Flashback 2022

Facts that became news

A series of events dominated the news in 2022: wars, vaccines, protests, allegations. In short, there was no shortage of news. The first quarter was marked mainly by the 20th anniversary of the Euro, now a reason for serious reflection, and the beginning of a war, the outcome of which remains uncertain. In the second quarter, scientific and archaeological discoveries were at the top of the news. The third quarter brought the fall of the Italian government, opening the door to a new and promising beginning with the installation of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. In the fourth and last quarter, the highlight was the controversial elections in Brazil and the troubled start of a new administration that has collapsed the hope for the recovery of the Brazilian economy already underway with the term of Jair Messias Bolsonaro.

Take a look at what was featured in the media over the last year.

2022
January
Economy
it
Two decades of Euro

Two decades of Euro: It was 2002 and Italy changed its currency

Twenty years have passed

It was January 1st, 2002, when the euro was introduced in 12 countries of the European Union.
Slowly, in Italy, during the first three months of that new year, the new currency shared space and prices with the old lira…

[n/t] The lira became the national currency on Sunday, August 24, 1862, that is, 160 years ago.

Read more on METROPOLITANO.it

February
Politics
it
War
war

WAR

Russia's invasion of Ukraine results in over a hundred deaths. The world responds with sanctions, and the next weapon is called SWIFT.

[n/t] Headline refers to February, numbers not up to date

Read more on Diário de Notícias

March
Cinema
it
100 years of Pier Paolo Pasolini

Pier Paolo Pasolini, the clamorous loner

1922 - 1975

One hundred years ago, on March 5, one of the greatest protagonists of the 20th century was born. Rebellious and courageous, always at a crossroads of his time.
(Photograph by Vittorio La Verde, 1965) Pier Paolo Pasolini - Bologna March 5, 1922 / Rome November 2, 1975.

[n/t] A controversial filmmaker, Pasolini made a significant contribution to the world of cinema. Among his award-winning films are 'The Decameron' (1971), 'Oedipus Rex' (1967), and 'The Gospel According to St. Matthew' (1964), considered by the American newspaper “The Guardian” one of the best art-house films of all time.

Read more on CORRIERE DELLA SERA

April
Website
it
Traducitalia, 10 years have passed

Traducitalia was first published in April 2012, and a decade has passed since then. Those years were just the beginning, and I dare say the best is yet to come. We have a long life ahead of us, and it's not about being the best, it's about being better than you were yesterday.

Thank you!

To find out more, contact us.

 

May
Science
it
Sagittarius A*, the first photo

First picture of our galaxy’s supermassive black hole revealed

The Event Horizon Telescope collaboration has released the first picture of our galaxy’s supermassive black hole, Sagittarius A*, and it’s just as predicted

For the first time, scientists have taken a picture of the black hole at the center of our galaxy. This is the second image of a black hole ever created.

The image was captured by the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT), a network of observatories around the world operating as a single enormous radio telescope. In 2017, EHT observed two supermassive black holes: the one in the Milky Way, which is called Sagittarius A* or Sgr A*, and the one at the center of…

Read more on NewScientist

June
Science
it
30,000 years-old baby mammoth is found

30,000-Year-Old Baby Mammoth Found Almost Perfectly Preserved in Canadian Gold Fields

A gold miner found a mummified baby woolly mammoth in the Trʼondëk Hwëchʼin Traditional Territory in Yukon, Canada.

According to a press release from the local government, the female baby mammoth has been named Nun cho ga by the First Nation Tr'ondëk Hwëch'in elders, which translates to “big baby animal” in the Hän language.

Read more on science alert

July
Politcs
it
Draghi's government collapses

The end of the Draghi government. What happened and why

From the first cracks in the majority to the no-confidence vote in the Senate to speculation about the dates of the next elections

The fall of Draghi

It's over. “Irrevocable resignation.” Mario Draghi took to the Colle in the morning after a brief speech in the House: “I am going to the Quirinale to communicate my decisions.”

Yesterday, the end of the government had been formalized in the Senate. It was President Casellati who declared the result of the vote of no-confidence: “Present 192, voting 133, in favor 95, against 38.” The government of national unity no longer exists.

Read more on Rai News

August
Cinema
it
Venice Film Festival turns 90 years old

Once upon a time in Venice… This is the 90th anniversary of the oldest film festival.

Its story is like a novel and covers almost a century of history. Between cult films, iconic stars, legendary scandals and bets for the future.

Imagine an evening at the seaside, ladies in long dresses and men in respectable clothes in the front row, gazes directed at the big screen placed on the terrace of the Excelsior, a Belle époque style hotel with its extravagant domes on Venice's Lido beach, a pioneer site of elite tourism. It was very hot, say the chronicles, on August 6, 1932, ninety years ago, the night the International Art Film Festival was born…

Read more on ELLE

September
University
it
University of Padua - 800 years

OUR HISTORY

The foundation of the University of Padua dates back to 1222, when a group of students moved from Bologna to Padua in search of greater autonomy and independence. Thus, already in the 13th century, Padua began welcoming students speaking different languages and coming from different cultures, from all over Europe, referred to as Nations. (...) Padua was a place where one could study and teach independently, even relative to one's faith. Let us recall Galileo Galilei (1564 - 1642), who, shortly before dying in his confinement in Arcetri, expressed intense nostalgia for Padua. He remembered the unique sense of freedom while in Padua as “the best eighteen years of my entire life”.

Read more on Unipd.it

October
Politcs
it
Giorgia Meeloni takes office

The new government, Giorgia Meloni takes office at Chigi Palace.

The First Council of Ministers for the government, “call for a sense of responsibility and teamwork.” Pope Francis: “At the beginning of a new government, we pray for the unity and peace of Italy.”

Read more on Rai News

November
World
it
World Population Reaches 8 Billion

World Population Hits 8 Billions, U.N. Says

The planet reached the milestone about a year later than expected because of the Covid-19 pandemic

The Earth is now home to eight billion people, the United Nations said, because people are living longer and fertility rates have surged in some countries.

The U.N.’s population division calculated that the global population reached eight billion on Tuesday. The milestone came about a year later than expected because of the Covid-19 pandemic, said Patrick Gerland, the chief of population estimates and projections for the U.N.’s population division. The pandemic slowed global birthrates and killed millions of people.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Dezembro
Política
it
Bolsonaro admin closes 2022 with a R$ 54 billion surplus

Bolsonaro's government left an undeniable legacy and closed 2022 with a surplus of R$ 54.086 billion

After eight years with negative results, the Federal Government - National Treasury, Social Security and the Central Bank - closed 2022 with a primary surplus of R$ 54.086 billion. The numbers were released by the National Treasury.

Among the many positive achievements of Jair Bolsonaro's government in 2022, there are:

Inflation rate among the 6 lowest of the G20 - 5.79%, even lower than the USA (6.5%) and Italy (11.6%).

Extreme Poverty had the biggest drop among Latin America countries, with a drop of 3.5% in one year.

The Unemployment Rate fell to 8.1%, the lowest level in 7 years. In the four years that President Jair Bolsonaro has been in office, a little more than 4 million new formal jobs have been created in Brazil.

The Brazilian economy grew by 3.1%, surpassing China's 3%. According to the IMF, in 42 years, this is the first time that the Brazilian performance is above the Chinese performance. Brazil's economic expansion in 2022 also surpassed that of countries such as France (2.6%), the United States (2%), and Germany (1.9%).

The public sector registered a surplus of R$ 126 billion in 2022, the best result in 11 years.

The Real was the currency that was valued the most in 2022, sustaining a valuation of 19.40%. The survey was carried out by Bloomberg.

Read more on Jornal da Cidade, Revista Oeste, the website Mais Retorno and on Gazeta Brasil.

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Monica’s gang, where are you?

Monica’s Gang is traveling throughout the world, getting adrenaline rushes from lots of adventures… and many whacks with plush bunnies! Opposing the saying “don’t wash your dirty linen in public”, if Monica has to hit someone with her plush bunny to defend herself or any of her friends, she will do it either in Brazil, Italy, Japan, or in any of the Portuguese-speaking countries where the gang has reached, and, without a doubt, they’ve gone far!

One of Monica’s Gang’s most exciting and educative adventures is their visit to countries that have Portuguese as their official language, and the great news is that we can take off with them and live all the emotions together. The whole story is told in the book “Turma da MônicaUma viagem aos países de língua portuguesa” (in a free translation: Monica’s Gang—A trip to the Portuguese-speaking countries) resulting from the partnership between the writer José Santos, a Portuguese descendant born in Minas Gerais, southeast of Brazil, and the Maurício de Souza Studios.

In 20 chapters, the little gang tells us everything about this travel on board Mauricio de Sousa Airlines – VAMOS (let’s go). The route is fantastic and brings lots of knowledge and good laughs. Under the gaze of Monica’s Gang, we can learn more about Brazil, Angola, São Tomé and Príncipe, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Equatorial Guinea, Mozambique, East Timor, Portugal, and finally, about their return home to the fictional neighborhood of Limoeiro, in São Paulo. Besides giving us a cool lesson about these countries, they seize the opportunity to show us some differences between the vocabularies of each one. The book was edited by Imeph Publishing and distributed by Bookwire.

And you, what are you waiting for? Let’s go traveling with the Gang! Click here and… Have a nice trip!

Monica’s Gang throughout the world

Monica, Maggy, *Jimmy Five… wait a minute, if it weren’t for Monica it would be impossible to think that Jimmy Five is that sympathetic friend of Monica who struggles to pronounce his r’s. But it is just him. Jimmy Five is Cebolinha, as we know him in Brazil, or Cipollino, in Italy. In English, besides the name there is another difference: Jimmy Five changes the “R” to “W”, I mean, he says “wabbit” instead of “rabbit”. Smudge (for us Brazilians, Cascão) is the one who hates water and never takes a bath… or a shower. Monica’s comics are so much fun and finding them in English, or Italian, is priceless. A great success in Brazil, the characters created by Mauricio de Sousa went beyond the borders through their comics and cartoons. In English, they know Monica and her friends as Monica’s Gang.

Monica’s comic books were released in Brazil in 1970, although, several years before, many characters were already known through the strips published in the newspapers. The stories tell about the adventures of Monica and her friends. She is the leader of the gang, and no one dares to contest this.

Her strong temper does not prevent her from being teased by her friends, mainly because of her buck teeth, but she knows how to handle it. Jimmy Five and Smudges are always developing infallible plans to defeat Monica or, who knows, to at least steal her always-in-hand stuffed rabbit (Samson) which she uses also to defend herself. However, when her friends get into trouble, Monica is always around to help them. Monica’s best friend is Maggy; she goes crazy about food, especially watermelon, and has a pretty white cat named Vanilla, like in Italian (in Portuguese, it is called Mingau).

Monica’s comics nowadays have already been published in 40 countries and in 14 languages. In the Italian version, Monica keeps her name while Jimmy Five turn into Cipollino; Smudge is Patacca, Maggy is Magali, and Monica’s Gang is known as La Banda di Monica. All-in-all, the characters and the fun are the same in any language. In Japan, the beloved Brazilian group is known as Monika & Furenzu (Monica & Friends). There, Monica’s friends are Magari (Magali), Kasukon (Cascão) e Seboriinha (Cebolinha).

To know more about Monica’s Gang in Brazil, click here.

Meanwhile, in Italy, the straight shot is “A Divina Jogada”

“Dante, Dante, Dante
Dante, Dante, mamma mia,
você é o centroavante
no time da poesia.”
A Divina Jogada

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dante in Bologna, illustration by Eloar Guazzelli, in the book “A Divina Jogada”, by the writer José Santos.

A match between Brazil and Italy that could be summarized as a win-win situation. In the Brazilian team, the MVPs were the author José Santos and the cartoonist Eloar Guazzelli. They fielded nothing less than the poets Dante and Virgil, and so the divine match begins! The tournament takes place in the stadiums of Hell, Paradise, and Purgatory in three unusual football matches. The trophy of this Divine Play is the Jabuti award won by the author.

A Divina Jogada (The Divine Play in free translation) is a modern interpretation of traditional literary works. Within this new vision, the author recalled the mythology, the Bible, and the Divine Comedy itself as a tribute to Dante Alighieri. In this context, only the most famous players, such as Judas, Adam, Moses, the Minotaur, Saint Anthony, and even Solomon, that played boasting strength and wisdom, took part.

Click here to see what is going on in A Divina Jogada.

About the author José Santos

José Santos was born and grew up during the cartoons’ era, when the literary supplement to the newspapers brought to life incredible characters. Even before learning to read, José had chosen those special to him: Horacio, the young dinosaur philosopher, Pitheco, the caveman inventor, and Bubbly, the space explorer, and certainly, all three contributed to his literacy process. José Santos was born on October 30th, 1959, in the town of Santana do Deserto, Minas Gerais. That early interest in literature accompanied him during his academic path. He graduated in Communication Science from the Federal University of Juiz de Fora and later moved to São Paulo. After the birth of his two sons, Miguel and Jonas, he devoted himself to youth literature. Since then, he has published over 50 titles with varied themes such as folklore, horror, fashion, astronomy, football, fables, music, and the Portuguese language.

Besides A Divina Jogada which received the Jabuti, José Santos got also the award for the best book in the Portuguese language category from the National Foundation for Children’s and Youth Books – FNLIJ for his work Infâncias— daqui e além mar (Childhood – here and beyond the sea), in partnership with the poet José Jorge Letria. With Mauricio de Sousa, he published Turma da Mônica—Uma viagem a Portugal (Monica’s gang—a trip to Portugal), in which he shows the differences between the language spoken in the two countries; Turma da Mônica—Uma viagem à América Latina (Monica’s gang—A trip to Latin America); Turma da Mônica—Uma viagem do Brasil ao Japão (Monica’s gang—A trip from Brazil to Japan) and Turma da Mônica—Uma viagem aos países de língua portuguesa (Monica’s gang—A trip to Portuguese-speaking countries, all titles above in free translation).

And there’s a new book circulating: the youth novel The mysterious Portuguese letter, which has just been released in Santos, São Paulo. Written with the participation of Alexandre Le Voci Sayad and the Reading Club of the Josefa de Óbidos

school, A Misteriosa Carta Portuguesa tells the journey of a 15-year-old girl, Rita, who goes to Portugal on a school exchange. A mysterious letter and the girl’s curiosity unleash an investigation full of suspense, fear, encounters, and reunions. The book, published by Editora Faria e Silva, was selected by the program Minha Biblioteca (My Library) held by the Municipal Education Department of São Paulo and is part of the National Textbook Program-PNLD.

If you want to take part in this new adventure, click here. A misteriosa carta portuguesa is available on Amazon.

For those who want to know even more about José Santos’ work, here are a few more titles: Matinta Ferreira, work in cordel published by SESI_SP; Show de Bola (FTD Educação) and Futebolíadas (Editora Dsop), adaptation of the classic “The Iliad”, by Homer, which, for sure, will please Greeks and Trojans.

As fotos usadas neste post foram cedidas gentilmente pelo autor.

 

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There is mail for Juliet!

Image by Adriano Gadini from Pixabay

Dear Juliet,

I won’t ask you if your history, which has distinguished Verona over time as the city of love, is true or a legend. The magic, strength, and power that your history has in keeping love alive for me are enough. For centuries you have shown to be a good listener, attentive to the sorrows of the heart, the friend who’s always there, and perhaps the last hope for those who no longer have anyone to share their dreams or confide their secrets. Dear friend, surely this year too on Valentine’s Day you will hear “there is mail for Juliet!”

Your city breathes (and sighs) love.

Many seek exactly your warmth to unburden themselves. They tell you about their sadness looking for a word of comfort, they ask for a suggestion on how to express their love (yes, dear Juliet, there are many Romeos who cannot speak of love). There are also those who want your advice on how to find their Romeo or their Juliet or either those who just want to tell you their story or a lived moment of happiness. The truth is that sooner or later that thing happens to everyone, we fall in love, and it doesn’t matter if for Mathew, Antony, Frank or Romeo, the question remains the same as yours “O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?”

The mail for Juliet became a tradition

As long as there are questions, there will also be “Juliet’s secretaries” to answer them. Certainly, there is no shortage of questions for the team of volunteers in charge of picking up the mail for Juliet and answering every letter, even those addressed simply “Juliet, Verona”. Surely magic exists, considering that the letters for Juliet add up to 50.000 every year and they come from all around the world, written by the most varied senders, I mean, from the teenagers that have their first crush or the businessman in love.

The tradition of these letters goes back to 1937 when “the first Juliet’s secretary” Ettore Solimani, keeper of Juliet’s tomb, touched by the content of the letters left by visitors, started to collect, and answer them. He carried out this task alone for 20 years, solely for the pleasure of doing it. Ettore always had a word of comfort to offer and has signed each letter as “your Juliet” until 1957, when he was forced to retire. After that, the task was left to some volunteers, inhabitants of Verona, until 1972 when Giulio Tamassia, followed by a group of friends, had the idea of creating the Juliet Club, a non-profit cultural association whose sole purpose is to keep alive the story of the Veronese lovers, spreading their love around the world.

The Juliet Club makes every effort to support its daily task and if the story requires more attention, it seeks help from a local psychologist or from the institution capable of making their help concrete and meaningful. In addition to looking after the mail for Juliet, the Club organizes on the week of Valentine’s Day, the “Dear Juliet” prize which reaches its 30th edition and includes the choice of the most beautiful letters written in the previous year. Besides, it sets up the international literary prize “Writing for love” which includes the choice of the best love book published in Italy and “Juliet’s Birthday” party, in September, in the squares of Verona. The slogan this year (2022) is “Verona in Love – If you love someone, take them to Verona”. We join the choir “Love. (All we need is)”.

The identification of the noble Cappello family with the Capulets gave rise to the belief that the house above is Juliet’s house. As soon as we pass the entrance porch, we have in front of us the lovers’ balcony. Within walking distance of Juliet’s house, we find Romeo’s house.

Verona - city of Romeo and Juliet

On Valentine’s Day, love is waiting for us in Verona, the city of Romeo and Juliet. Ten years ago,  I found myself by chance involved in this appointment and I must say that the air you breathe in the city on Valentine’s Day is different. It is possible to feel the magic along Cappello road where Juliet’s house is, and especially within its walls with the reenactment of the legendary balcony scene by the actors who revived the two lovers. In Verona, there is a lot to see. After crossing the gates of the medieval walls that surround the city, we find ourselves in front of the Arena, a Roman amphitheater that today hosts many cultural events. Following the romantic itinerary, we arrive in the square called “Piazza delle Erbe”, at Juliet’s house and, after some steps, at Romeo’s house. It’s also possible to go for a visit to the tomb of Juliet located in the “Museo degli Affreschi” [Fresco Museum].

In the city, some people say that Juliet’s house belonged to the Cappelletti family, which probably became Capulet in the Shakespearean legend, as well as that of Romeo Montecchi was the home of the Monticoli (in the Shakespearean works Montague) family. Nobody knows for sure. A mystery remains about the existence of the two Veronese lovers. For some the Montecchi and the Capulet existed; for others instead, Shakespeare’s romantic tragedy, originally published in 1596, is only a fantasy. By now, it’s up to us to keep their story alive and to believe that true love exists. It’s up to us to keep it alive in our heart wherever we go in the world even if the words of Romeo imprinted on a plaque placed next to a small bust of Shakespeare at the entrance to the city says that “there is no world outside the walls of Verona” as if to tell us: love lives here.

arena de verona

To the cinema lovers there are two movies not to be missed or to be seen again: Romeo and Juliet, by Franco Zeffirelli, and Letters to Juliet, by Gary Winick.

 

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And so, the story of Befana was born

La Befana
La Befana

“Epiphany takes all holidays away” is an old saying in Italy. Actually, January 6th marks the end of the holiday season. Christmas and New Year celebrations passed and everything turnover into normal daily life again. It’s the beginning of a new year and Befana (a term derived from the epiphany that means manifestation) strives to comfort us in this transition. The tradition says that in the early morning hours between January 5th and 6th, Befana, the old lady, stops by our houses to fill the socks hanging in the fireplace with candies, sweets, cookies, and chocolate, but be careful because you can also find your sock full of coal, which symbolizes the misdeeds of the past year. The Epiphany or Kings Day is also Befana’s party,  a public holiday in Italy, time to take the Christmas tree down. New Year, New Life!

So, what has Befana brought you this year? Candy or coal? Ok, I know, you claim you behaved well, so you sure got candies or maybe some nice gifts. But, let me guess, if you were a naughty boy, this year you only got COAL! You want to know what I found inside my stocking… Hmmm! Befana’s party is a typical Italian tradition, and the charismatic old woman is always eagerly awaited by children. Riding on her flying broom, she crosses the sky carrying her basket full of goodies. The origins of all this come from pre-Christian magical traditions.

The legend says that when the three Wise Men made their way to Bethlehem to bring gifts to Jesus, they had difficulties finding their way, so they asked an old woman for help. Being grateful for her help and kindness, they invited her to come with them. The old woman, who was too busy cleaning the house, declined, but soon later she realized it was a mistake. So, Befana puts some gifts in a basket and left, trying to reach the Wise Men. Despite following the same star as they did, she never arrived at the stable where Jesus was born, and so she went into the houses and left gifts for the children in the hope that one of them was the baby Jesus.  Therefore, always on the same day, she rides on her broom going around the world, entering houses, and leaving gifts for children expecting to be forgiven.

That’s why anyone nice in the past year found sweets inside their socks. The naughty ones do not! They found only coal! But don’t worry, she’ll be back next year! And believe me, she is a mix of witch, fairy, and magician, sometimes generous sometimes severe, but never bad… and her coal is made of sugar, but you didn’t hear it from me! So, start singing:

“Befana comes at night
her shoes are not a pretty sight
she comes with stitches covering her dress
Bafana we shall bless!”

 

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Flashback 2021

2021
January
Literature
it
George Orwell and Cesare Pavese -literary pieces fall into public domain

The books "1984", "Animals Farm" and all other works by the English writer George Orwell entered the public domain. Brazil, the European Union, and the United States signed the Berne Convention which establishes that the copyright of works expires after 70 years from the 1st of January following the author's death. Orwell lived until 1950, a year after the release of "1984". Translated to over sixty countries, "1984" is Orwell's most famous book and has been turned into comedies, movies, and comic books. George Orwell was born in India in 1903 and died in London on January 21, 1950.

Like Orwell's novels, Italian writer Cesare Pavese's works also lost their copyright. Among Pavese's most popular works are "La casa in collina" and "La luna e i falò" (The House on the Hill and The Moon and the Bonfires, respectively). Cesare Pavese is also recognized for the Italian translation of "Moby Dick" by Herman Melville and "Of mice and men" (Uomini and topi in Italian) by John Steinbeck. Pavese was born in September 1908 and died in Turin on August 27, 1950.

February
Space technology
it
Brazil takes off. "To infinity... and beyound!"

Brazil launched the first satellite produced with 100% national technology: Amazônia 1. According to Agência Brasil, the launch took place on February 28 through the Satish Dhawan Space Center, in India. The purpose of the satellite is to provide remote sensing data to observe and monitor deforestation, mainly in the Amazon region, as well as to monitor the country's agriculture. "The launch marked two technological advances in the country: the total mastery of the development cycle of a satellite, knowledge dominated by only twenty countries in the world, and the validation of the Multimission Platform (PMM) that works as an adaptable modular system that can be configured from different ways to achieve different goals”, noted the deputy director of the National Institute for Space Research (INPE), Mônica Rocha. The launch of the satellite is the result of collaboration between the Brazilian space program and India. Amazônia-1 was developed by INPE and the Brazilian Space Agency (AEB), both linked to the Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovation.

Other space missions marked this month. Landed on Mars: the Hope mission, from the United Arab Emirates, which aims to observe and study the atmosphere and weather events on the Red Planet; the Chinese Tianwen-1 mission, tasked with carrying out scientific observations of the surface and atmosphere of Mars; and NASA's Mars 2020 mission, which includes the Perseverance spacecraft and the Ingenuity helicopter-drone. Perseverance's aims are to look for possible signs of life on the planet, study the geology of the soil and collect rock samples. Ingenuity was the first drone to fly over the planet. For 2022, the plans come from Virgin Galactic, which intends to launch a commercial spaceflight service. "To infinity and beyond!"

March
World heritage
it
Venice, 1600 years between beauty and resilience

Between beginnings and new beginnings, resilience marked the history of Venice, which turned 1600 years old on March 25th. History tells us that on that day in AD 421, in Rivo Alto (Rialto) the first settlement in Venice took place, followed by the consecration of the church of San Giacomo. The birth of Venice appears to have been a slow process. In fact, the entire city is built on water. Under the stone foundations, wooden logs support the weight of the buildings, as if they were stilts, and are preserved thanks to the mud in which they are immersed. Venice's palaces and churches float.

History also tells us that Venice managed to survive wars, conflicts, battles, and various crises. In 1797, it was occupied by the French troops of Napoleon Bonaparte. The palaces, houses, and churches of Venice were sacked by the French, who shot anyone who dared to protest. Works of art were stolen, and churches were destroyed. But Venice was also one of the finest cities in Europe, with a strong influence on art, architecture, and literature. Between good and evil, prosperity and the plague, beauty and "high water", often caused by the alternating tides peaks, Venice resists and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

April
Automotive industry
it
Vespa - reaching the age of 75 with style

19 million units sold worldwide. 19 million stories to tell and retell. This is Vespa that turned 75 in April. In all these decades, Vespa has kept its appearance intact and still maintaining its essence, it has never ceased to be contemporary. The first Vespa was patented on April 23, 1946, by the Italian group Piaggio. World War II had just ended, and Italy was a country to be rebuilt, full of ideas and hope. The Vespa was born in this scenario as an affordable and economical vehicle and soon became a sales success, placing Italy at the center of the post-war movement.

The small motorcycle crossed borders, in 1950 it began to be produced in Germany; in 1951, in the United Kingdom, and in 1954, it arrived in Brazil. Icon of Italian design, the Vespa appeared in classic films such as "Roman Holiday" (1953), in which Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck strolled through the streets of Rome, and "A Sweet Life" (1960), by Federico Fellini, becoming a symbol of the freedom and youth of the time. Since its creation, the Vespa has been continuously produced at the Pontedera factory, between Florence and Pisa.

May
World heritage
it
Coliseum has project for reconstruction of arena

The Coliseum, in the heart of Rome, will have its arena back. This was certainly the best news for all those who appreciate close contact with history. As part of the "Major Cultural Heritage Projects", after numerous studies and research to define how the works would be carried out, Italy presented the project to rebuild the arena. The works will start in the first months of 2022 with completion scheduled for 2023.

Dating back to the opening years (AD 80), the arena floor was a wooden plank covered with sand where men and beasts were forced to climb. Years later, the masonry underground was built, and later the construction of the complex that can be seen today in the center of the monument, much more complex and highly technological. The new design will be sustainable, resistant, and highly durable and will restore the public to the same vision that the monument could have enjoyed in antiquity.

June
World heritage
it
Padua, city of the saint

Padua is the city of "the 3 -less": the nameless saint, the doorless café and the grassless park, as its inhabitants define it, and June 13 is an important day for Padovanos (people born in Padua) because they celebrate "The Saint", without ever needing to specify your name. The unnamed saint is St. Anthony, the patron saint of Padua, beloved throughout the Catholic world, but the Basilica dedicated to him was simply called the Pontifical Basilica of the Saint. The Basilica, which receives millions of faithful every year, preserves the relics of St. Anthony and, this year, also celebrated the return to Padua, for the first time since 1652, of the relic of Anthony's forearm, in the custody of the Basilica della Salute (Basilica of Health) in Venice. The Saint's forearm was the reason for a pilgrimage that ratified the link between Venice and Padua.

The second icon of the city of the Saint is the "doorless café", alluding to Caffè Pedrocchi, which turned 190 this month. Until 1916, the spot remained open day and night, hence the name "Café without a door". The closure in the evening was because the interior lights could easily be a reference for the Austrians during the bombings of the First World War. In fact, in 1848, from a shot fired by Austrian soldiers, a bullet hit one of the inner walls of the café. The hole left by the projectile and a plaque in memory of what happened still keep memories of that day. Finally, the "grassless park", one of the largest squares in Europe, refers to the Prato della Valle which, in its origins, was a swampy land and not the beautiful park with its 78 statues that we know today.

July
Sport
it
"It's coming Rome", the winning phrase

"It's coming Rome" is the winning phrase. Italy beat England at Wembley and is the champion of EURO 2020, and the phrase above is the answer given by "Squadra Azzurra" to the confident English choir "It's coming home", repeated tirelessly before and during the match held in London. But that day it all went wrong for the Brits, and in front of about 65,000 people at Wembley, it was Italy that brought home the coveted trophy.

The match was one of the most beautiful and emotional for the Italian team. England took the lead, scoring the first goal just two minutes from the start of the game. Italy managed to tie in the 67th minute of the second half, with a goal by Leonardo Bonucci (1x1). The match extended until the penalty shootout and after two and a half hours Italy won 3 x 2, winning the European champion title for the second time in its history. The first title was won in 1968. The 16th edition of the European Football Championship 2020, or EURO 2020, organized by UEFA, was officially postponed for one year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite this, UEFA decided to keep the name of the competition unchanged.

 

August
Art
it
Who stole the Mona Lisa?

140 years ago, on August 21st, the Mona Lisa went missing. At the Louvre in Paris, where Leonardo Da Vinci's masterpiece had been on exhibition since 1797, everyone was stunned. No one had moved it. Nobody knew where it would have ended up. The Mona Lisa was just gone, and no one was able to answer the question "Who stole the Mona Lisa?" Two years passed among doubts, uncertainties and hypotheses about the disappearance of Gioconda and without any trace of what really happened that day. What nobody knew is that Mona Lisa was hidden in the room where lived Vincenzo Peruggia, an Italian who, upon emigrating to France, went to work at the Louvre and, one day, decided to steal her.

With Mona Lisa hidden under a jacket, Peruggia caught a bus and took her home, returning normally for work. Peruggia wanted to return to Italy the painting he thought had been stolen by Napoleon Bonaparte. In a book, he had read that Napoleon had stolen many works of art from Italy, thus deducing that among the stolen works was Gioconda, the one he saw every day in the Museum. He didn't know the Mona Lisa had been sold to the King of Paris. Returning to Italy, Peruggia asked an antiquarian in Florence to return Gioconda to an Italian museum and, who knows, as a kind of reward, he could have a steady job. The antiquarian, seeming himself in front of the authentic Mona Lisa, warned the police, and Peruggia was arrested. Gioconda returned to the Louvre by train and Peruggia was sentenced to one year in prison, subsequently obtaining a reduction in his sentence.

September
Literature
it
7 centuries of Dante - the Supreme Poet father of the Italian language

Seven centuries have passed since Dante's death, however, he is still with us, present in our daily lives. This is because he, the Supreme Poet, left us as a legacy the Italian language, the one we speak today, which was born from his poetry and which united Italy from a communicative point of view. Although he knew Latin well, Dante was convinced that the vernacular, spoken by people on the street, should become the cultured language. “The noblest of these two languages ​​is the vernacular (...) because it is natural to us, while the other (referring to Latin) is very artificial”, he wrote in “De Vulgari Eloquentia”.

Among the most important legacies of Dante Alighieri, we find one of the masterpieces of literature, the Divine Comedy, considered the greatest work written in Italian. The entire Comedy is composed of three singular canticas that include a total of 100 chants. The first one (Hell) is composed of 33 chants plus the Introductory one, and the other two (Purgatory and Paradise) are also 33 chants each. Each chant varies from a minimum of 115 to a maximum of 160 verses, for a total of 14,333, all written in linked triplets of hendecasyllable verses. Dante was born in Florence in 1265 and died in exile in Ravenna on the night between September 13 and 14, 1321. On the occasion of the 700th anniversary of his death, the Ministry of Culture proposed considering 2021 the year of Dante, including the 25th of March, National Day already dedicated to him, called Dantedì (Dante's Day).

October
Air transport
it
After the last flight, Alitalia is gone for good

Since October 14, after 74 years Alitalia is gone for good. The date was marked by its last flight, and the sky lost a bit of color. In 2006, it had already lost one of its stars, that of Varig, the Brazilian airline that went extinct after 79 years. No correlation between the two of them, except that both were the apple of their countries' eyes, and the images of their last flights, in a way, left marks on aviation enthusiasts. On another occasion, these same lovers watched with sorrow the last flight of the legendary Concorde. Who among fans has never dreamed of flying, at least once, aboard the Concorde? The objective here is not to go into the merits or reasons for the decline of these companies, but to record the disappearance of the planes that once lived their Golden Years.

Alitalia, the biggest Italian airline, was a global transport giant, a true benchmark until its inevitable decline. Varig also had strengths of excellence led by its aircraft maintenance, and crew training centers recognized among the best in the world. Each of the aforementioned aircraft left its mark, whether for its design and supersonic speed, for coloring the sky with its tricolor singularity, or for making another star shine in the infinite blue. Alitalia's last flight, AZ 1586 Cagliari-Roma, operated by an A321, put an end to another long history in the aviation sector.

November
Technology
it
Half a century that changed our lives - story of shrinking things

"The Intel 4004 microprocessor set the foundation for computing – and touched every life on the planet." This is the phrase highlighted at the top of Intel the website which celebrated the 50th anniversary of the first microprocessor placed on the market. The microprocessor that made information technology take-off was invented by Italian physicist Federico Faggin, who is turning 80 years old this December. Born in Vicenza, after having worked with computers at Olivetti, once one of the most important companies in the world in the field of typewriters and calculators, Faggin enrolled in the Physics course at the University of Padua, where he graduated. The key moment in his life, however, was when he decided to establish himself in the United States and, in 1970, he was hired by Intel, an American company that at that time was starting to operate in the market. A year later, Faggin's task was to make some integrated circuits for a prototype calculator, and it was when he developed the silicon-gate MOS technology. The Intel 4004 was born packing 2,300 transistors into a tiny piece of silicon, a lot for the time but insignificant compared to the billions used today on a single chip.

A significant advance that took just half a century to bring us to modern information technology. We went from the first electronic computer, built in 1946, which took up an entire room to our personal computers, laptops, smartphones, and many other chip-based technologies that we use in everyday life, such as the cloud and artificial intelligence. Microprocessors have changed the world. Intel on its website says: “It's a story of shrinking things. And as you shrink them, you increase the potential of the places that they can go and the things that they can pass."

December
World
it
The world still suffers from the Covid-19 pandemic

By then, we are immersed in a crisis that affects us at all levels. For two years now, we've been in a health emergency triggered by the Covid-19 pandemic which, if we're lucky, will only extend into the first few months of 2022. After... Who can tell us? In newspaper headlines, the Covid subject is being exhaustively treated, although in an unsatisfactory way. The real function of the press, which would be to inform, ended up being lost in the multitude of facts, inconsistent information, and contradictions and has only served to confuse even more. Are this data being handled within their convenience? Maybe so, but who can tell us? What is known is that 2021 was also a year of trauma, defeat, and loss. A year that changed our lives and changed our essence. We're just learning to move forward, trying to start over. For stubbornness or obstinacy, I don't know, we still want to believe that 2022 can be different, and can offer us a little more hope, new expectations, and some dreams that come true because dreams sometimes come true. However, for now, the world still suffers from Covid-19. For now, the world is in Reanimation. We hope for the best!

 

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Pinocchio turns 140, but the old man is Geppetto ;)

Pinocchio
libro Pinocchio

“Centuries ago, there lived…
‘A king!’ my little readers will say immediately.
No, children, you are mistaken. Once upon a time, there was a piece of wood.”

Pinocchio

Pubic Domain

A hundred and forty years ago was born the puppet Pinocchio, carved out of a piece of wood by a lovely old man, the carpenter Geppetto. And then? Then there was the Talking Cricket or Jiminy Cricket (Pinocchio’s consciousness), the Fairy with Turquoise Hair, Honest John (the Fox), Gideon (the Cat), and many others who make up this masterpiece of Italian literature. The big realization is that only after undergoing an interior transformation, a true awakening of consciousness, Pinocchio was able to have his great desire manifested. The wooden puppet became a real boy, in flesh and bones. As he himself said: “a good boy” because he understood his mistakes.

Pinocchio first appeared on July 7, 1881, at the “Giornale per I bambini, the first Italian newspaper addressed to young readers. The story was published as comic strip. The last episode, however, was dropped like a bomb on the readers. Disappointed, they wrote to the newspaper asking for a new ending. In the first version, poor 

Pinocchio ended up hanging from a leafy oak. Although doubtful, Carlo Collodi, creator of Pinocchio, answered the readers’ request, bringing Pinocchio to life again with the help of the Blue Fairy. Then, in 1883, the illustrated book “The Adventures of Pinocchio: the story of a puppet” was published by the bookstore publisher “Libreria Editrice Felice Paggi”.

Carlo Lorenzini (CarloCollodi) was born in Florence on November 24th, 1826. He spent most of his childhood in Collodi, a small medieval town, in the province of Pistoia, which gave him inspiration for his pen name. In 1844, he interrupted his studies to go to work at the Florentine Bookstore “Libreria Piatti. Three years later, he started collaborating with some newspapers writing about music, theater, literature, and humor. Collodi founded two important newspapers in Italy at that time: “Il Lampione, a daily satirical newspaper, forced to close in 1849, and the “Scaramuccia, a theater-oriented newspaper. Collodi died on October 26th, 1890.

The puppet speaks 260 languages

This is not a lie, among the Italian books, “Pinocchio” is the most translated and widespread in the world. The puppet, according to a survey published on May 18th, 2021, speaks 260 languages. The survey was sponsored by Maremagnum.com, an Italian platform for the research of old and used books. But we can go further: in the ranking of books in the world, carried out by the American translation agency 7Brands Inc., Pinocchio pops up in second place, only behind “The Little Prince, by the French Antoine de Saint Exupéry.

Geppetto’s adopted son, who frequently sees himself into trouble and gets his nose bigger and bigger any time he tells a lie, is the best-known Italian character abroad. Fame also took him to the world of cinema, cartoons, and theater. Pinocchio is recognized as one of Disney’s biggest successes (winning two Oscars in 1941) and passed to history as the second Disney classic after “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs”, from 1937.

Pinocchio puppets – stand at a square in Verona, Italy.

The other face of Pinocchio

— What name shall I give him? — Geppetto said to himself. — I’ll call him Pinocchio. This name will bring him good luck. I once knew a whole family of Pinocchios: Father Pinocchio, mother Pinocchia, and Pinocchi the children. And all of them did well. The richest one begged for a living.

Pinocchio - does it mean "pineal eye" in Italian?

Geppetto explains the choice of the name Pinocchio in a simple way: it’s a name he already knows and will bring luck to the puppet. However, this explanation is followed by others due to the most varied reasons, sometimes geographic, sometimes botanic, or even esoteric. Some people say that Collodi got inspired by the fountain at the theological seminary where he studied, named “Fontana del Pinocchio” (Pinocchio’s Fountain). Others say that the name comes from the Pinocchio’s area, San Miniano Basso, a village where Collodi’s father worked for years. Yet, there are also those who say that the name is related to the wooden puppet’s characteristics. In Italian, Pinocchio is another name for “pinolo”, the pine nut.

The explanation I like the most however is the esoteric one, and here we have material for another post. Pin-occhio, in Italian, is the union of the words “pino” (pine) plus “occhio” (eye). Pine makes pine nuts (pinolo) that by its form represent the pineal gland, also known as the third eye. The interpretations given to Pinocchio’s story go from the most superficial one told and retold infinitely, to the deepest one which deals with self-transformation. The wooden puppet, which represents the material side, became aware of his acts and underwent an internal evolutionary process in order to receive the gift of life. Only after changing inside did the change outside took place and Pinocchio could emerge as a real boy, owner of a conscience, a soul, and certainly with a heart. Pinocchio woke up and approached the divine. For him, the work is done.

Symbols can be seen also in the Vatican Square with the presence of the world’s largest monument dedicated to the “pine cone” flanked by two peacocks, birds associated with spirituality, awakening, and enlightenment. The shape of the papal tiara and many other accessories used by the Pope is based on it. Photo (cutout) by Wkinight94 Wikimedia Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported

We talked about an 1881 story when Pinocchio was able to get his own conscience and fired the Talking Cricket from his position as an external adviser. Today, in 2021, there are men in flesh who find it more comfortable having a Talking Cricket by their side and, in this way, they go through life as a wooden puppet, forever supported by their external consciences.

Credits: Pinocchio, by André Koehne – Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license. Carlo Collodi e Pinóquio (above), also by André Koehne – Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license /Other credits: first Pinocchio’s book Wikimedia Commons; illustrations from the first book Geppeto esculpindo Pinocchioo gato e a raposa and Pinóquio-sun, all of them of Public Domain.

 

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OmegaT – the free and open source CAT tool

OmegaT is an effective and easy-to-use computer-assisted translation tool, and to top it off, it is free and open source. It means that you will have in your hands a tool that will simplify your tasks, increase your productivity, without having to pay for it while also being able to freely modify its code according to your needs. Ahhh… I know what you are thinking about, and the answer is NO, OmegaT does not translate for you. I’m talking about a software developed precisely for professional translators, facilitating, and improving the end result of the performed work, and not about a machine translation.

Among the CAT tools available in the market, OmegaT is an alternative that is worth being tested. The program, created almost 20 years ago but constantly updated, makes it possible to translate without altering the original document’s formatting while creating translation memories (TMs), glossaries, and dictionaries. Through the automatic function that completes words, it is possible to avoid misspellings and speed up typing. The program also allows setting up files and reviewing bilingual texts, including those translated outside the CAT, as well as researching on the Internet or the computer and enables teamwork. To do this, simply set it up according to your requirements. The basic program provides English, Portuguese, and Spanish dictionaries. 

On OmegaT‘s website, we can read: “One of the most useful things OmegaT users can do is… to use OmegaT. And when they find things that don’t work, or deficiencies in the documentation, to tell us about them”. That’s it! If I managed to pique your curiosity, click here to download it. I work with OmegaT!

 

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OmegaT – an aid tool for translators

OmegaT is an aid tool for translators. Easy to use, it provides practical solutions that simplify work and increase productivity. It works on Windows, OSX, and GNU/Linux. It allows many format files such as DOC, HTML, PDF, and ODT (also free), among others, and assists translations in a large number of languages including non-Latin scripts and is available in multiple versions. If you are a first-time user or cannot fully master the program, OmegaT offers a quick guide showing its main features and functions. In addition, it includes a user manual that you can open on your desktop using the program’s Help command. On the Internet, we can find many guides and tutorials. In Portuguese you can find Primeiros passos no OmegaT“. 

In English,  “OmegaT for CAT beginners“. In Italian, you have a “Guida Completa a OmegaT: tecniche, trucchi e consigli per traduttori e project manager“, written by Marco Cevoli and Sergio Alasia from Qabiria – Translation and Localization Agency, located in Spain.

Since it is free, open-source software and can be modified and distributed freely (with the common sense that the user license is respected), I show my appreciation to the program by helping spread it among the translator’s community is a natural approach. On OmegaT’s website, we can read: “One of the most useful things OmegaT users can do is… to use OmegaT. And when they find things that don’t work, or deficiencies in the documentation, to tell us about them”. That’s it! If I managed to pique your curiosity, click here to download it. I work with OmegaT.

 

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Translation Day: why is translation so difficult?

 “TRANSLATE OR DIE.
The lives of every creature on the earth may one day depend on the
instant and accurate translation of one word.”
Paul Engle

On this International Translation Day, let us reflect:
why is translating so difficult?
Why just knowing a couple of languages is not enough?

If the only requirement for a good translation were the conversion of phrases from one language to another certainly the machine translators would be quite enough. Grammatical rules, vocabulary, and speed count, but people have characteristics that are mandatory to any translator who wants to ensure quality and accuracy in a translation. It doesn’t matter the level of experience, the number of years worked, or how many words he has already converted; when translating, sensibility, mistrust about the real meaning of a word, and curiosity are needed and must join the knowledge. The machine loses in those qualities.

It is for these reasons that we still have a place in the job market, and it is also for these reasons that we are celebrating International Translation Day, this September 30th, a day entirely dedicated to us, translators. Since curiosity is an inherent part of our being, I will explain right away that on this day, in 419 or 420, died Saint Jerome, the translator of the Bible from the Old Greek and Hebrew to Latin, and author of important articles about the art of translating. Saint Jerome is considered the translator’s patron saint.

 

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Traitor translator – when the translation “sucks”

Traitor translator or slipping in translation, you choose but the truth is that we can never be too careful when translating. The job is not easy, as some people believe. So, in translation, all that stuff you frequently hear like “it is easy, and you do it in no time”, followed by haggling, doesn’t work. If you realized, this is neither easy nor quick. 

For this reason, it’s important to rely on the translations you need from a professional, preferably to a native speaker or at least someone who has been living for years in the country of the target language. Knowing in-depth the cultural content enclosed in words and expressions is essential and leads to fewer possibly upsetting mistakes. Even great companies such as Pepsi, Coca-Cola, and Electrolux have already slipped in translation when trying to sell their products.

Pepsi, in the ’90s, launched an international advertising campaign with the slogan “Come Alive! You’re in the Pepsi Generation”, but the way it was translated to China, made the Chinese understand that Pepsi was bringing their ancestors back from the grave, which led to a drop in sales. Coca-Cola in its turn, in New Zealand, translated only in part its slogan to the Maori language leaving the other part in English, and what would be a cordial “Hello, mate!”, to call the consumer’s attention, led to an awkward “Kia ora, Mate!” (Hello, death!). Electrolux also had an embarrassing experience when promoting its vacuum cleaner in English-languages countries. The Swedish manufacturer used the slogan “Nothing sucks like an Electrolux”, regardless of the double sense of the word “sucks”, and risked jeopardizing the quality of their own vacuum cleaner… That really sucks!

 

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