Strange animal facts from Italy :
animals in Italy and
Italian superstitions.

"It's good to do whatever we can for our pets who, in exchange for a little love, fill our existence with their attention."

Italians have three main loves in the world : their mother, their pets, and 'gelato' - gorgeous Italian ice cream.  Put the three together and you have the loveliest of European doggy treats and the first of our strange animal facts : 'Doghissimo', an Italian ice cream for pooches just like mamma used to make.

'Doghissimo' has no fat, sugar or artificial colourings but is still based on Signora Leonardini's own recipe for traditional Italian ice cream.  Initially tested on her three Golden Retrievers, it took nearly a year before the recipe was approved by the authorities.  It is one of many strange animal facts that in Italy the regulations for pooches' ice cream are as strict (or stricter!) than for the human variety.

And the icing on the ice cream cone?  -  a chunky dog biscuit in place of the usual chocolate flake.

The doggy pool at Bau beach. Both photos of Bau beach courtesy of www.Baubeach. it (for link, see below).

Usually prohibited from swimming on Italy's beaches, dogs here are positively encouraged to frolic in the waves.  Tired from too much swimming?  There are areas for the dogs to socialise and play, umbrellas (with special hooks for leads, naturally) to laze under and, when the munchies hit, a restaurant providing wholesome, organic doggy snacks. 


And for those stressed-out pooches who don't seem able to relax, there are massage areas as well as animal psychologists and professional trainers on site, and vets for any unfortunate incidents.   The whole structure has been authorised by the local authority which also provides the on-location veterinary services.

Strange animal facts?  Maybe.  But an average day sees something around eighty dogs and their owners sunning themselves at Bau Beach.  In fact, the idea was so popular that the concept of the pet spa has now taken off and other dog friendly beaches have opened right around Italy's coastline. 




Strange animal facts -

Number three :   Animals in Italy speak Italian.


Here is one of many interesting animal facts for kids.


Why is 'Bau Beach' so called?  Because the Italian animal noise for a dog is "bau bau". Given that the Italian language is spoken exactly as it's written, the sound is virtually the same as the English "Bow (wow)". 


It shouldn't be surprising that sounds are different depending on your native tongue.   Language isn't only about grammar and pronunciation,  it's about what you hear and how you interpret that sound. Being immersed in a particular language will affect how you hear and then speak natural sounds and other noises. 


So Italian, like any other language, represents animal sounds differently than an English speaker might expect and the noises attributed to animals aren't so much strange animal facts as a reflection of how humans interpret sound.


What about other animals?  How do they sound to an Italian person?  Below is an animal fact file : noises and the phonetic spelling that most closely represents the sound :

Not "eeyore" but "eee-oo".

Donkeys (gli asini)  go "i-oo, i-oo" (pronounced "eee-oo").

Roosters (i galli) go "chicchirichí" (pronounced kee-kee-ree-keeeee").

Hens (le galline) go "coccodè" (pronounced "cock-o-day").

Chicks (i pulcini) go "pio pio" (pronounced peeo).

No "ribbits" in Italy.

Birds (gli uccelli) go "cip cip" (pronounced exactly as the English : "cheep cheep").

Crows (i corvi)  go "cra cra" ...

... and it's one of those strange animal facts that frogs (le rane) sound the same - "cra cra".

Cuckoos (i cuculi) go "cucú, cucú, cucú".

Bees (le api)  go "zzzzzz".

 

Italian mice say "squitt".

Cows (le mucche) go "muuuuuu".

Geese (le oche) go "qua qua".

Sheep (le pecore) go "beeee".

 

Mice (i topi) go "squitt squitt".

 

... and cats (i gatti) obviously speak English -  they go "miao".

Or should that be English cats speak Italian?

Strange animal facts -

Number four  :  cats have added a new word to the Italian language.


Let's stick with language for a moment.


If you have visited Rome and you're at all struck by interesting facts about animals the chances are you will be aware of the famous "gatti di Roma" - the cats of Rome.  You can even buy calendars of them.  What you may not have heard of is a relatively new word in the Italian language - "gattara" - catwoman.  No, not Halle Berry ...


Every tourist coming to Rome notices the cats.  Most also realise there is a big difference between their own cuddly pet 'moggy' and the hundreds of cats which wander the ancient monuments.  Aloof and arrogant, the cats of Rome are mostly feral, answering to no-one, doing what they want when they want to do it. 


But if you have seen these cats you may also have noticed that they are generally well fed - some would even say a bit on the plump side for Italian animals. 

Cat of the Torre Argentina. Image courtesy of romancats.com

That's because since 1929 when cats colonized the Torre Argentina in the centre of Rome they were fed, first unofficially but from 1993 on a more formal basis, by a succession of mostly female cat-lovers who were worried about the cats' welfare and the fact that their breeding was out of control.   


Since then this cat sanctuary has become famous for its work caring for and sterilizing Rome's cats.  By the end of 2007 a total of 3,722 cats had been sterilized and 174 adopted, sometimes by Italians but also by cat-lovers from as far afield as America and Australia. 


The succession of dedicated women who have worked at the sanctuary, the most famous of whom was Italian film star Anna Magnani, has included bank directors and lawyers, as well as the more ordinary "gattare" whose daily pilgrimages are a fixture of Roman life.


So it's a tribute to the cats of Rome, and one of Italy's many strange animal facts, that the cat has contributed to Italian culture not only by reducing the rodent population but by enriching the country’s language.



Strange animal facts -

Number five :  there's no tripe for cats.


And talking about enriching the Italian language ...


In May 2007 at the Champions League soccer cup final in Athens, a group of A. C. Milan soccer fans unfurled a banner saying (in English) "There’s no tripe for cats".  It made absolute sense to the Italian supporters but was completely lost on the English opposition.


That's because that literal translation of "non c'e trippa per gatti" doesn't make a lot of sense to anyone but Italians.  To Italians, it means "there is absolutely no hope of you getting whatever it is you want".  So Milan supporters were right, because that night Liverpool lost 2 - 1.

"Quando il gatto non c'è, i topi ballano" translates as : "when the cat's not there, the mice dance" - or alternatively : "when the cat's away, the mice will play".

As well as taking ownership of many of the ancient monuments of Rome and adding words to the Italian language, it is one of those strange animal facts that cats, more than any other creature, play a central role in Italian superstitions and Italian animal sayings and proverbs which, translated into other languages, have nothing at all to do with cats - or often, with any other animal. 


For instance, "ho altre gatte da pelare" - literally "I have other cats to skin"  equates to the English saying : "I have other fish to fry"; "belle parole non pascono i gatti" - "fine words don't feed cats", the English equivalent being "fine words butter no parsnips" - in other words talking about something doesn't get it done. 


And then there's  "la gatta frettolosa fece i gattini ciechi" - "the hurried cat produces blind kittens"  which may be most closely translated by the proverb : "haste makes waste".

Different regions in Italy also have their own feline proverbs.  According to the Tuscans, "Al buio ogni gatta è morella" of which the closest English translation is "all cats look grey in the dark".   The Sicilian dialect uses the expression "figghia di gatta mancia surci", literally "the daughter of the cat eats mice" or less literally, "like mother, like daughter".

If it's right to say that through sayings and proverbs we learn a lot about the tradition and culture of a country, then obviously cats play an important role in Italian life.   But despite their popularity, cats in Italy don't seem to enjoy as long a life as cats elsewhere in the world. The Italians say "i gatti hanno sette spiriti" or "cats have seven spirits".  

So it's another one of those strange animal facts that Italian cats, loved as they are, have six more lives than other creatures but two fewer than their counterparts in other cultures, where cats are said to have nine lives. 

Courtesy of romancats.com

And as well as passing out literature, attempting to find homes for black cats, and seek signatures for a petition, Sr Croce attempted to enlist the support of known cat enthusiast and current Pope Benedict I in the campaign.  In his days as Cardinal Ratzinger, Pope Benedict was known to look after stray cats in Rome.  Whether he agreed or not with the black cat campaign was never publicized.

Strange animal facts -

Number seven  :  Italian goldfish have rights too.

"Let me out!"- the great goldfish escape.

Walking the dogs in Rome.

Not only goldfish are protected by Italian laws.  On new construction sites work must stop if a cat colony is discovered so the cats can be re-homed, and at fairgrounds, no animal can be offered as a prize.  


The city of Rome has also cracked down on negligent pet owners by introducing fines for those who don't take their dog for regular walks and in Turin the law is even more specific - dog owners can be fined up to five hundred euros if they don't walk their dogs at least three times a day. 


It's not terribly clear how this legislation will be enforced as pets are of course unaware of their newly-acquired rights and so can't complain if their owners don't comply.  And given that dog owners in Italy can sometimes be less than conscientious about picking up poop after their dogs it may be a while before these laws have any effect.

Forget animal walking - what about animal dancing?


Ever since dogs were first domesticated, probably in China about fifteen thousand years ago, they have been put to work.   In the days of   ancient Roman animals dogs were used according to their breed to fight, hunt, guard, track, warm their owners' beds and act as companions. 

Here is one of those lesser known but still interesting facts about dogs.  Dog shows where pure bred dogs were judged according to how well they met a standard for their breed did not begin until the mid-nineteenth century in England.  The most famous is without doubt Crufts which, then known as the "First Great Terrier Show", first took place in 1891.


Still not satisfied, humankind's competitive spirit saw the development of the obedience and agility events.  Later still the 'heel work to music' contest was introduced at the Pacific Canine Show Case in British Columbia, Canada, in 1991 and later in a number of smaller dog shows in the U.K. from 1996. 


It eventually became a formal competitive element at Crufts in 2006.  Dogs and their owners are judged on synchronization, rhythm, precision of movement - and enjoyment.  This is now one of the most popular events in dogs shows the world over.


So now owners can dance with their dogs without it being thought of as strange.  But in Italy, not to be outdone by Crufts and with an ever-present need to give us yet more strange animal facts, not only have formal classes in doggy-dancing taken off but in one northern town, a 'doggy disco' is held every year at which owners can rumba with their retriever or polka with their poodle - and dogs can eye up the doggy talent on offer.


"If you have the right music and moves", they say, "any dog can dance.  Even age doesn't matter".




Strange animal facts -

Number ten  :   truffle pigs eat, truffle dogs go to university.

A plate of 'delicious' black truffles

On the face of it, the truffle doesn't have a lot going for it.  It looks a bit like a dog turd and smells like sweaty socks.  Truffles are fussy about where they grow, preferring to stay underground but only in potassium rich soils and only under certain trees - mainly hazelnut and oak.  And no-one has yet found a way of cultivating them. 


But truffle hunting is a serious, mysterious and highly competitive business.  The truffle hunt is like some kind of ritual dance.  Often taking place at night, no torches or lights are used for fear of drawing the attention of rival hunters, and hunters who do by accident or bad planning encounter each other are careful to reveal nothing.  Some go so far as to have decoy dogs strategically placed and trained to dig indiscriminately to distract other hunters and their dogs.


For many years only pigs were used to hunt out truffles, and then only female pigs.  They were particularly good hunters because many types of truffle produce a scent similar to a male pig sex hormone which female pigs can sniff out from miles away.   But unfortunately, although they were excellent truffle-finders, pigs have one major drawback when it comes to truffle hunting.

Yes, it's another of those strange animal facts : pigs love to eat truffles.

And when one kilo of truffles can bring thousands of euros, hunters really cannot risk their livelihood going down the throat of their pig.   Hence the growing popularity of the Italian truffling dog : the 'Lagotto Romagnolo'.

How cute are these pups? Image courtesy of the Lagotto Romagnolo Club UK.

The Lagotto is one of the hunting Italian dog breeds, a member of the retriever and water-dogs group.  A working animal whose sole function is truffle-hunting, he is a bouncy, energetic dog who performs his job with passion and efficiency thanks to his natural gift for searching - and a sensitive nose.  


But having a natural ability is not enough, and here's where something relatively normal becomes one of Italy's strange animal facts. 

Truffle hunting in action. Photo courtesy of www.lagotto-net.

Serious truffle-hunter owners enrol their dog into the 'Universita dei Cani Tartufo' - the University of Truffle Hunting Dogs.  The 'University' has been run in the north of Italy since the 1880s by four generations of a truffle-hunting family. 


It's an exclusive school which provides rigorous training for the dogs and their handlers, including exercises involving locating hidden truffles and perfecting the fine art of excavating truffles.  


It can take up to four years for a dog and his handler to become fully trained and experienced in the art of truffle hunting.  Dogs which have undergone the training and have had experience as well are enormously valuable and sometimes even the target for dog thieves. 

Strange animal facts? Maybe. But next time you're enjoying your 'tartufo gelato' (yes, that's right, they even make ice cream with truffles!) in Rome's Piazza Navona (it's a speciality in the Tre Scalini bar there - yum!), spare a thought for the doggy truffle hunters who even went to university so that you could enjoy another piece of Italian life.

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If you have enjoyed these strange animal facts from Italy and would like to learn more about how animals reflect Italian culture, here's where to go.

Books  :

Bau Beach : Storia e storie della prima spiaggia per cani Italiana : Patrizia Daffina. Published Leconte, 2005.

The history of Bau Beach.  An entertaining, informative read about Italy's first doggy beach.  Unfortunately available only in Italian but a good read for anyone with even a basic understanding of the language.  Available from the Bau Beach website (see below).



Websites  :

Bau Beach :  www.baubeach.it.