Famous Italian: Nina Zilli

Nina Zilli (her real name is Maria Chiara Fraschetta) is an Italian singer-song writer born in Piacenza in February 1980. Before she made her debut in 2009 with the track 50 mila, this multi talented artist presented TV shows (including a gig as VJ for MTV) and recorded a tracks with her band 'Chiara e gli Scuri'. 

She has won several awards over the years from Sanremo Music Festival, TRL Awards, Wind Music Awards and Premio VideoClip Italiano.

Nina Zilli represented Italy in this years Eurovision Song Contest and did an excellent job gaining high points during the competition.

Nina Zilli's performance at this years Eurovision Song Contest

Per sempre (recent hit from this years Sanremo)

Some other tracks by Nina Zilli

L'amore verrà

50 mila

L'Uomo Che Amava Le Donne

Bacio D'A(d)dio

Come il sole

You can find out more about Nina Zilli on her website http://www.ninazilli.com/web/

11:00 AM Share:

Northern Italy hit by earthquakes

Northern Italy was hit by another earthquake killing at least 8 and injuring many more at around 9am this morning. The quake registered 5.8. It hit the same zone in the Province of Modena (Emilia-Romagna) that was hit on 20th May 2012 killing 7 people. Sadly these figures are likely to increase as given the amount of damage caused to buildings it is feared that more bodies may be found under the rubble. 

The damage caused by the earthquakes will have a huge effect on the region. Many of the historical buildings in the area have been destroyed. A large part of the region was listed on the UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) as sites of heritage. The area is also famous for it's production of cheeses and balsamic vinegar, a large quantity of which has been damaged by the earthquake.

Modena is marked in red.

The area remains on emergency alert.

Image source:   https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1e/Map_Province_of_Modena.svg/384px-Map_Province_of_Modena.svg.png

1:37 PM Share:

Book feature: All He Saw Was The Girl by Peter Leonard

If you're looking for a book with a connection to Italy try today's featured book All He Saw Was The Girl by Peter Leonard. 

TITLE:  All He Saw Was The Girl

AUTHOR:  Peter Leonard

PUBLISHED BY:  The Story Plant

PUBLICATION DATE:  May 15, 2012

ISBN:  

• ISBN-10: 1611880424
• ISBN-13: 978-1611880427 

GENRE:  Suspense

# OF PAGES:  290

SYNOPSIS:  

Rome:

McCabe and Chip, two American exchange students, are about to become embroiled with a violent street gang, a beautiful Italian girl, and a flawed kidnapping plan.

Detroit:
Sharon Vanelli’s affair with Joey Palermo, a Mafia enforcer, is about to be discovered by her husband, Ray, a secret service agent.

Brilliantly plotted and shot through with wry humor, ALL HE SAW WAS THE GIRL sees these two narratives collide in the backstreets of Italy’s oldest city.

 

AUTHOR BIO:

Peter Leonard’s debut novel, QUIVER was published to international acclaim in 2008, and was followed by TRUST ME in
2009, and VOICES OF THE DEAD in 2012.

AUTHOR SITES: www.peterleonardbooks.com

9:00 AM Share:

Nina Zilli to represent Italy in Eurovision Song Contest

This is a video of Nina Zilli's first rehearsal for the Eurovision Song Contest. She will represent Italy in this years competition.  As Italy came in second at last years event she will be aiming for the top spot this year.

"Like several other of the participants in their first rehearsal, Nina and her three backing performers were casually dressed. Nina does however wear some bright green shoes, which might give a clue to her outfit in the Final next week. today she was wearing a short white dress, with a large loose scarf around her upper body and neck. a headband kept her hair swept back and in place.

It is not surprising that today they were dressed casually, as later on this evening they will have to head off to the official opening party. Her three backing performers comprise one male singer and two female singers and unlike some backing singers in this year's contest can be clearly seen standing behind her in a line. Although the position of the backing singers was changed around in the latter rehearsals, so they moved from being behind Nina on the left, to being behind her on the right.

The LED screens behind her, as well as the floor lighting, display black and white shapes, which fit in with the shape of the set that surrounds the LED screens. The images give the song something of a retro look." - Source: Eurovision.tv

I personally really like Nina's music and hope she does well. What do you think? Will she do as well as last years entry?

5:04 PM Share:

Free entry into State museums on your birthday

Throughout 2012 Italians and E.U. citizens can visit any one of Italy’s  magnificent state museums free of charge on their birthday: just show your identity card at the ticket office!

In the event the museum were to be closed on your birthday, a free ticket will be available on the following day.

from 1-1-2012 to 31-12-2012

Telephone: 800 99 11 99

Web site: www.beniculturali.it

Source: http://www.turismoroma.it/cosa-fare/larte-ti-fa-gli-auguri-entrata-gratuita-nei-musei-statali-nel-giorno-del-

4:07 PM Share:

Extreme Language Exchange

Whilst searching the internet I came across Extreme Language Exchange. I've never taken part but it definitely looks like a fun and easy way to practice Italian.

What is Extreme Language Exchange?

It is a language exchange that unites English speakers, Italian speakers, and puts them in an atmosphere that is fantastic for learning each others language.

Each Italian speaker is paired with an English speaker. These pairings last for 10 minutes, which means you get 5 minutes in English and then 5 minutes in Italian. After the 10 minutes is up you switch to a new partner and start all over again. This gives you the opportunity to learn and practice the things that you want.

How does it work?

7.30pm - Everyone meets and registers with the host. 

7.45pm - Everyone is lead downstairs by the host and paired up.

7.55pm - First change of partner, and then every 10 minutes after that.

9.30pm - The last change of the evening is announced.

10.00pm - The evening officially finishes.

You can connect with Extreme Language Exchange at:

https://www.facebook.com/ExtremeLanguageExchange

http://www.twitter.com/extremelanguage

For more details and to sign up visit the website http://www.extremelanguage.net/

3:13 PM Share:

1st May concert 2012

The concert on 1st May at San Giovanni in Rome is one of the highlights of the city's events calendar. The theme for the 2012 concert is Musica del Desiderio: la speranza, la passione e il futuro (Hope, Passion, Future). 


Attracting both Italian and international artists, the show is free to the public. 

This years edition is presented by Francesco Pannofino and Virginia Raffaele.

Francesco Pannofino and Virginia Raffaele

2012 Performers include:


Concerto primo maggio 2012: tutti i cantanti
„

SUBSONICA

ELISA

CAPAREZZA

AFTERHOURS

ALMAMEGRETTA

A67

A TOYS ORCHESTRA

AUTOREVERSE

BLASTEMA

VITTORIO COSMA

DENTE

FABRYKA

EUGENIO FINARDI

GNU QUARTET

MAMA MARJAS

ALESSANDRO MANNARINO

NOBRAINO

NOEMI

ORCHESTRA ROMA SINFONIETTA

MAURO PAGANI

P-FUNKING BAND

MARINA REI

SUD SOUND SYSTEM

TARAN PROJECT

TEATRO DEGLI ORRORI

RAIZ

STOMP

YOUNG THE GIANT

NINA ZILLI

Buon primo maggio a tutti!

“

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4:40 PM Share: