Can you name seven colours in Italian? Did you know that there are many sayings related to colours? Did you know that some political parties in Italy are identified by their colours? If one of your answers is no and you have been living in this country for quite a while, then please read on.
We will be starting today with a just few colours, which will help you to get around the shops and markets in Florence.
ROSSO
Red, from the Latin russu, is one of the seven colours of the rainbow. There are several tones: from rosso ciliega (cherry red), rosso rubino (ruby red) to rosso inchiostro ( the colour of red ink). If you are asked in a bar or at restaurant if you want a "bianco o rosso?" the noun missing is vino (wine) and remember that vino bianco is an excellent aperitif. If a person is looking well, Italians say "ha un colorito bianco e rosso", meaning that person has a rosy complexion.
The English saying "Red sky at night shepherd's delight" can be translated into Italian as "Rosso di sera bel tempo si spera".
Rosso can also be used as a noun. Il rosso means the yolk of an egg or a red traffic light. Unfortunately in some parts of Italy it is still interpreted merely as a suggestion to slow down at the lights rather than to actually come to a full stop. I rossi (the reds) have for a long time meant those belonging to the Communist party, even if nowadays they can be found in many political parties (Rifondazione comunista, Comunisti italiani, DS). If a città (town) or a giunta (regional council) is referred to as rossa it indicates that its political orientation is to the left. La rossa can either be an attractive red haired woman or an epithet for the town of Bologna, capital city of the Emilia Romagna region, historically left-wing.
GIALLO
Yellow, from the old French jaine, carries on the etymology of the Latin word nu.
The colour sits between orange and green, and brings to mind lemons (limoni) and saffron (zafferano). Farina gialla for Italians is the flour extracted from corn. The razza gialla means the Mongolian race. When people refer to a book as un giallo, they mean a detective story. Tones range from canarino (canary yellow, very bright), to paglierino (from paglia, straw), giallo oro (golden yellow) and giallo ambrato (amber yellow).
Giallo oro is also one of the colours of traffic lights. Unfortunately here in Italy this does not play a very important role in disciplining road traffic.
Differently from the UK or the USA, the amber light appears immediately before the red, as opposed to just before the green light. It might well be that one day this coulour will completely disappear in Italian traffic lights.
AZZURRO
Light blue, from the Persian la-z-ward.
As an adjective it is the classic colour of the sky on a sunny day. Italians call the prince in fairy tales il principe azzuro, the handsome young man who at the end of the story is wont to liberate the poor but pretty girl trapped in a medieval tower. The pesce azzurro is usually the variety of fish to be found in the Adriatic sea, and, according to Italian fishermen, is reputed to be healthier than any other fish coming from the more polluted Northern seas.
The loud cheering of fans for the Italian national team at sporting events is "Forza Azzurri". Funnily enough, one of the government majority parties has actually grabbed the slogan and azzurro is now the colour of this leading party.
BLU
Blue, spelt differently from the French bleu (omit the e), from which the Italian word derives.
Adjective often associated with the sea or sky (mare e cielo blu). To have blue blood (sangue blu) in Italy means to be of noble origin, a condition that recently has become very much sought after by TV shows who often compete to have one of these rare personalities on their reality shows. It seems that the Italian audiences are intrigued by the lives of these modern superheroes. If someone turns blue in the face (sta diventando blu) then you had better rush to offer help. The person could well be on the verge of fainting.
VERDE
From the Latin word viridem.
This colour lies between yellow and blue. In the realm of nature it is the colour of erba (grass) and prati (meadows). There are many different tones: verde chiaro (light green), verde scuro (dark green), verde acqua ( pale green), verde bottiglia (bottle green), verde oliva (olive green), verde smeraldo (emerald green).
The zona verde represents the area in towns usually dedicated to parks and gardens. They are quite rare in the city centre of Florence and if you do come across one, don't get too enthusiastic - they are usually used and abused mostly by dogs! If you say that a fruit is verde it means that it is unripe, so if you do eat a banana or a pesca verde (an unripe banana or peach) be prepared for tummy aches! In a figurative sense, green years (gli anni verdi ) are the years of youth and adolescence and the benzina verde (green petrol ) is the unleaded type.
"Essere al verde", meaning literally "to be in the green" means to be stony broke, and "essere verde d'invidia" means "to be green with envy".
Il verde, used as a noun, is the green traffic light prompting that all too sudden traffic drama (remember no yellow before the green light) that as soon as it appears incites all Florentine drivers around you to overtake your vehicle on both sides, leaving you behind to suffocate from their fumes.
Verde is also the colour of the ulivo (olive tree) which is not only the most fascinating and intriguing tree to be found in the Tuscan countryside but since 1996 it has also become the symbol of the left-wing alliance which won the political election that year and was not able to defy or to stem the already increasing monopoly of the TV channels and the concentration of media power in the hands of one man; who only 5 years later (2001) with an apparently strong political alliance became the Prime Minister of the so-called "Second Republic" (Seconda Repubblica). The reason of the name Seconda Repubblica was adopted to distinguish it from the corruption of its predecessors, (the governements in place from 1948 to 1994) which ruled a nation with personal favouritisms and at times through connections with some mafia bosses.
GRIGIO
Grey, from the Germanic gri-si.
This colour lies between white and black. The tones are grigio perla (pearl grey), grigio azzurro (grey-blue, most often used to indicate the colour of eyes), acciaio (steel grey) and piombo (lead).
If the weather is grey and Summer has already arrived, then it is a day of national mourning in Italy. People will be seen leaving their homes armed with big umbrellas kept well open until the last drop of rain has fallen from the heavens. And if it is a nice sunny day but Summer has not yet arrived, do not expect to see Italians dressed in shorts and sandals. That kind of dress code is reserved for the Germanic, or rather the Barbaric hordes assaulting Italy's fragile towns.
A very last note, many Italians believe grey to be the colour that best describes the national political situation, about which everyone likes to complain at all manner of social gatherings, but few have the guts to dig in themselves and try to bring about substantial changes.
