(a) "While the focus at British receptions is on the speeches, the Italian reception is, unsurprisingly, all about the food. And on this one occasion, quantity is perhaps even more important than quality. Down south [of Italy], wedding banquets can go on for an entire day, but here up north things are not much better.
(b) "Food even plays a role in the ceremony itself, because Italians throw rice, not confetti, over the newlyweds. It is apparently symbolic of prosperity, fertility and happiness.
"Although pelting the couple with rice is immense fun, it is a real pest to clean up, especially from the cracks between cobblestones, so some places have chosen to ban it.
Note:
(1) "Dany as a girl's name is a variant of Danielle"--which in turn is the female form of Daniel, Hebrew for "God is my judge."
(2) For Rocca Sforzesca, see Imola http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imola
(a town in province of Bologna; section 2 Main sights: "Rocca Sforzesca (Sforza Castle), built under the reign of Girolamo Riario and Caterina Sforza [1463-1509; an Italian noblewoman]. Now houses a Cinema d'Estate which shows films in July and August")
(a) The Italian noun (singular, feminine) rocca means fortress.
All Italian translations are from Collins Italian English Dictionary, whiel all English definitions, from www.m-w.com.
(b) The capital of province of Bologna is city of Bologna. The etymology:
bologna. Online Etymology Dictionary, undated. http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=bologna
("1850, variant of bologna sausage (1590s), named for the city in Italy, from L. [short for Latin] Bononia, which either represents Gaul. bona 'foundation, fortress,' or Boii, the name of the Gaulish people who occupied the region 4c. [shorthand for century] B.C.E. Also see baloney")
(3) The report said Fiona would have a wedding "at St Albans Register Office, the gatehouse of a Victorian prison."
(a) Fiona http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiona
(b) St Albans http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Albans
(a city in southern Hertfordshire' The BBC used the [19th century] Main Gate House of the former St Albans Prison in Victoria Street as the main gate of "Slade Prison" in the sitcom Porridge)
Quote: "Saint Alban, the first British Christian martyr, was beheaded in AD 308 by Maximian on the orders of [Roman] Emperor Diocletian, who denounced the Christian faith and had ordered the deaths of all subjects and allies of the Roman Empire who refused to give up the faith. Saint Alban consequently gave the town its modern name.
(4) The report observed, "The wedding was, inevitably, the main topic, particularly plans for the hen night, in Italian fabulously called an addio al nubilato - a farewell to nubility."
(a) For hen night, see bachelorette party http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bachelorette_party
("The terms hen party, hen do or hen night are common in the United Kingdom and Ireland, [ ] and the term bachelorette party is common in the United States and Canada;" The phrase "Hen Party" mirrors the male "Stag Party" in referencing social stereotypes of each gender at the party)
(b) Regarding "addio al nubilato." In Italian, "addio" is goodbye, al is combination of the preposition a (meaning "to") and the article "il."
(i) See table in
Italian/Prepositions http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Italian/Prepositions
(ii) Italian/Articles http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Italian/Articles
("The English article the has several translations into Italian," one being il that precedes a masculine singular noun)
(c) For nubility (n), see
nubile (adj; French, from Latin nubilis, from nubere to marry — more at NUPTIAL):
"of marriageable condition or age"
(6) antipasto
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antipasto
(Antipasto (plural antipasti), means "before the meal" and is the traditional first course of a formal Italian meal)
, which Collins Italian English Dictionary translates as "hors d'oeuvre, starter."
(a) Compare pasta http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pasta
(section 1 Etymology)
(b) The Italian prefix "anti" can be, as a prefix in English, either "anti" (meaning against) or "ante" (meaning before), whereas "pasto" is a Italian singular, masculine noun meaning meal.
(7) The "primi piatti" is the plural of "primo piatto," the latter meaning first course or first dish: piatto is an Italian masculine, singular noun (meaning dish/plate or course) and primo is an adjective for "first."
Italian/Nouns
en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Italian/Nouns
("The basic rule is that masculine singular nouns end with -o, feminine singular nouns end with -a. * * * Nouns ending with -a are pluralized with -e if feminine (most common) or with -i if masculine")
(8) Verona http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verona
(The origin of the name Verona is also unknown; section 6 Notable people: Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet, fictional characters from the Shakespearian play Romeo and Juliet)
One may use images.google.com for Juliet's Tomb (La Tomba di Giulietta), which may be apocryphal.
(9) The English noun confetti actually has an Italian origin:
confetti (n; Italian, plural of confetto sweetmeat, from Medieval Latin confectum, from Latin, neuter of confectus, past participle of conficere to prepare; First Known Use 1815):
"small bits or streamers of brightly colored paper made for throwing (as at weddings)"
(10) The report stated, "In fact, Italians would never throw confetti over the newlyweds because in this country you do not throw confetti - you eat it. Confetti is the word for sugared almonds, traditionally given to guests by the bride and groom as a thank you gift and keepsake."
(11) First Communion
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Communion
(the colloquial name for a person's first reception of the sacrament of the Holy Eucharist; in Roman Catholic churches typically takes place at age seven or eight, depending on the country; :Traditions surrounding First Communion usually include large family gatherings and parties to celebrate the event and special clothing is usually worn. The clothing is often white to symbolize purity")
(12) bomboniera (feminine noun): "box of sweets (as souvenir at weddings, first communions)"
(13) The report commented, "All frilly lace, shiny ornaments and, wall-to-wall sugared almonds, it was like a combination of Aladdin's cave, the house in Hansel and Gretel, and an Ann Summers shop."
(a) Hansel and Gretel
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hansel_and_Gretel
(a well-known fairy tale of German origin, recorded by the Brothers Grimm and published in 1812; Hansel and Gretel are the young children of a poor woodcutter)
(b) Ann Summers
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ann_Summers
(a British multinational retailer company specialising in sex toys and lingerie; named after Annice Summers, the female secretary of the male founder, Caborn Waterfield)
(14) The report finally remarked, "So if you are at Gatwick next Friday and you see someone carrying a froufrou little bundle and practising her Pam Ayres accent that will be me."
(a) Gatwick Airport http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gatwick_Airport
(29.5 mi (47.5 km) south of Central London; is London's second largest international airport and second busiest by total passenger traffic in the United Kingdom after Heathrow; section 1 History: 1241)
Stationed in Italy, the author would fly to Gatwick airport, on her way to St Albans where Fiona would get married.
(b) froufrou (n; French, of imitative origin; First Known Use 1870):
"1: a rustling especially of a woman's skirts
2: showy or frilly ornamentation" http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/froufrou
Definition 1 alludes to the sound, which leads to def 2 figuratively.