UMBRIAN CULTURE & HISTORY

Local Occupations

Furniture making, printing, clothing assembly, electronics and agriculture. No smoke stacks, open cast mines, heavy metals or nuclear or chemical hazards. Umbria is the least polluted region in the northern half of Italy, with pollution and possible hazard levels six times lower than Tuscany, (La Nazione, national newspaper article 1998). Umbria is mainly an agricultural region predominately growing tobacco in the side valleys, the tributaries, of the Tiber. With pepperoni; sweet corn; (maize, granturco, grano Turco or Turkish grain) and sunflowers as alternatives, and wheat on the flat Tiber valley floor. The firm of Buitoni is at the north of the area in San Sepulcro, their pasta products are now widely distributed throughout Europe. And Perugini, now (1998) owned by Nestlé, makers of the famous Baci (kisses) chocolates, are situated in Perugia.

Names

For many people, names, initially, are difficult to remember because they bear no relation to anything previously used. It sometimes helps to have a rhyming mnemonic to assist recall, or a funny or silly association:

Signor Rossi, maybe he's a bit bossy

Signor Lelli, him of the belly

The family of Moni, money or moany, cash or complaints.

Bettoni, think of horse racing, bet on he

Nello, think of him shouting, bellow.

If however the name is Ceccigoria, Bettafichi, it becomes more difficult, but Better Figs for the latter; and, a blood covered cheque, cheque and gore perhaps, unpleasantly, for the former.

Personal characteristics and physical appearances can often give a lead to other methods of recollection.

An Italian woman retains her name for life, her birth or maiden name is retained and she also becomes wife of, or widow of, but on all documents her birth name remains constant. Imagine therefore the consternation in some solicitors offices when ladies, who produce their birth certificate and passport, in two different names if married. What is this lady trying to do? Obviously something illegal if she has obtained a passport in another name! But best of all was a lady who had changed her birth name on marriage, which was inscribed in her passport, announcing to all that she was in fact known by a third name, not written anywhere, that of her second husband!

The names of the English obviously cause confusion because of their spellings. About ninety five percent of Italians end their names with "i", the plural, rather as we would say the Smiths, the Browns, the Elliotts; theirs are Bitti, Lelli, Paolini, Rossi, Sembolini etc. (some Bollini, mnemonic, some little boiled things). Those names not ending with "i" often end in "ù", Cossedù, and these people are of Sardinian origin.

Many Italian names, as in English, reflect a trade, like Smiths, Archers, Fletchers, Carpenters, or a place or area, Scott, London, or physical attribute Sillitoe, Strongitharm.

We have the Sorisi - the Smiles; Cancellotti - Big Locks; Chiodini - Little Nuts, (how does one know you might ask); Millepiedi - Thousand feet; Gambalunga - Long Leg; Gambacorta - Short Leg; Malatesta - Bad Head or Headache; Fortebraccio - Strong Arm; Cerroti - Sticking Plasters; Norciolini - almost Little Nuts again; Formica - Ant: Innocentini - Little Innocents; Chiodini - Little Keys; Meloni - Melons; Spinalbello - Good Back; Bianchi - Whites; Rossi - Reds, Verdis - Greens, (remember Giuseppi Verdi, in English Joe Greens!); Barbarossa - Red Beard; Barbafina - Fine Beard; Venti - Winds; Cambiotti - Changers, of monies; Massimo Maccheroni - Biggest Macceroni and Allesandra Fungini - Little Mushrooms, (both from Vallelunoga, Lng Valley!); Carbone – Coal, Charcoal; Santacroce - Holly Cross; Piselli - Little Peas; Massimo Taccini - Biggest Turkey; Maria Aquarelli - Maria Watercolour; Centogambe – Hundred Llegs; Moscone - Large Fly, Bluebottle; Fortebraccio - Strong Arm; Ricci - Rich; Gambecorte - Short Leg; Paul Gambacini, (Classic FM Radio) - Paul Little Legs; Cecci - Blind; Sordi - Deaf; Ponti – Bridges ……… and many, many others.

Many Italians love the use of titles; dottore to anyone who has a doctorate in anything; ingeniere, engineer; ragioniere, accountant; geometra, surveyor etc., etc., and if you've ever taught anthing at any school you become Professore. I, in my finer moments, having for one term taught military history at an adult evening class in Brixton, and as I am by dint of long hours, rather than academic study, an architect, I have been known to bask in the title of Professore Architetto Tustil, Tunstill never actually is pronounced as I think I say it. However, what matter what they call you as long as they get the Prof. Arch. bit right!

One of the reasons why Verdi was so popular, apart from his music, was that the initials of his name formed an acronym for Vittoria Emanuele Re di Italia, Vittorio Emanuele King of Italy, a rallying cry against the hated Austrians, much in the same way as the opening of Beethoven's Fifth, boom, boom, boom, boooom, (dit-dit-dit-dah) in morse code spells V, for victory. The symphony was banned by the Nazis during the Second World War.

I recently found a door at Ruffignano, one of my properties near Cortona, in faded red paint WW, (Viva) VERDDI, a patriot who couldn't spell!