Per dieci minuti... | For ten minutes...

The above quote by Rudolf Steiner appears in the first few pages of Chiara Gamberale's most recent novel, Per dieci minuti (For ten minutes).

Key Vocabulary:

(l') essere umano -  human being

(la) facoltà - ability

latente - latent

giungere - to reach

attraverso le quali - through which

(la) conoscenza - consciousness

(il) mondo - (the) world

Using the above mini-dictionary, if necessary, can you write a literal translation of the quote in English (highlight below to reveal one possibility)

In each human being, there exists latent abilities, through which he or she can reach the consciousness of the world.

Though the literal translation makes sense, in English the quote is often worded differently:

A change of name (but not of heart)

Welcome to VIA OPTIMAE!

Me, Alex, as a Bitstrips cartoon.
Try it if you haven't already
— it's highly entertaining! 

My name is Alex and I originally started this site under the name of Didattichiamo! as a way to share the materials and resources that I used (and continue to use) in the study of languages and culture, and Italian in particular.

My intention was to show the fun and engaging side of study as well as create a community of like-minded learners from around the world that could exchange ideas.

My intention hasn’t changed... but my site name and address have!

What's in a name?

VIA means 'street or way' in Italian— I wanted to evoke the idea that this a place to gather, and also a way of thinking or doing.  

OPTIMAE comes from Latin and the AE is pronounced kind of like the ‘ay’ in “say.”  It is part of the famous Latin phrase "HIC MANEBIMUS OPTIMAE" which can be translated as  "Here we'll stay excellently." In Italian, the phrase is often translated as "Qui staremo benissimo"

Here's hoping we all stay (and do) benissimo!

In addition to adding new content, I'm in the process of transferring content from the previous site, so be sure to check the archive

-or-

start here:

• How Italian Verbs Work (1st of 7 lessons on beginner's Italian Grammar)

• Ligabue's Il Sale della Terra (lyrics and song meaning) and Mondovisione (vote which songs you'd like to see covered next).

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