#08-340: The Stone Fish

Virgil in a basket. (In another legend, the poet was enamored of the Emperor's daughter.
She didn't love him, so she tricked him into getting into a basket to be pulled up to her
room. She then left him hanging halfway up as an object of public ridicule.) (Wikimedia)

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Note: Virgil represents here the power of kindness--and Luigi, the power of love. This is one of 50 stories about Virgil collected by Charles Godfrey Leland in the 19th century, but dating back to the Middle Ages. 

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Get Ready: Do you think ancients "curses" can ever be broken?

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#08-335: Two Legends of St. Francis

Saint Francis and a Wolf (Wikimedia)

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Note: No Christian saint has captured the world's heart like Francis of Assisi. Here are two early legends of the saint's connection to "God's creation."

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Get Ready: In most Christian stories, how important is the natural world to the "spiritual interests" of the believer? Why do you think Francis was different?

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#08-290: Romulus and Remus

Romulus, Remus, and "the Capitoline Wolf" (Wikipedia)

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Note: Many great cities have their origins in the "mists of time," and stories are concocted to account for their existence. Here's the story of Rome.

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Get Ready: What do you know about the founding of your city, or the nearest large city to where you live? Is the account of the founding strictly historical, mostly historical, mostly imaginary, or entirely imaginary?

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#08-057: Pinocchio

The "original" Pinocchio
(Wikipedia)

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Note: Many of us have enjoyed the 1940 Disney version of Pinocchio. But how many have read the 1883 Italian children's novel, The Adventures of Pinocchio, on which it's based? The book is quite a different experience from the film!

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Get Ready: Which values are more important: the "grand" ones like bravery and truth, or the "homely" ones like hard work and good behavior?

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#08-051: The Marriage of Figaro

Cherubino, the Count's philandering page, hides as the Count arrives
(Wikipedia)

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Note: Opera (the Italian word for "work") is famous for its grand compositions and bravura performances. But equally important to any great opera is the story.

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Get Ready: Do you enjoy listening to (European) opera? Have you ever been to a performance?

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#08-028: The Divine Comedy, Dante's Masterpiece

Dante with scenes from The Divine Comedy
(Wikipedia)

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Note: England has Shakespeare. Spain has Cervantes. Italy has Dante Alighieri, best known by just his first name, Dante, but in Italy known as "the Supreme Poet." His works raised the status of vernacular Italian, and his home dialect became the base of the modern national language.

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Get Ready: Do you believe in Heaven and Hell? How about Purgatory? What are those places like (real or imagined)?

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#04-012: Caravaggio, Renaissance "Bad Boy"

Caravaggio
(Wikipedia)

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Note: Caravaggio painted his subjects in action, not in the "calm before the storm" as was common in his day. The results were astounding.

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Get Ready: Does an irascible nature seem like a natural temperament for an artist? That is, are artists supposed to be naturally difficult?

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#04-011: Tommaso's Utopian City

Tommaso Campanella
(Wikipedia)

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Note: Tommaso Campanella was a freethinker and ahead of his time--which caused him no end of trouble with the Roman Catholic Church!

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Get Ready: What would be a "utopian society" in your mind?

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#04-010: Galileo, the Father of Science

Galileo Galilei
(Wikipedia)

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Note: Though the theory wasn't his, by championing the idea of the sun-centered solar system, Galileo advanced science and changed the way we see ourselves in the cosmos.

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Get Ready: The earth goes around the sun, and not vice versa. Does it really matter? Does it change anything to know this? How?

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#01-104: Jiminy Speak - Part II: Encouragement and Scolding

"The Talking Cricket" in the book on which Disney's film was based
(Wikipedia)

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Note: As Pinocchio's conscience, it was Jiminy's job to encourage him to do well, and scold him when he did wrong. Let's learn some more "hip" expressions!

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Get Ready: What are some expressions you use to encourage your friends to "do the right thing," or to warn them when they seem to be doing wrong?

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#01-103: Jiminy Speak - Part I: Praise and Surprise

Disney's Jiminy Cricket
(Wikipedia)

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Note: Let's learn some "hip" expressions of approval, and others of surprise (or even anger), from a little green cricket named Jiminy.

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Get Ready: Do you have any expressions you often use when you see something you like? I say, "Cool!" or "Awesome!" How about you?

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