Italian-Argentines are largely of Padanian descent, and make up a huge portion of the country's population. 9 seem to have Padanian surnames. The name "Alfano" is generally Neapolitan, but she looks Padanian and may have some of that ancestry as well. I like that 70s-80s looking magazine cover. Magazine covers were the "fancy websites" before the internet.
American Faye Gulini places second in the Women's Big Final at the FIS Snowboard Cross World Cup event in Chiesa in Valmalenco. Italian Michela Moioli finished first.
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Jumpin Pics: "Epic event and congrats to the riders"
Justice Unity: "Nice job ladies! Looks like so much fun!"
Faye Gulini (born March 24, 1992) is a professional American snowboarder born in Salt Lake City, Utah. She competes for the US Snowboarding Team in the disciplines of snowboard cross, slopestyle and halfpipe. She is a three-time Olympian (2010, 2014, 2018).
A line of abandoned, alien-like fortresses dot the mountains of North Italy
[AtlasObscura.com] Similar to the Maginot line of France, the Alpine Wall was built as a defense for Italy in preparation for World War II. There was concern that the natural defense of North Italy’s mountainous terrain was not enough as tensions rose with its neighbors along the top of the “boot”—France, Switzerland, Austria and the former Yugoslavia.
The mountains were enhanced with lookout posts and fortifications all along the passes, stretching over 1,100 miles. The Alpine Wall fortifications varied between three designs: large mountainside forts, rallying points and bunkers, and point-defense fortifications. Many of these can still be seen today.
I saw this subject featured a few days ago on a 2018 episode of 'Mysteries of the Abandoned' (Science Channel) entitled 'Doomsday at Dragon's Teeth'. This elaborate defense system was constructed in 1931, and reflects how Mussolini did not trust Hitler at that point.
In the Val Venosta valley, between the borders of Italy and Austria, a weir system was built during WWII, the heart of which was a tank barrier. We will take a closer look at this barrier, as well as the various bunkers which lie 550 meters above Resia. On the way there we enjoy a pleasant, circular hike and inspect the source of the river Adige, the biggest river in South Tyrol.
Thousands of Italians emigrated to Scotland in the 20th Century, but it seems that 400 years earlier a group of Scots may have settled in a village in the Italian Alps. So local legend has it… And there are plenty of signs to suggest that maybe, just maybe, it's true.
High up in the mountains of northern Italy, just a few kilometres from the Swiss border, the people of the tiny village of Gurro speak a strange dialect, incomprehensible even to the other villages in the same valley.
They have peculiar surnames, and the women's traditional costume features a patterned underskirt that looks suspiciously like tartan.
One possible explanation is that their forefathers include a unit of Scottish soldiers - the Garde Ecossaise - who served the French King, Francis I, and were defeated with him at the Battle of Pavia, near Milan, in February 1525.
The story goes that while trying to make their way home the Scots stopped in Gurro, where they got snowed in for the winter. Many locals believe they never left.
"I've heard talk about this story since I was a child," says Alma Dresti, who was born and bred in Gurro.
"I know it's probably at least part legend but I like to believe in it and I do think there could be some truth in it.
"I
like to imagine those strapping young soldiers trying to return home,
stopping here, and liking it so much they stayed even once spring had
come."
Gurro was populated by Scottish soldiers 500 years ago, who left traces of their culture everywhere.
When Italy played Scotland in a Six Nations rugby game on Saturday, the residents of Gurro, a tiny town perched in the hills above Lake Maggiore, were left feeling divided.
“But most of us support Scotand, especially in the rugby, and we were pleased they won,” Adolofo Nicolussi, who works as a volunteer in Gurro's ethnographic museum, tells The Local.
But Scottishness among the town's 221 inhabitants runs deeper than mere sports affiliation.
Kilt-wearing Italians sip espresso at the Scottish Association bar, which doubles-up as a welcome centre for visitors.
Residents also have a strange, incomprehensible dialect and penchant for playing bagpipes full-blast.
Even some of their surnames, including Gibi, Pattriti and Donaldi, are just Italianized forms of Gibbs, Fitzpatrick and MacDonald.
"The parish register is full of them," 75-year-old Nicolussi said.
Many languages have adopted the word "clan," which is of Scottish origin, meaning "people of a common heritage." Another word of Scottish origin which would work well as a loan word is "tartan." Just like clan, which refers to the old clans of the Scottish Highlands, tartans are the unique plaid design symbols for each of the clans/territories. A tartan could be used to represent the symbolism for any smaller regional community. The various mountain communities of the Italian Alps, or even the Apennine Mountains, are similar to the concept of the Scottish Highland clans. The Val Camonica has both the Camunian rose and the arms of its biggest city Breno (above) which also serves as symbol of the region. This seems like a type of Tartan, distinct from the surrounding mountain communities (Valtellina, Val Seriana, etc.).
Also, the history of the Scottish Highland resistance to foreign (in past centuries) English Monarchical rule is similar to the long history of Italian Alpine resistance to the Roman State (Tropaeum Alpium), and also to resistance to German rule (Barbarossa; Five Days of Milan). I don't 100% hang my hat on that, as so often in human history... today's freedom fighter is tomorrows oppressor. However, there are some strong similarities at work here. Another word that is related is the Latin/Roman "vexillum," a Roman military standard or banner, especially one of a maniple. The story of the Alpine Piedmontese village of Gurro reminds me of other similar stories, such as the Cimbrian villages of the Veneto Alps, or the Confederados of Sao Paulo Province in Brazil.
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Il Cirrcolo Degli Scozzesi
"Il Cirrcolo Degli Scozzesi" is a local pub, and it means "Circle of Scots."
Image caption from above: Gurro's "Scottish social club" (the bar) is situated opposite the church
12 occasions where Lionel Messi Stunned the world of football throughout his career, winning Ballon d'Or, scoring crucial goals, impossible dribbling skills & more.
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"cristiano ronaldo is great, but messi is...just...legendary." -- Alejandro Miranda
"BEST OF ALL TIME - LEO MESSI." -- Kimberly Sabillion
"When your grandchildren ask you who is the Greatest footballer you ever seen anyone who says anyone other than Messi hasn’t been paying attention" -- Alayas Mahmood
"Sometimes I watch Messi video to make me feel happy when I'm sad" -- Sievpao Bun
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Lionel Messi is originally from Rosario towards the south of Argentina; a city of well over a million inhabitants, with a large Cisalpine descended population... especially with roots in Liguria. He is of Marchese ancestry with some roots in Catalonia where he has played for many years.
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Mrs. Lionel Messi Is FIRE! Meet Antonella Roccuzzo
You can argue that Lionel Messi is the best soccer player in the world, so it's only fitting that his bae is the hottest WAG in the game right now. We can't get enough of her, and it seems Lionel can't either, because their love story is straight out of a fairy tale. Lionel fell in love with Antonella when he was just nine years old. The soccer star had written letters to Roccuzzo, stating that she'd be his girlfriend one day.
While she had friendzoned Messi for many years, tragic circumstances brought the pair closer together, and they've been inseparable ever since. They have two children together, and appear to be living in their happily ever after.
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"Messi is a lucky man. She's loyal and has been with him since the beginning. She's not one of those gold diggers" -- King Dami
"She looks sexy in pink bikini...♥️ " -- Deep Magiya
"wow MESSI just wins at life "arguably top 5 greatest of all time in his respective sport. "Married a childhood friend who happened to be really beautiful when she turn to an adult and his net worth is 223 million" -- Jose Carrera
"In my humble, honest opinion, she is literally one of the most gorgeous women I have seen in 36yrs." -- Kristi Stevens
"WOW!!....She is an absolute Goddess!!.......lucky guy!" -- John C
Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (Palestrina, 1525 - Roma, 1594), Missa Brevis The Tallis Scholars, Peter Phillips, director The Palestrina 400 Collection
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