Italian ‘sights or sites’…… a new photo quiz

On September 19, 2014 / Italy Travel Tours Blog

Most are easy, some a little more difficult but how many of the following well known Italian travel destinations can you identify? A clue is given with each picture. Answers at the bottom of the page but NO CHEATING!

Originally the Flavian Amphitheatre, capable of seating 50,000 spectators.

The oldest important building in the world with its original roof intact, albeit with a large hole!

Once the home of some rather ‘dodgy’ dukes……

A bit of Greece in Sicily.

Drop in a coin and you’ll always return.

An extremely pretty island.

Miracles happen in this place.

The ‘wedding cake’.

Fine wine from Portugal.

Go to work by boat.

A group of five towns.

How do you pronounce the name of this lake?

Possibly the most beautiful country in the world, certainly the richest in art and culture, Italy is a superstar destination. Have a look at the great range of tours on offer from THE specialists https://www.italytraveltours.biz./

Answers: Colosseum, Rome/Pantheon, Rome/Ducal Palace, Venice/Agrigento, Sicily/Treve Fountain, Rome/Isola Bella, Sicily/Piazza dei Miracoli, Pisa/Monumento Nazionale a Vittorio Emanuele II,Rome/Portofino/Venice/Cinque Terre/Lake Como

A quiz……..do really you know Cinque Terre?

On August 29, 2014 / Italy Travel Tours Blog

Another light-hearted quiz in our summer series. Answers at the bottom of the page but NO CHEATING!

The Cinque Terre villages are : Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola and….?
a) Veneto al Mare
b) Riomaggiore
c) Pescatore Vila
d) Dimenticarsi

In the Cinque Terre, houses are painted in many colours. Why?
a) To make the neighbours jealous
b) To identify individual houses from the sea
c) To encourage foreign tourists
d) In poor years, there was only one paint colour available each year

In October 25, 2011, how many were killed in the famous floods?
a) Nobody
b) 9
c) 90
d) 900
e) Two dogs, sixty rats, seven cats, a three-legged mule and a budgerigar

The villages grew under the military and political supremacy of?
a) Amalfi
b) Genoa
c) Sorrento
d) Little Italy

The ‘Sentiero Azzurro’ is?
a) A brand of beer
b) A dirty old man
c) A footpath
d) A statue of St Mark

Monterosso has a local specialty designated with a Protected Designation of Origin status from the European Union for what?
a) Pecorino cheese
b) Goat’s milk butter
c) Anchovies
d) Razor clams
e) Tripe casserole

Grappa, a local liqueur, is made from?
a) Lark’s vomit
b) Lemon juice
c) A footpath
d) Worms that inhabit the wormwood bark
e) The ‘rubbish’ left after grape pressing

Cinque Terre is, from Turin?
a) North
b) South
c) East
d) West

“Miele di Corniglia,” is?
a) An ice-cream
b) A cake
c) A make of washing machine
d) A pastry cornet stuffed with anchovy cream

Pesto — a local sauce, is made from basil leaves, garlic, salt, olive oil, pecorino cheese and?
a) Tomato
b) Pine nuts
c) Rodents
d) Squash flowers

Possibly the prettiest group of villages in Europe, Cinque Terre needs to be on your ‘bucket list’. Have a look at: https://www.italytraveltours.biz/tuscany-and-cinque-terre-from-rome
Answers: Riomaggiore/ To identify individual houses from the sea/9/Genoa/ A footpath/Anchovies/ The ‘rubbish’ left after grape pressing/south and east/Honey ice-cream/Pine nuts

Italian capitals, cities and places, a photo quiz.

On August 22, 2014 / Italy Travel Tours Blog

Can you identify the following destinations?
Answers are at the bottom of the page but NO CHEATING!

Famous for Giotto frescoes

George ‘Clooneyland’

Etna as a backdrop

Fashion centre

Breakfast with a view

Home of several saints

A town of beehives?

The lost city

Home of the Palio

‘’We’ll meet again……’’

“Acqua alta”

Also a Tuscan wine

Italy, what a fascinating, beautiful and diverse country. Come and see us soon, you’ll be more than welcome. Have a look at https://www.italytraveltours.biz./ for the very best choice of tours.

Answers: Padua/Lake Como/Taormina/Milan/Positano/ Assisi/Alberobello/Pompeii/Siena/Capri/Venice/Montepuliano

A photo quiz of Italy, Sicily and unusual things Italian…….

On July 31, 2014 / Italy Travel Tours Blog

Answers at the bottom of the page but NO CHEATING

a) Who’s my ultimate boss (on Earth)?

b) What am I celebrating dressed like this?

c) Who brought tomatoes to Italy?

d) I’m a Greek temple but don’t live in Greece. Where am I?

e) I’m one of the Cinque Terre villages. What does Cinque Terre mean?

f) The symbol of Rome but what are the names of the babies?

g) What will happen if you throw a coin in my water?

h) You probably know me as Mickey Mouse, what’s my name in Italy?

i) I’m beautiful and a make of Italian sports car, whats the name of my marque?

j) I was put in prison for claiming the Earth revolves around the Sun, What’s my name?

k) I’m a type of house resembling a beehive, what’s my name?

l) Spaghetti puttanesca certainly but invented by what type of working lady?

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Answers: The Pope/the Venice carnival/ the Spanish/ Valley of the Temples, Sicily/ Five lands/ Romulus and Remus/ You’ll revisit Rome/ Topolino/ Maserati/ Galileo/ Trulli/ Prostitutes

A midsummer quiz on Italy and all things Italian

On July 26, 2014 / Italy Travel Tours Blog

Answers at the bottom of the page but NO CHEATING!

‘Di tre cose è piena , torri , campane e figli di puttane’ (filled with three things, towers, bells and sons of whores). Where is it?

a) Palermo
b) Siena
c) Naples
d) Turin
e) Puttanesca

St Peter of Vatican fame was?

a) crucified upside down
b) the first ‘pope’
c) a fisherman
d) a man who cut off ears
e) all of them
f) none of them

Which port is known as the ‘Superba’?

a) Bari
b) Genoa
c) Trieste
d) Ostia
e) Brindisi

Look at the photo. Who lived here?

a) King Umberto XI
b) Il Doge
c) Mussolini
d) Berlusconi
e) Caligula

Which city is known as ‘la Bella’?

a) Rome
b) Milan
c) Florence
d) Bellagio
e) Venice

A city which, in Italian, is the anagram for the latin word for ‘love’?

a) Parma
b) Rimini
c) Rome
d) Verona
e) Levo

The Campo dei Miracoli (Place of the Miracles) is where?

a) Vatican City
b) Assisi
c) Pisa
d) Jerusalem
e) Turin

In the photo, what is the name of the figure in the statue?

a) Neptune
b) Triton
c) Fontus
d) Aquarius
e) Oceanus

If someone tells you that you are doing something ‘con brio’?

a) you thank them
b) you call the police
c) you get arrested as a sexual deviant
d) you apologise to Brio’s wife and family
e) you damn him as a ‘crazy eyetie’

Brunello de Montalcino is?

a) a famous drag queen from Montalcino
b) a red wine
c) the Italian heavyweight boxing champion
d) a type of lemon marmalade
e) a painting by Giotto

‘Lucca’ is?

a) filthy money
b) a medieval city
c) an under-aged porno star beloved of Berlusconi
d) an early form of pizza
e) a renaissance form of chiaroscuro art

Look at the photo. Who lived here?

a) Pinocchio
b) Liberace
c) Garibaldi
d) Mussolini
e) Rossini

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Answers: Siena /all of them / Genoa/ Il Doge/ Florence/ Rome (amor:Roma)/ Pisa/ Triton/ you thank them / a red wine/ a medieval city/Mussolini

Italian food and wine quiz.

On July 18, 2014 / Italy Travel Tours Blog

Another in our series of Italian travel quizzes. Answers at the bottom of the page but NO CHEATING!

How many varieties of pasta are there is Italy?

35
350
3,500
35,000

Which is not an ingredient of ‘pesto’?

Cheese
Pine nuts
Garlic
Olive oil
Tomato
Basil

Antipasti is?

A person with allergy to pasta
A person who does not like the drink pastis
A dish served as an appetizer
Served with the dessert
A model of sports car made by Ferrari

Gnocchi is made with?

Butter
Milk
White wine
Oregano
Oatmeal
Salt
Freshly ground pepper

True or false

Weiner Schnitzel is famous in Austria. What is its Italian cousin called?

Picallilli
Piccata
Picaeta
Piccolin
Pinocchio
Vitello ‘Fare i gattini ‘

Strega is?

An alcoholic drink
A witch
An Italian literary award
A novel by Andrew Vachss
A modified racing airplane
None of these
All of these

Which two animals are used to ‘sniff’ out truffles?

Sheep
Goat
Dog
Pig
Italian aardvaak
Water buffalo
Civet cat

‘Cacciatora’ is a culinary term. What does it mean?

Peasant style
Cooked with spices that will leave you sweating and speechless
Hunter style
Roman style
Bull catcher
Braised in red chianti wine

Est! Est!! Est!!! is?

A way of asking if you like love and travel
To the East, to the East, to the East……..
A white wine
An insulting term for Estonian immigrants
A well know children’s soft drink
‘Lets eat and be merry for tomorrow we die’, a toast

Which summer vegetable’s flowers are battered and deep fried?

Zucchini
Squash
Pumpkin
Courgette
All of them
None of them

Marsala is?

A spicy sauce you have with chicken and rice
A fortified wine from Sicily
A breed of Tuscan beef cattle
A cheese riddled with maggots
A type of finely cut, anchovy-flavoured pasta

Which way do you turn for the motorway or the hospital?

Left
Right
Straight on
To a psychoanalyst for help
For a shoulder to cry on
To the nearest bar, drink a lot of wine and forget to ask

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Answers: 350/ Tomato/ A dish served as an appetizer/ True but there are many variations/ Piccata/ All of these but the drink is fabulous, even better as a gelato flavour/ Dog and Pig/ Hunter style/ A white wine/ All of them/ A fortified wine from Sicily/I’ve really got no idea, ask an Italian!

A quiz…. how well do you know Venice?

On July 2, 2014 / Italy Travel Tours Blog

Another in our series of light-hearted travel quizzes. Answers at the bottom of the page but remember, NO CHEATING…..

One of Europe’s prettiest theatres is in Venice. Is it?

Teatro Massimo
La Strada
La Fenice
Venice Opera House
Teatro Alla Scala

Venice has an international airport called?

Marco Polo
Venezia Internationale
Ciampino
Ryanair European Hub No. 387
Fiumicino

If you visit St. Mark’s Square in winter (Acqua Alta), what should you take?

A camera
Wellington boots
A wallet overstuffed with euros
A wry sense of humour
Some yellow rubber ducks
Most of the above

Which is the most popular in Venetian cuisine?

Pasta
Rice
Fish
Vegetables
Snails

Where does most of the famous coloured glass come from in Venice?

Burano
Hong Kong
Murano
Bohemia
e-Bay
Torcello

What has caused the most toxic damage to Venice’s buildings?

Sea salt
Graffiti
Pigeon poo
Acid rain
Chewing gum
Nuclear fallout

Who of the following was not born in Venice?

Canaletto
Giacomo Casanova
Marco Polo
Leonardo da Vinci
Antonio Vivaldi
Titian

Which of the following is not illegal in Venice?

Roller skates
Skateboards
Prostitution
Scooters
Bikes
Feeding pigeons
Swimming in a canal
Eating in the street

In the 1973 tv movie version of Shakespeare’s ‘Merchant of Venice’, who plays Shylock?

Sir Alec Guinness
Sir Laurence Olivier
Sir Richard Attenborough
Sir John Mills
Sir Ralph Richardson
Sir John Gielgud

Why are all gondolas painted black?

To discourage socio-economic competition
To honour victims of the Plague
So they don’t make the water look dirty
The paint prevents damage from sea salt
It’s the cheapest paint available

The ‘quadriga’ (statues of the four horses) was stolen from?

Tripoli
Marseille
Rome
Constantinople
Athens

Santa Maria della Salute was built?

In tribute to the Doge Pietro X11
In gratitude after the extermination of the plague
As a tourist attraction
By Napoleon Bonaparte for Josephine’s ‘drawing room of Europe’
To celebrate Santa every year at Christmas

L’Anguilla in canna’ is:

A can of jellied eels
Catching, by your teeth, a live eel in a barrel of water blackened with cuttlefish ink
A smoked eel panini sandwich
A Venetian flowering plant originally from the Caribbean
A deviant act, punishable by public flogging

The cheapest gondola ride (per minute/per person) is in:

Stratford-upon-Avon
Venice
Las Vegas

“Venice is like eating an entire box of chocolate liqueurs in one go.”
― Truman Capote

If you have never been to Venice, visit as soon as possible; you’ll be totally overwhelmed. Have a look at some of the great tours that https://www.italytraveltours.biz/, the specialists, have on offer.

ANSWERS: La Fenice/ Marco Polo/ Most of the above/ Rice/ Murano/ Pigeon poo/ Leonardo da Vinci/ Prostitution/ Sir Laurence Olivier/ To discourage socio-economic competition/ Constantinople/ In gratitude after the extermination of the plague/ Catching, by your teeth, a live eel in a barrel of water blackened with cuttlefish ink/ Venice

Another light-hearted travel quiz on Italy and all things Italian.

On June 26, 2014 / Italy Travel Tours Blog

Answers at the bottom of the page but NO CHEATING!

This type of Italian bread also means ‘slipper’?

Slipperini

Panini

Ciabatta

Foccaccia

Panettone

What is common name for the Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino?

Maserati

Lamborghini

Alfa Romeo

Fiat

Innocenti

Former currencies of Italy were?

The ‘franc’

The piastra

The lira

The centesimo

The fiorino

The scudo

All of them

None of them

A literal translation of ‘tiramisù’?

Put me down

Pick me up

Pull me along

Push me towards you

Measure your waist

The traditional male Venetian mask was originally worn by?

Pig farmers

Plague doctors

Nosey parkers

Casanova’s family and friends

Truffle hunters

’50 Shades of Grey’ bondage fans

If you are stopped while driving by the Carabinieri, do you?

Brandish a 50 euro note

Smile and keep your hands on the wheel

Say that your wife is about to have a baby

Say your dad is called Don Corleone and your mum is a nun

Tell them that you don’t understand a word of Italian, you’re an inviolate U.S. citizen and a personal friend of Obama

Invite them for a couple of Peroni beers

Drive off rapidly in your supercharged Ferrari

Which is the most northerly?

Turin

Venice

Trieste

Milan

Verona

Papua

When a Spaniard pulls his earlobe, he is accusing you of sponging.

When an Italian pulls his earlobe, he is questioning your masculinity.

When a Frenchman strokes under his chin, he is calling you a bore.

All true

All false

Driving in Naples, red and green traffic lights are only for decoration?

Mainly true

Mainly false

Which Italian lake is shaped like a banjo?

Como

Garda

Lugano

Maggiore

Bangio

Mandolini

How many years did it take to complete Milan’s cathedral façade?

100

500

1000

If you ask for a pastrami sandwich in Italy?

They will look at you suspiciously

They will ask you if you are Romanian or Turkish

They will ask the name of your synagogue

They will ask if you want it on rye bread

Any or all of them

Ernest Hemingway lived and wrote on a Venetian island famous for malaria problems?

A lie

Torcello

Burano

Murano

Mala Riamus

When the family of the Venetian Doge became almost depleted, the citizens seized the last male, a monk, from his monastery and ‘forced’ him to father nine boys and three girls.

True

False

The Ponte Vecchio, in Florence, is populated by jewellery shops. Why?

Gold smells better than rotten meat and offal

Tourists don’t buy much fruit and vegetables

Florence was once a ‘duty free’ zone

It was impossible to tunnel into the vaults from below

Don Papa Vecchio was an ancestor of Gerald Ratner

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Answers:

Ciabatta/Fiat/All of them/Pick me up/Plague doctors/Smile and keep your hands on the wheel/Trieste/All true/Mainly true/Garda/500/Any or all of them/Torcello/True/Gold smell better than rotten meat and offal

A new Italian Travel quiz for June

On June 11, 2014 / Italy Travel Tours Blog

A light-hearted quiz on all things Italian…..

Answers at the bottom of the page and NO cheating!

When McDonalds first opened in Italy, what did the food purists do at the entrance?

Squirted everyone with red, white and green paint

Gave away free plates of pasta

Offered 10% off a ‘puttanesca double cheeseburger’

Commited mass suicide

Which is the oldest university in Europe?

Oxford

Naples

Paris

Bologna

Salamanca

How many square miles did the Roman Empire cover?

Less than half a million

One million

Two million

Three million

Fascist dictator Benito Mussolini tried to eliminate foreign words. Donald Duck became “Paperino.” Mickey Mouse became?

Topo Gigio

Topolino

Topazio

Topaia

Football fans in Italy are called tifosi, meaning?

Typhoid carriers

Babies in nappies

Aggressive hooligans

Ardent fans

An Italian asks his Spanish friend to put the butter ‘burro’ on the table. What does the Spaniard do?

Laugh

Go to the market to buy a donkey

Look for a Mexican supermarket

Find a drug trafficker

Roast and carve the village idiot

All of them

None of them

There is a restaurant within a high-security prison in Volterra where you eat with plastic cutlery under security cameras and bright lights, your table pianist is a convicted serial killer and you need to book months in advance to secure a table?

True

False

‘Grappa’ is?

A female wrestler

A drink that often tastes like nail varnish remover and can cause blindness and insanity

A grapefruit cocktail

A variety of head lice

The original Mafia characters in Sicily most resembled?

Robin Hood

Machine Gun Kelly

Al Capone

Joseph Stalin

Robert di Nero

What would you do at the Gran Ballo Delle Maschere?

Dance to pounding rap music from Machere

Put on a mask

Watch a league cup football match

Make a papier-mache beachball

Elba was home to?

The ancestors of Idris Elba

Gracie Fields

The Emperor Napoleon

John and Yoko Lennon

Garibaldi

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Answers: Gave away free plates of pasta/Bologna/Two million/Topolino/Typhoid carriers/All of them/True/A drink that tastes like nail varnish remover and can cause blindness and insanity/Robin Hood/Put on a mask/The Emperor Napoleon

A new Summer quiz on all things Italian…..

On June 2, 2014 / Italy Travel Tours Blog

Try our latest Italy quiz. Answers below but no cheating!

Who was Fibonacci?

A mathematician

A clothes designer

A famous chef

The inventor of the mobile phone

‘Locanda’ is?

A locust

An orator

A lake near the Swiss border

An inn

‘Gettoni’ are?

Ice cream cones

Telephone tokens

Good friends

Strips of dried and smoked beef

Who was Garibaldi?

A biscuit manufacturer

An Italian nationalist

A hair transplant surgeon

A mafia ‘hit man’

Where would you find zabaglione?

In the sea

In a restaurant

In sun-tan lotion

In the most expensive fashion shops

Who, in Italy is called ‘dottore’?

A teacher

A mosaic floor designer

A gay hairdresser

Anyone with money to spend

Which Emperor put Capri on the tourist map?

Tiberius

Nero

Caligula

Caprianus

‘Trippe alla fiorentina’ is?

An hallucinogenic experience

A dish of intestines and tomato

A visit to Florence

A perfume by Dior

Tomatoes originally came from?

Rome

Venice

Genoa

Naples

Most castles in Sicily were built by?

English Crusaders

Norman French

Danish Vikings

Islamic Saracens

With which town is Saint Francis associated?

Assizes

Assinine

Assegai

Assisi

How did Hannibal enter Italy?

By private Lear jet

With his elephants

With a forged passport

Driving a Hamil car

Who fed the babies, Romulus and Remus?

Bob Geldorf

Oxfam

A wolf

The Oracle of Delphi

Who wrote the opera ‘La Boheme’?

Puccini

Verdi

Rossini

Pastrami

If you are considering a trip to Europe this year, do it now. Italy has never been cheap but, with the current economic recession, prices are much more reasonable. Go now…you won’t need to telephone your bank manager before ordering a cup of coffee. Next year, who knows?

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Answers: A mathematician/An inn/Telephone tokens/An Italian nationalist/In a restaurant/Anyone with money to spend/Tiberius/A dish of intestines and tomato/ A dish of intestines and tomato/Naples/Norman French/Assisi/With his elephants/A wolf/Verdi