Lettere di viaggio: libro in italiano per principianti (A2)

Glossario

amaca · hammock ((sin. rete da riposo, letto sospeso))

Una rete appesa tra due sostegni, usata per dormire.

A hanging bed made of net or cloth, tied between two points; a Taino word.

A Taino word: «hamaca». Europeans had never seen a bed hanging in the air. The sailors copy it at once, and for four centuries every ship in the world will sleep the Taino way.

ammiraglio · admiral ((sin. comandante, capo della flotta))

Il capo militare di una flotta.

The highest commander of a fleet of ships.

It is the title Columbus demands from the monarchs before sailing, and defends all his life. When they arrest him, he still signs «the Admiral». For him it is not a rank: it is proof that his idea was right.

ammutinamento · mutiny ((sin. ribellione, rivolta))

La ribellione dei marinai contro il loro comandante.

A revolt of sailors against their captain.

The most feared word on board. In October, after a month without land, the crew stops obeying willingly: there is talk of turning back, perhaps even of throwing the admiral into the sea. Land arrives just in time.

baratto · barter ((sin. scambio, commercio senza denaro))

Lo scambio di una cosa con un'altra, senza denaro.

An exchange of things without using money.

Glass beads for parrots, little bells for cotton thread: the first contact between the two worlds is barter. It looks like a game between friends. But one side knows the value of the other's things, and the other does not.

bussola · compass ((sin. ago magnetico, strumento di rotta))

Uno strumento con un ago che indica sempre il nord.

An instrument with a needle that always points north.

On the ocean, with no land in sight, the compass is the only certainty. That is why the night the needle «goes wrong» is the most dangerous of the voyage: if the compass lies, the road home no longer exists.

canoa · canoe ((sin. piroga, imbarcazione))

Una barca stretta e leggera, che si muove con la pagaia.

A light, narrow boat moved with a paddle; a Taino word.

A Taino word, brought into Italian through these letters. Taino canoes were carved from a single tree: some carried forty men. In 1503 a canoe will cross the open sea to save Columbus.

caravella · caravel ((sin. veliero, nave leggera))

Una piccola nave a vela veloce, usata nel Quattrocento per esplorare.

A small, fast sailing ship used by explorers in the 15th century.

The Niña and the Pinta were caravels: small, light, able to sail almost against the wind. Not the biggest ships of the age: the best suited. The ocean is not defeated by force: it is defeated by the right design.

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