 First things first. Yes... "Espress" your love. Sitting across from each other with an invigorating espresso. Staring into each others' eyes. Memorizing every detail of that face. A sip and a sigh. It's just the beginning of the language of love in Italia... What do you call people engaged in amore? A boyfriend is a Fidanzato. The girlfriend is a Fidanzata. When both get engaged they are Fidanzarsi. Two lovers together are called La coppia--the couple. The lovers are called gli amante (the lovers) or simply amante. Ok, so you meet someone interesting and want to go on a date... The simplest was to ask is, "Vuoi uscire con me?" (Do you want to go out with me?) The date itself is called un appuntamento. When things start to go more romantic, you go on un appuntamento romantico. If someone stands you up for your appuntamento, they call it dare buca--giving one the hole or leaving someone in a hole. Here are some other phrases to learn in the event that you are looking for Love--or if Love finds you--in Bella Italia...
If you enjoyed this post, please share it with your friends... ciao! --Jerry Finzi   Watch just about any old movie filmed in Italy and more than likely they'll be flirting... especially the stereotype of an incorrigible flirt coming on to a woman. An old gent pursing his lips to his fingers letting a young girl know how tasty she looks, or a young regazzo following for a few steps on the street accosting a young lady with a flurry of metaphorical compliments, or it could be a supposed innocent young boy blurting out blatantly how great a woman's legs are.  Flirting is part of life in la Bel Paese. In fact, there is a special metaphor for it... fare la civetta, which literally means "to make like an owl", or simply una civetta (an owl) meaning "flirt". The expression was first penned in 1494 when poet Poliziano used the word civettare to describe how a woman might attract a man, by cooing like an owl to attract her prey, and then silently pouncing on them with their sharp talons as their prey approaches. In reality, Italian women do flirt more like an owl than men do. They are more subtle and less obvious than the screeching of regazze hawks. A young regazza will start to walk away from her prey, but then turn her head back slightly with a half smile and side glance, and then keep walking away.... Hooked. Hair dangling over the eyes is another technique. Lowering her head and letting a few wisps of hair hide her admiring glance at a young man, but then flipping them back into place shows a guy she sees something she likes... Hooked. Subtle and blatant at the same time, una giovane bellezza (a young beauty) may be sitting at a gelateria touching a spoonful of gelato to her lips, glance over at her targeted regazzo and slyly lick her lips, putting her spoon right back to the work of enjoying her confection... Hooked.  Sexy wink... definitely a flirt Amazingly--but very Italian--there are many distinct variations in the way this word is used:
The context matters, too. For instance, if someone says "Non andrai da nessuna parte con Adelina. È una vera civetta." (You won't get anywhere with Adelina. She's a real tease.") Most men stay clear of a tease once they become away of their game. Curiously, there is even the giacca civetta (owl jacket). This is the second jacket a man leaves over the back his chair at work so the boss and co-workers think he is somewhere in the building... when in reality he is out of the office wearing his other jacket (metaphorically or otherwise) while fare la civetta. Even more interesting, I recently discovered the expression Italians use for "bait and switch" when a company advertises one cheap product (the owl cooing) just to trick you into buying their more expensive one (the talons)... Produtto civetta! Perhaps Italian men have gotten a bad reputation, mostly from stories of them pinching girls behinds or following aggressively down the street. In fact, Italian men are Mama's boys, very romantic and won't marry until they find l'angelo perfetto (the perfect angel), or one as worthy as Mama. Their flirting can also be very direct, but often in poetic praises: "Hai degli occhi bellissimi." (You have beautiful eyes.) "Mi piace il modo in cui ridi" (I like the way you laugh). "Il tuo sorriso è davvero fantastico!" (Your smile is really awesome!) "Ho visto che mi stavi guardando e ho pensato di venire qui a fare due chiacchiere." (I saw you were looking at me and I thought I could come over and chat). "Complimenti alla mamma." (My compliments to your mother). "Nel cielo manca un angelo?" (Is heaven missing an angel?) "Ti sei fatta male cadendo dal cielo?" (Did it hurt when you fell from heaven?) In English these pick-up likes might sound corny... in Italian, just try to resist... --Jerry Finzi  I've got you... You're MINE!  My wife says I'm a great kisser. Perhaps it's because I've had lots of practice before she came into my life. (Only joking, lovey!) But perhaps it's because I'm Italian. Yea... that's the story and I'm sticking to it. Aside from burning 6 calories per kiss (as Father Guido Sarducci used to say, "It adds up!), there are other health benefits from kissing. With over 30 muscles involved in producing the perfect kiss (more if you're actually Italian), you can get quite a workout over the course of a passionate evening after some Prosecco, pasta carbonara and tiramisu.  Il bacio (The Kiss), 1859 by Francesco Hayez. Note the use of hands on jaw, cheek, neck and hair. My wife says I'm a great kisser. Perhaps it's because I've had lots of practice before she came into my life. (Only joking, lovey!) But perhaps it's because I'm Italian. Yea... that's the story and I'm sticking to it. Aside from burning 6 calories per kiss (as Father Guido Sarducci used to say, "It adds up!), there are other health benefits from kissing. With over 30 muscles involved in producing the perfect kiss (more if you're actually Italian), you can get quite a workout over the course of a passionate evening after some Prosecco, pasta carbonara and tiramisu.  Bradley Cooper and Irina Shayk during an Italian Vacation trying out an Italian style kiss  Now, let's get down to the specific advantages of an Italian Kiss. Sure, the French Kiss seemingly has high-jacked the romantic kiss for most people, but speaking as someone who speaks a bit of French and Italian, you're missing out if you've never kissed an Italian. The ancient Romans had three different kind of kisses: For relatives, there was the osculum, similar to the double-cheek kiss used today when greeting friends. Next, there was a more intimate kiss for close family, husbands and wives called bacio alla Romana. This kiss was a full mouth kiss, originally intended to find out whether the receiver of the kiss was drunk or not. For men there was also the savium, used only with prostitutes. In an effort to save our relationships, I'm not going to describe this one. The last type, the more intimate basium, was a Lover's Kiss, somewhat like a French Kiss but with more subtle lip action combined with hands applied to each others' face, neck or shoulders. With Italian lovers, it's a more of a full body sport...  A bit more bite or squeeze in by the lips. A firm tenderness with fingers on cheek, neck or gentle tug of hair while kissing. Kissing often being part of a well planned, sensual meal. Each kiss lasting a bit longer than you could hold your breath. Open mouths resting while inhaling each others' hot breaths. Perhaps a leg or forearm embracing or intertwined during the kiss. Occasional, intense eye to eye contact when moving in and out of kisses.  Psyche Revived by Cupid's Kiss... Cupid was a Roman deity, after all. --Jerry Finzi
 Beginning in January, 2017, Grand Voyage Italy is undergoing a reconstruction: adding new pages, categories and moving older posts to more appropriate pages. If you can't find what you are looking for in this new Lifestyle page, use the Search Box to help find what you need. Grazie!
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