friuli - Keep Talking

The Definite Article
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Mandi Mandi!
Probably the best-known
Friulian word in the world
is the closing salutation,
"Mandi", so it’s curious
that its etymology is unknown.
Although different interpretations have been
given to this term, the
most acknowledged
hypothesis is that it
derives from the ancient
“marcomandi” (or m'arcomandi) that meant "I recommend you". There are
some letters and poems
of the sixteenth and
seventeenth century that
support this etymology.
Other opinions suggest
that the word "mandi"
may have a "religious"
connotation because the
term could derive from
the Latin "manus
dei" ( "Hand of God", that
is, "God protects you") or
similarly "mane diu" ("have
a long life") or "mane in
deo" (literally "stay in
God").
Certainly, by the
nineteenth century, the
word "mandi" was used all
over Friuli as a friendly
greeting.
By Lorena Riul
Kip Talking
Friuli means an awful lot
to me. Having spent half
my life here, I’ve had
plenty of time to get to
know it well. As a family
we’ve always been keen
travellers, both abroad
and in Italy and although
there are other places
where the art and
architecture is finer, the
countryside is more
beautiful, the mountains
are higher and the coastline more dramatic, I am
always, always, happy to
come back here. I think
it’s partly a question of
scale: nothing is too big,
too popular or too far
away. There’s plenty for
tourists to see and do but
at the same time I’m
happy that our area is a
bit off the beaten track. I
don’t mean to boast but I
suspect I know Friuli a lot
better than most of you –
a love of maps, walking
and especially cycling have
allowed me to get to
know some of the
remotest corners of the
region: Barcis, Sauris, Val
Pesarina, Cason di Lanza,
the Alta Val Torre,
Mataiur and the Natisone
Valleys to name but a few.
And there is something
really special about being
able jump in the car and
get to Slovenia, Croatia
and Austria so easily and
be in Munich and Vienna
in less than 5 hours. Friuli
in itself is a small, quiet
and unassuming bit of
Italy, but it feels like it’s
very much at the heart of
Europe.
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Ospedaletto, on
the banks of the
Tagliamento
KT
Prize
Article
My Village
A village. A wonderful,
typical village in the centre of Friuli. On a small
hill there stood an ancient church with a tall
bell tower that rose
over the houses. The
Tagliamento river
flowed to the west of
the suburbs.
In the centre, a large
square was the heart of
many lives. An old
dairy, a bakery, a post
office, a primary school,
a mechanic, a family
shop and some typical
Friulian bars were the
features of the village in
1976.
It was 9 o'clock in the
evening, in May. One
interminable minute
arrived.
A horrible minute.
The ogre shook the village, some roofs fell
down, but the majority
of the houses remained
up. The village was near
to the epicentre of the
earthquake, but it didn't
go down...
It was very dark that
night and fear filled everyone’s head.
Death didn't win.
It was a strong village.
It is MY village.
Ospedaletto perished in
the quakes of September, but not in May.
By Daniele Iob
Castles Around Trieste
Miramare Castle
(above) and Duino
Castle (right)
Friuli is a Region in the
North-East of Italy. Although it isn’t a very
large area, it has a huge
variety of landscapes:
from mountains to the
sea, hills and lakes, historical cities and small
rural villages.
In one of the main cities,
Trieste, there is a
wonderful castle Miramare Castle situated on a cliff above
the sea. It was built in
the 19th century and it
was the home of the
Habsburgs, whose old,
aristocratic furniture it
still houses. It is
surrounded by a
flourishing
park and
you can
also dive
in the waters near
the castle.
About ten
kilometers from
Miramare
Castle, there is Duino
Castle, built around
1300. Only during the
17th century, however,
did it take on its current
appearance. It has
hosted important people like Princess Sissi,
Gabriele D’Annunzio
and Rainer Marie Rilke
(a part of the park is
dedicated to him). This
castle is bigger than the
one at Miramare, and
you can also visit a
World War II bunker.
Don’t miss these two
Friulian beauties!
By Giulia Galasso
Kip’s pics
Throughout this issue of the Definite Article you’ll find some
of Kip’s snaphots taken in the region. Can you identify the
locations? The answers are on the back page (page 8).
T HE
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Rosazzo Abbey
following
a
pleasant winding
frescoes
road
through
of the
extensive vineChurch of yards
which
Rosazzo
produce
fine
Abbey
wines.
The wine cellar,
which can be visited today,
is one of the oldest in Friuli,
dating back to the end of
the 13th century when the
Benedictine monks used to
age their own wines and
olive oil.
This age-old Abbey, whose
origins are not completely
known, is a kind of fortified
village, which is focused
around the church of Saint
The
Rosazzo Abbey dominates
Friuli’s eastern hills, providing amazing views on clear
days. It can be reached by
Peter, which still has a medieval atmosphere. The church
of Saint Peter and the former
refectory display 16th century
frescoes.
The path of the Roses
follows the perimeter of the
abbey and is made up of
ancient and modern roses. It
was planted in 1998 and
includes all the most important
families of ancient roses as
well as various modern rose
bushes. The view that can be
enjoyed in spring is unique.
“Rosazzo
Abbey
dominates
Fiuli’s eastern
hills, providing
amazing views
on clear
days.”
By Tiziana Cettolo
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Medieval Friuli
Friuli, in the North East of
Italy, shares borders with
two different states, faces
the Adriatic Sea and is
delimited by an amphitheatre of mountains, from
the Dolomites to the rocks
of the Carso.
I love the place I live in
because it can offer an
unlimited variety of landscapes, and this is fantastic if
you love open-air sports
like fishing, trekking or skiing.
This area is also rich in historical attractions. In fact,
there are many Medieval
towns with their old castles,
like Valvasone or Cividale.
In the summer, these villages organise fantastic Medieval re-enactments, where
visitors are immediately
transported back through
the centuries.
In Valvasone this event
takes place during the second weekend of September
and it is so fascinating that
Medieval entertainment in Valvasone
every year, in only three
days, this small village attracts tens of thousands
people. Why don't you join
us this year?
By Federico De Giusti
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Make Frico Not War
If you say “Friuli” I think
of “Frico”. The most
characteristic dish of
this region is essentially
made with two ingredients: cheese and potatoes. Every Friulian family has its own recipe so
there are dozens of different variants: you can
add onion, mushrooms,
bacon, sausages, gorgonzola cheese or herbs.
You can make it spicy,
soft or crumbly (only
with cheese) and you
The Frico Ape—
pioneer of Friuli-style
street food
can use it as an appetizer or a main dish.
Everyone is impressed
with its strong flavours!
Frico started out as a
simple dish to recycle
scraps of cheese.
Nowadays it is always
present in all Friulian
restaurants. The chef
Luca Manfè, born in
Aviano, won the fourth
edition of MasterChef
USA thanks to this
recipe!
Now you can eat it in a
totally different way: in
2015 a restaurateur
from Cividale invented
the “Fricoburger”, mixing the concepts of
“burger with fries” and
Frico. You can find it in
some restaurants or in a
street food “Ape car”
that stops at all the main
events in Friuli.
By Matteo Tosolini
Friuli, 40 Years Later
Images from May 1976
ail acs a di D
- a mm
i'll ed
all ed o eni g
aif ar g ot of
T HE
It cannot be a coincidence that this topic has
been chosen right on
the fortieth anniversary
of the terrible earthquake, which brought
death and destruction
here in Friuli, on the 6th
May, 1976. I guess that
almost all Keep Talking
students are too young
to have experienced
that tragedy. At that
time, I was 14 years old
and I was already living
in Udine. As a matter of
fact, I am not of Friulian
origin and so I did not
feel particularly fond of
this region and of its
people. I was much
more eager to “discover
the world”, instead.
However, in the years
after the earthquake, I
was able to get to know
the spirit of Friulian
people, their attachment
to their land, to their
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homes, their sense of
hospitality and friendship, which comes out
better when you share
with them a glass of
tasty local wine! In just a
few years, the houses,
villages and towns were
completely rebuilt. On
my way to work, I usually drive through the
small town of Colloredo
di Monte Albano and I
see the reconstruction
of its castle proceeding
rapidly now. The castle
is regaining its original
shape and magnificence.
Once again, its stone
façade proudly fronts
onto the straight road
that runs up and down
the opposite hills. That
castle is perhaps the
very last big building still
unfinished after forty
years. In all this time, I
have learned to love
Friuli, its wooded hills
(which I have discovered also thanks to my
passion for the mountain bike!), its vineyards,
its lush plain, its snowy
mountains in winter and
its sunny coasts in summer time. Actually, Friuli
is a small summary of
the whole universe,
mountains, flat land and
beaches in 100 kilometers from north to
south. It is a compendium of history, landscape and culture. No, I
am not a “Friuliano”,
but I have picked up the
same sense of identity.
All my friends live here.
Every time that I am
away on a trip, I am
then happy to come
back home. And Friuli is
now the only place
where I want to live and
stay.
By Flavio Lorenzon
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A star-shaped town
A mountain and a cheese
An ancient, local grape-type which makes great sparkling wine
They arrived in Friuli in the 6th Century
It’s both a beautiful river and a tiny village above Tarcento
A cake from the Natisone valleys
The mother tongue or another way of saying the Friulian language
This village was destroyed in 1976 and completely rebuilt
You can study how to make mosaics here
17 partisans were killed here in 1945
World heavyweight champion for a year in the 30s
Nearly 2000 people died in the disaster here in 1963
The heart of a traditional Friulian home
Now called Cividale, this place gave us the name ‘Friuli’
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Fevelistu furlan?
6
A road sign in Italian
and Friulan
5
La Marilenghe—The
Mother tongue—this is
the affectionate way in
which Friulans refer to
the Friulan language.
Spoken by approximately 600,000 people,
unlike the many other
Italian dialects, it is a real
language, with its own
grammar and its own
dictionary.
Nowadays Friulan is
spoken in Gorizia, Udine
and Pordenone and in
some districts in Veneto
and is recognized as a
historical language and
safeguarded as part of
our cultural heritage.
Even though it is
commonly identified as a
Romance language,
there is a lot of debate
about the true origins of
Friulan. All historians
agree that it has its
origins in the Latin
language, but some also
think that it was
influenced by Celtic
dialects. Although this
theory is not commonly
accepted, and despite
the lack of clear linguistic evidence, there are
many religious and magical elements in the
Friulan culture which
are clearly related to
Celticalpine culture.
The ancient origins of
this language are rather
controversial, due to the
fact that among the
Friulan words there are
a lot of terms derived
from German, Slovenian
and Venetian. Nevertheless there is a large consensus about the time of
formation of Friulan,
which is dated to
around 1000 B.C. Since
until the end of the
XVIII century there was
no written standardization, some studies were
carried out into Friulan
orthography.
Nowadays a lot of
different varieties of
Friulan are spoken
around the region. For
example, in the East of
Friuli “Bisiaco”, a mixture between the Friulan and Venetian dialects,
is spoken, while in
Rivignano, where I live,
we are famous for a
mannerism in our
pronunciation which
means we replace a lot
of consonants with “z”.
An example? 5,555 in
our version of Friulan
becomes
zincmilzinzentezinquantezinc. A tongtwister, to say the least!
In any case, with one or
another accent, one or
another inflection, Friulan is still an important
part of our culture and
tradition, a reminder of
our past which contributes to defining our
present and our identity.
By Anna Viola
Friulan Traditions
A spectacular pignarul fire
T HE
In Friuli there are many
local traditions.
At Epiphany there are
the bonfires called pignarui which are supposed
to improve the earth’s
fertility. In Cividale del
Friuli, the “Messa dello
Spadone” is celebrated,
in memory of the investiture of the patriarch at
the hands of the Emperor.
During the mass the
deacon greets the
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crowd with a sword
dating from 1366 and
once belonging to the
patriarch of Aquileia,
Marquardo of Randeck.
In Gemona, the Messa
del Tallero is celebrated.
During the offertory the
mayor gives the celebrant a coin called the
thaler (or dollar) minted
in 1780 during the reign
of Maria Theresa of
Austria.
In Carnia, the rites of
fire coincide with the
patron saint’s day, or
with a day devoted to
some saint near the
summer solstice. The
launching of lis cidulis
(flaming wheels) is accompanied by hopes for
prosperity.
In Grado, on the first
Sunday in July, the Perdon de Barbana is celebrated during which a
statue of the Virgin
Mary is carried around
on board a boat from
Grado to the islandsanctuary of Barbana.
By Claudio Caon
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KT Clients: Catas
The Catas building in San
Giovanni al Natisone
We started teaching English to
Catas staff around 25 years
ago when the company was
still closely associated with the
Udine Chamber of Commerce.
It had originally been set up in
San Giovanni al Natisone as a
testing centre to help local
chair manufacturers comply
with international standards,
take advantage of the latest
research into new materials
and successfully market their
products on the international
stage. In 1994 Catas became a
Spa (in the sense of Limited
Liability Company, not somewhere you go for a sauna!) and
has since gone from strength
to strength, with
its branch in Lissone near Monza
and a total staff
of nearly 50.
Catas carries out
mechanical,
chemical and fire
tests on furniture, wooden
products (like
doors, flooring and playground
equipment), coatings, adhesives and packaging, as well on
equipment for the disabled.
These tests include structural,
surface, strength, durability
and safety tests, fire resistance
tests and the analysis of potentially harmful emissions. In
2009 they acquired another
lab which carries out food
testing (spices in particular)
and environmental assessments.
Through the Catas Quality
Award they also perform ongoing product certification and
help Italian exporters and importers alike. Many Catas employees are also actively involved in EU committees and
working groups which are re-
sponsible for establishing new
quality and safety standards
which apply Europe-wide.
Over the years Catas’s expert
team of technicians, chemists,
engineers and mathematicians
have created a multidisciplinary Centre of Excellence which does work of fundamental importance
in our area. During
the 70s it was very
much a local operation, during the 80s
and 90s it had a
more national dimension, and now the
outlook is very much
international, with
foreign sales counting for 40%
of their revenue. So it terms of
language it’s been a progression from Friulian through
Italian to English. And I like to
think that Keep Talking,
through our group and individual courses, has played a small
part in “internationalizing” the
company and adding a linguistic
dimension to their range of
expertise.
6
The Tagliamento
I’d like to write something
about the Tagliamento, the
river that distinguishes the
people of Friuli from those
who live “this side” to
those who live “on the
other side” of The Water.
Obviously, I live on “this
side” of The Water.
It’s an important ecosystem
in Europe for its role as a
natural corridor for animals
and plants.
It’s a gravel bed during arid
summers and an indomitable giant during the rainy
months, when it sometimes
floods our basements.
Its gentle breeze makes San
Daniele ham special, as well
as the high winds which run
along its
length
like a
highway,
stress
us out.
By Paola Copetti
The beautiful Tagliamento
River, which “distinguishes
the poeple of Friuli from
those who live ‘on the other side’”
Friuli: land of sea and mountains
Our beautiful Friuli: land of sea
and of mountains, a borderland.
In fact, Friuli borders with Austria and Slovenia.
This is the land of ugly wars:
from Attila’s siege to the first
world war and the “disfatta di
caporetto” when this region
suffered the trials of invasion
and the exodus of a large part of
the population. Also in 1947,
after the Second World War,
Friuli Venezia Giulia lost a large
part of land in Venezia Giulia.
After the destruction of these
wars, most people, had to move
to other countries such as USA,
Canada, Argentina and Australia
to find a job and a new better
life. The gangs of Friulani known
as “Fogolar Furlans” were born.
Several important figures were
born in Friuli, including the journalist Pacifico Vallussi and the
scientist Luigi Magrini.
Over the last few years Friuli,
just like other regions in Italy,
has been suffering from the employment crisis. Many businesses
have closed but there are still
The terrifying Krampus festival
in Tarvisio takes place at the
end of November
important names such as
Danieli, Electrolux, Bertoli-Safau.
Agriculture is also extremely
important, with production of
typical products such as aglio di
Resia, mountain cheeses and San
Daniele ham.
You can visit a lot a beautiful
villages here and find out about
old traditions: Tarvisio and its
Krampus, Venzone and its mummies,
Gemona and the 1976 earthquake history, Cividale - a UNESCO heritage site
– and its Lombard history, Palmanova –
the star city, Roman Aquileia, historical
Grado, Trieste and its beautiful sea. The
people from Trieste like to celebrate,
they are always positive and happy and
they think that they are the best in
Friuli.
Friuli is a borderland where you can
meet people of several ethnicities: people from Slovenia, Croatia, Albania, Serbia, Ukraine, but also from Ghana and
Bangladesh. The languages spoken are
Italian, Slavic and the Friulian dialect.
And of course you can taste the food of
a long culinary tradition: gubana, strucchi, putizza, frico, jota, brovada, and also
drink excellent wines such as Schioppettino, Ramandolo, Verduzzo and grappa.
I like to live in Friuli, here I have all that
I love and that I need.
By Nives Chiabai
Treasures of Friuli
walk through the narrow
streets of this small
Longobard city, or to stop in
the middle of the Ponte del
Diavolo bridge and have a look
at the Natisone river and at
the mountains above.
Mosaic of a goat inside the
church at Aquileia
Aquileia is one of my favourite destinations during the
spring, when you can walk
near the
Roman
archeological
ruins or admire mosaics in the
Basilica. However, my favourite places to visit in Friuli are
our Carnic mountains and
their peaks. If you have enough
time, you mustn't miss the
opportunity to walk around
the ring on the slopes of
Monte Coglians, the highest
summit in Friuli, and stop to
admire its stateliness. Then go
down along the green valley
and be happy looking at
pristine nature and wildlife.
By Enrico Zanca
7
Answers to “Kip’s Pics”: 1—Santa Margherita del Gruagno;
2– Fusine-Mangart; 3– Fagagna; 4—Palmanova; 5—Villalta
Castle; 6—Monte Quarnan; 7—Moggio Udinese.
I think that there are a lot of
very nice places in Friuli because you can find different
kinds of landscapes and several sites from different historic periods, all of this in a
rather small region. When I
was young I loved Lignano, a
seaside holiday village, for the
sea, the fun I had with my
friends during the day on the
beach, then going clubbing during the night. Now it's one of
my favourite places to visit
during the autumn, like
Marano Lagunare with its
coloured sunsets reflected on
the lagoon water. Cividale
del Friuli is another beautiful
place to visit: it's an unforgettable experience to have a