Superstitions

As any other peoples, also Italians have their own superstitions.
In Italy, the number 17 means bad luck, because in roman numbers (XVII) it uses the same character of the Latin word VIXI, which means “I lived” (thus, now I am dead). Thus, Italians avoid the number as much as they can: in hotel rooms, plane seats and even in everyday life.
Another superstition involves broken mirror.
It was the Romans who decided that a broken mirror means 7 years of bad luck. Indeed, it was one of their beliefs that life starts anew every 7 years. Hence, because a broken mirror means that health has been damaged, it would take 7 years to be again as healthy as before.

From Japan

Haiku is a Japanese classic poetry form, a snapshot of a sensation coming from the outside world: it is not a photograph of an item, rather of an atmosphere. Basho, master of haiku in the 17th century, wrote that to write a haiku one needs “to say simply what happens in that place, in that precise moment.”
Caorle’s dam, between Piazza Vescovado and the sea, holds two haiku by two contemporary great poets, Aigner and Zanzotto. In a few words, they captured the moment in which they opened their souls to the world without the desire to possess it, just with intention of letting it be.

Book: Tiziano Scarpa, Stabat Mater

Tiziano Scarpa, Stabat Mater (Einaudi, 17 euros, pp.136).

The novel is the journal of Cecilia, an adolescent orphan in 18th Century Venice.
In her diary, the young girl addresses the mother she never met; she dialogues with death, and experiences the outside world, solely through the narrations of others.
Her gloomy view of existence changes significantly when she encounters a charismatic and challenging music teacher, Antonio Vivaldi. This is not a love story, but rather a novel of rebellion, which aims to suggest that in any moment in life one can change, grow and begin a new life!
The novel’s crystalline and at the same time, whirling style captures the reader to the last page.
“Stabat Mater” is a little (just in size) masterpiece to read all in one go!

FARO excursions

Here are some of the varied excursions we offer to students attending IL FARO.
Promenade in Caorle: an hour-long guided walk along the most significant artistic and historical locations in this old town of fishermen.
A tour in history with a private bus we visit Concordia Sagittaria, an ancient roman colony, and the medieval town of Portogruaro. We conclude the trip with D.O.C. wine tasting in the Lison-Pramaggiore winery.
Gourmet bike ride a 20km (12 miles) bike ride in the Caorle countryside to admire the natural beauty of the area with stopovers at local farms to eat and enjoy the fresh and delicious regional products (level of difficulty: easy).