Benvenuti al Blog di Matta!

Welcome to the Matta Blog!

Esplora l’Italia attraverso articoli settimanali!
Explore Italy Through Weekly Posts!

Benvenuti al Blog di Matta!

Welcome to the Matta Blog!

Esplora l’Italia attraverso articoli settimanali!
Explore Italy Through Weekly Posts!

learning Italian

art & artists

culture & news

food & wine

history festivals

books media

travel events

piccola matta

Italian Language Learning, Tips, Motivation

Say Goodbye to Fear and Hello to Fluent Conversations in Italian! New Online 4-hour Course.

Follia Linguistica: Giocando con Foglie, Folla e Folletti!

Studentessa Shares Her Experience from the 2024 Matta Italian Language Program in Lucca

Semplicemente Fantastico! Dive Into Italian Culture with the 2025 Matta Language Programs

Sofia, la Piccola Matta Teaches Italian

Enjoy the language-learning adventures of Sofia, la piccola matta — Now on Amazon in print & epub!

Find Sofia, la Piccola Matta on Amazon

Introducing “Sofia, la Piccola Matta Teaches Italian! By Melissa Muldoon

Sofia, la Piccola Matta, and Moka the Beagle Teach Basic Italian: Numbers, Colors & Adjective Rules

Art & Artists

Arezzo is La terra di Piero: Discover the artistic legacy of Piero della Francesca

Ilaria del Carretto: The 13th Century Lucchese Beauty Whose Legacy Lives Beyond the Tomb

Singing the “Rap”tures of Sansepolcro and Piero della Francesca

Everyone’s talking about David (and now I’m chiming in too)!

Cultural Anecdotes & Current Affairs

Mastering Italian Pronunciation: The Double Trouble with Mispronouncing Italian Words

2024 Olympic — Italy’s Wild Ride: Cheesy Tales, Lost Rings, Historic Wins & Unexpected Fails

La canicola estiva! Roman Ruff-erences: Unveiling the Bark-tastic Origins of the Dog Days of Summer – Youtube Video

Discover the Exciting History and Gameplay of La Giostra del Saracino: Arezzo’s Iconic Medieval Joust

Food & Wine

What turns a bad day around? La torta di pere e cioccolato!

Eat like a local in Lucca! My recommended restaurant picks — inside and outside Lucca’s walls.

Tiramisu – having your dolce and eating it too!

Tacchino arrotolato — turkey with an Italian twist

Grammar Lessons

How to Say “We Should Have” or “We Were Supposed to” in Italiano

Mastering Italian: How Small Steps with ‘Goccia’ Lead to Big Language Gains

Ovunque tu vada, vacci con il tuo cuore: Understanding Ovunque and Dovunque in Italian

Direct Object Pronouns: The Secret Ingredient for Spicing Up Your Italian!

Is it a masculine or feminine Italian noun? How to tell the difference & why it matters.

Explore the World of the Birds and Bees in Italian: Fun Facts and Vocabulary

History, Holidays, Festivals

Saluting the Superheroes in Our Lives: Our Moms!

Announcing the 2024 Matta Arezzo September Giostra del Saracino Weekend

Gobble Up the Good Times: Let the Thanksgiving Festivities Begin!

Galoppa galoppa, o bel cavalier — la Giostra del Saracino fa venire

Books, Music & Film

Unlock Italian Mysteries This Halloween: Spooky Book Club Adventures for Every Language Level

Announcing the Fall 2024 Matta Italian Book Club: Dive into Mystery with ‘La Libreria dei Gatti Neri’ by Piergiorgio Pulixi

Sun-Kissed Cinema: Dive into Italian Films for Your Perfect Summer Escape!

Announcing the Updated 2024 Italian Translation of “Il risveglio di Isabella” — Isabella is back!

Traveling, Cities, Excursions

2024 Matta Lucca Program in Full Swing: Italian Learning & Cultural Fun!

Semplicemente Fantastico! Dive Into Italian Culture with the 2025 Matta Language Programs

Boost Your Italian Before You Go: Enroll in the Matta Four-Hour Traveler’s Italian Course

Ready for an Italian Adventure? Join the 2024 Matta Italian Language Programs!

Posts by Date

Thinking Italian Thoughts (while walking the dog) helps improve your fluency

Matta 2023 Spring Book Club begins in March!

Buon San Valentino!

Invisible Women: Forgotten Artists of Florence — the work and legacy of Jane Fortune

METTERCI vs VOLERCI: Tic Toc. Tic Toc. How Long Does It Take in Italian?

La Festa di San Biagio: Why do the Milanese bless leftover panettone?

The legend of the merla — la legenda della merla: Coldest days in January bring warm spring days

A response from the author to Artemisia Gentileschi.

A letter from Artemisia Gentileschi to the author.

Modi di dire con rospo, rana, ranocchio! Italian idiomatic expressions involving frogs and toads.

Alessandra, Italian teacher from Livorno, shares recipes for a successful homestay and a delectable dish

Ce l’abbiamo fatta Giovà… dopo 30 anni

Gina Lollobrigida — an artist in every sense of the word

Visiting Gardone and Villa Vittoriale home of Gabriele D’Annunzio: Podcast

Announcing the 2023 Spring Book Club Selection! “Io non ho paura” di Niccolò Ammaniti

New Italian Homestay Language vacation in Livorno with Alessandra

7 donne e un Mistero: New Netflix Italian Murder Mystery

Benvenuto 2023!

Matta Italian Words and Expressions — December 2022

Learn Italian in Lucca in 2023! Lucca Photo review!

Learn with Melissa

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