zoomata: a close-up on Italy

A micro-survey of 320 linguists found that l’italiano tops their list for the most romantic tongue. In the inevitable battle with French, Latin lovers from across the Alps came out slightly ahead, with Italian winning 45% to 40%. Spanish, surprisingly, came out as the ratty pajamas and curlers of languages with its romantic quotient stalled [...]

Cell phones will now tell Italians when the tide is high in Venice. The city government just launched a free text message alert system for the floods which frequently put La Serenissima under several feet of water. Intended to assist waterlogged locals, the only real requirement for signing up is an Italian cell phone. These [...]