.  To know that the Medici took a fancy to this city and set up operations here.  And you can see that influence daily if you walk through the Piazza Grande and take a look at the municipal building.  Look familiar?  It should.  It is almost an exact replica in a smaller rendering, of the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence.

And as always, a long walk down the hill to San Biagio.  This little gem of a church.  So exquisite.  Renaissance perfection.  Restrained.  This is sprezzatura at its finest. (sprezzatura means amazing without even trying).  It is what we all want to be:

I went to mass this morning and I must make an observation.  I think Pope Leo has sent out a memo to all the priests in Italy to include a message of pace (peace) in their homilies.  The priest in Rome certainly went on about it and this very feisty priest in Montepulciano was bringing it home.  He wants us to represent peace in our daily lives and interactions.  Embody it.  Be glorious in our peace-loving modus operandum.  So I will certainly give it a try.  It's easier here than in a place like Florence where one has to witness uncoordinated American tourists who can't twirl spaghetti onto a fork.  Good lord.

So this message for peace is obviously meant as an indirect response to the big D.  Now there are many words that begin with D.   I can think of one right off the bat.

This makes me think of the gloriousness of Italian idioms!!!

What is better than le frase idiomatiche?!!!!  Niente!!

An idiomatic phrase is something that cannot be fully understood literally. 

Examples in English are: "piece of cake" or "under the weather"

Here are some of my favorite Italian idioms:

Trump e una capra.  Literally: Trump is a goat.  Meaning:  Trump is stupid.

Lui a un prosciutto sulle occhi.  Literally: He has ham on his eyes.  Meaning:  He is so stupid, he cannot see what is in front of him.  

Lui e un carogna infame.  Literally: He is dirty carrion.  This one is interesting because carogna is like road kill (carrion) that is so disgusting that even the vultures won't eat it.  But how this is used is like saying, he is a dirty bastard.  

The endless uses of Italian!!!  Don't let anyone ever tell you that having another language is pointless.