An Italian Lesson on Colours

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 yoke 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 throuh 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.