Saturday, August 13, 2011

And I Quote- Napoleon in Italy

Napoleonic-era naval uniform
Naval History Museum in Venice
When Napoleon was in Italy he is supposed to have remarked "All Italians are plunderers. [Gli Italiani tutti ladroni.]"
Whereupon an Italian lady, overhearing him, replied "Not all, but a good part. [Non tutti, ma buona parte.]"

Edit: You know, on closer reading I wonder if "buona parte" was intended as a pun on "Bonaparte" by the witty lady. Hmm...
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4 comments:

  1. fabriquefantastiqueAugust 14, 2011 at 6:13 PM

    I have not heard pun before, must remember it.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Olympe de la Tour D'AuvergneAugust 14, 2011 at 9:22 PM

    Isn't it fun? It must have been intentional.

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousApril 10, 2013 at 12:21 PM

    Comtesse,

    I am looking for an image of what a french corsair would have worn circa 1797. Any leads would help.

    Thank you

    ReplyDelete
  4. Olympe de la Tour D'AuvergneApril 15, 2013 at 3:54 PM

    Dear Sir or Madame,

    I suggest that if you have not already that you locate a copy of "Napoleonic Uniforms", which not only has wonderful illustrations of the Grande Armee, but also quite a lot of supplementary material which may suit your purposes, although a corsair is a much less formal occupation.

    http://www.amazon.com/NAPOLEONIC-UNIFORMS-Volumes-Volume-Boxed/dp/1932033750/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1365701717&sr=8-1&keywords=Military+uniforms+Napoleonic

    I hope you find this helpful.

    -Olympe

    ReplyDelete

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