In this scorching heat, the visual impact of this Neapolitan saying is even more immediate:

‘Tenè ‘a neve dint’â sacca.’
(‘He has snow in his pockets.’)
Said of someone who is in a hurry, and can't spend time chatting with you.
Meaning that someone who has snow in his pockets runs as fast as he or she can to avoid it melting before reaching home.

​
Alberico Collina

This saying from the Italian region of Campania reminds us that it may take time, but the truth always comes out in the end:

‘A verità è 'a figlia d' 'o tiempo.’
('Truth is the daughter of time.')

​
Alberico Collina

I love the conciseness of this saying from Friuli Venezia Giulia on how time flies:

'El Sol magna le ore.'
('The sun eats hours.')


Alberico Collina

Another regional Italian saying, this time from Sardinia.

On forgiveness and forgetting:
‘Su perdonare est de Deus, su ismentigare est de maccos.’
(‘God forgives, the mad forget.’)
​
​
​Alberico Collina

Stanislaw J. Lec is one of my favourite satirists, and his unkempt thoughts are timeless. Below, I have introduced just a few:

On the dangers of trusting our judgement:
'When I'm right, I'm always suspicious.'

This could be a definition of Europe:
'The lack of common interests unites us.'
​
On the contradictions of feeling morally superior:
'Sincerity when confessing is not disinterested.'

On claiming this or that legacy:
'The dead change their political opinion without difficulty.'

On reinventing a life:
​'It's difficult to foresee someone's past.'

I leave you with one of his more surreal and humorous quotations that sum up this sharp and witty writer:
'When I talk to myself, I don't always have the last word.'

Alberico Collina

I love this saying; it comes from the Veneto region, and it is almost a story:

‘El male riva a cavalo e ‘l parte a piè.’
(‘Illness comes on horseback and leaves on foot.’)

​Alberico Collina

Just one saying this evening; a favourite of mine from Naples:

​'A vita è n' affacciata 'e fenesta.'
(‘Life’s a look out the window.’)
Life is brief, live it well.


Alberico Collina

I hope you enjoy the following four brief sayings:

On giving:
‘Bussari chi pedi.’
(‘Knock with your feet.’)
I love this saying from Calabria - it means you have to knock with your feet because your arms are full of presents.

On not doing harm:
‘Malë nun fa paùra nun avè.’
(‘Do no harm, have no fear.’)
This saying is from Basilicata and it means: If you don't harm anyone, you need not fear anyone.

On the benefits of taking it easy:
'Chi tene tiempo, tene vita.’
(‘Those who have time, have life.’)
This one is from Campania and it means: Hurry shortens life.

I have to run now, so I'll leave you with one of my favourite sayings from Naples, capital of the Campania region:
On life:
' 'A jurnata è 'nu muòrzo!'
('Life is a bite.')
Life goes by in a flash, Live it!

Alberico Collina

Today's post are three sayings from three different regions. I hope you enjoy them.

Saying from Sardinia
I love this saying; it reminds me that we are what we do:
‘Su trabagliu narat quie est su mastru.’
(‘Work reveals its maker.’)

Saying from Emilia Romagna
Sometimes, our infantile self gets the best of us, and we need someone to remind us of this. This saying does the job:
‘La vin ‘na volta l’an la fera.’
(‘The fair comes to town only once a year.’)
You can’t always enjoy yourself.

Saying from Sicily
On why you should always speak your mind:
‘Testa c'un parla si chiama cucuzza.’
('A head that doesn’t speak is a pumpkin.')
Those who don’t speak up when they should, shouldn’t complain of the decisions taken by others.

I leave you with this quotation from Antoine de Rivarol on the concentrated wisdom of proverbs (and sayings):
'Les proverbes sont les fruits de l'experience de tous les peuples, et comme le bon sens de tous les siècles reduit en formules.'
('Proverbs are the fruit of the experience of all people, and like common sense of all ages, reduced to formulas.')


Alberico Collina