Italian · Intermediate (B1) · Chapter 7 of 12
Culture and traditions
Feste e tradizioni
Talk about festivals and traditions in Italian with the impersonal si, the si passivante and the relative pronouns che, cui, il quale and quello che.
In this chapter you'll learn to
- Explain a festival or a tradition
- Say what people do in general with si
- Link ideas with che, in cui and di cui
- Recognise il quale and use quello che
Listen
In Siena, Caterina explains the Palio to her friend Ettore, who has just moved from Turin. Listen to the whole dialogue first, then line by line.
Ettore
Caterina, qui tutti parlano del Palio. Ma che cos'è esattamente?
Caterina, everyone here is talking about the Palio. But what exactly is it?
Caterina
È una corsa di cavalli che si fa in piazza del Campo due volte all'anno, il due luglio e il sedici agosto.
It's a horse race that takes place in Piazza del Campo twice a year, on 2 July and 16 August.
Ettore
E chi corre?
And who races?
Caterina
Le contrade, cioè i quartieri della città. Sono diciassette, ma ogni volta ne corrono solo dieci.
The contrade, that is, the districts of the city. There are seventeen, but only ten of them race each time.
Ettore
E qual è la contrada di cui fai parte?
And which contrada do you belong to?
Caterina
L'Onda. È la contrada in cui sono nata. A Siena si nasce in una contrada e non si cambia mai.
The Onda. It's the contrada I was born in. In Siena you're born into a contrada and you never change.
Ettore
E quanto dura la corsa?
And how long does the race last?
Caterina
Circa un minuto e mezzo: tre giri della piazza.
About a minute and a half: three laps of the square.
Ettore
Solo novanta secondi? E per novanta secondi si lavora tutto l'anno?
Only ninety seconds? And people work all year for ninety seconds?
Caterina
Esatto. E non c'è solo la corsa: ci sono le cene della contrada, e prima della corsa il cavallo viene portato in chiesa.
Exactly. And there's more than the race: there are the contrada dinners, and before the race the horse is taken to church.
Ettore
In chiesa? E cosa vince la contrada?
To church? And what does the contrada win?
Caterina
Il palio: è un drappo di seta dipinto, che dà il nome alla corsa. Ma quello che conta di più è vincere.
The palio: it's a painted silk banner, which gives the race its name. But what matters most is winning.
Understand
Si: what people do
To say what people in general do, Italian uses + the / form of the verb: (In Siena you're born into a contrada), (You eat well here). English uses “you”, “people”, “we” or “one”.
When goes with a noun, the verb agrees with that noun: (The race is held in the square), but (Lots of festivals are held). This is called the , because it works like a passive.
| Italian | English |
|---|---|
| … | People say that… |
| You eat well here. | |
| You never change. | |
| The race is held in the square. | |
| The dinners are prepared. |
Che and cui
You know (who, which, that) from A2: . After a preposition like , , , or , use instead: (the contrada I was born in), (the contrada you belong to).
In English the preposition often goes to the end, or disappears. In Italian it always goes before , and never changes.
| Italian | English |
|---|---|
| the city I live in | |
| the friend I work with | |
| the book I told you about | |
| the girl I wrote to | |
| the reason why I'm here |
Il quale, and quello che
In formal Italian, especially in writing, you'll also meet instead of or . They agree with the noun and join with prepositions: . In conversation, and are much more common.
means “what” in the sense of “the thing that”: (What matters is winning). means “everything that” or “all”.
- La contrada nella quale sono nata è l'Onda.The contrada in which I was born is the Onda.
- Non capisco quello che dici.I don't understand what you're saying.
- È tutto quello che so.That's all I know.
More in the grammar: Relative pronouns: che, cui, il quale, quello che · The passive and si: è stato fatto, si dice
New words
- la corsarace; run · feminine; = a horse race
- il cavallohorse · masculine
- correreto run; to race ·
- cioèthat is, I mean
- la contradadistrict (of Siena and some other towns) · feminine
- far parte dito belong to, to be part of · = I belong to the Onda
- nascereto be born · with : / = I was born
- il girolap; tour · masculine; = three laps of the square
- la chiesachurch · feminine; plural:
- vincereto win · = I won
- il drappobanner, length of cloth · masculine
- la setasilk · feminine; = made of silk
- dipintopainted · the participle of (to paint)
- contareto matter; to count · = what matters
Practise
1.Complete: “È la città ___ sono nata.”
2.Complete with the right form of .
In summer, lots of festivals are held in Tuscany.
3.Complete with one word.
She's the friend I go to the Palio with.
4.Put the words in order.
Tap the words below in the right order.What matters is winning.
5.Which sentence is correct?
6.Match the Italian with the English.
Pick a word on the left, then its meaning on the right.
0 of 6 exercises done.
Say it out loud
Qui si mangia molto bene.
You eat very well here.
Listen, then say it out loud, as close to the recording as you can.
Check
Five questions on this chapter. Then mark it as finished to add its words to your review deck.
0 of 5 answered.