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The first edition of my Italian crosswords was met with mixed enthusiasm. Some really loved it; others didn’t on account of two issues: 1) those who love Italy but don’t speak Italian couldn’t really participate; 2) the crosswords were just PDFs that you needed to print (or screenshot) to play.
This second edition fixes both issues with the format. There are now three crosswords:
A cultural one with English clues and English answers.
A beginner one with English clues and Italian answers.
An advanced one with Italian clues and Italian answers.
And I made them all playable online.
Italian culture crossword
Clues and answers in English.
Orizzontali (Across)
4 Painter born in Urbino, famous for The School of Athens. He died at 37 (7)
6 Venice’s great Renaissance painter. A reddish shade of hair is named after him (6)
7 Florence’s great art gallery. The name just means offices. Book ahead in summer (6)
11 Florentine sculptor of the early Renaissance. Also the Ninja Turtle in the purple mask (9)
12 Michelangelo’s Mary holding the dead Christ, in St Peter’s. The only work he ever signed (5)
13 Baroque genius behind the colonnade of St Peter’s Square and the Four Rivers fountain in Piazza Navona (7)
14 Painter of Padua’s Scrovegni Chapel, who also designed the bell tower beside Florence’s cathedral (6)
Verticali (Down)
1 The world’s smallest country, at 0.44 square km. Its museums can still fill a whole day (7)
2 Florentine painter of the Primavera, a Renaissance spring scene full of flowers (10)
3 Picture made of small pieces of stone or glass. Ravenna’s churches glitter with them (6)
5 Roman goddess of love. In a famous Florentine painting she sails ashore on a scallop shell (5)
8 ___ Chapel: Michelangelo’s ceiling above, every conclave since 1878 below (7)
9 Leonardo’s most famous portrait. In the Louvre she smiles from behind bulletproof glass (8)
10 Florentine banking family who paid for much of the Renaissance. Lorenzo was the Magnificent (6)
11 Michelangelo’s marble giant, 17 feet tall. The one outside in Piazza della Signoria is a copy (5)
Cruciverba per principianti
Clues in English, answers in Italian.
Orizzontali (Across)
1 The waiting line, as at the Uffizi in summer. Also means tail (4)
6 Portrait. Leonardo’s most famous one is in Paris (8)
7 Marble. Michelangelo went to the Carrara quarries to pick his own blocks (5)
8 Paintbrush. Something that fits perfectly sta a ___ (8)
11 Wall painting done on wet plaster. Work fast: it dries (8)
12 Art. Storia dell’___ is art history (4)
13 A painting, the framed kind you hang on a wall (6)
Verticali (Down)
1 Hue. The Italian flag has three: green, white and red (6)
2 Dome. Brunelleschi’s in Florence is still the largest brick one in the world (6)
3 Painter. Caravaggio was a famously hot-headed one (7)
4 Art gallery. In Milan, also a shopping arcade under a glass roof (8)
5 Masterpiece. Every room of the Uffizi has a few (10)
7 Exhibition, the temporary kind with posters all over town (6)
9 Statue. The Loggia dei Lanzi in Florence is an open-air gallery of them (6)
10 Canvas. The Mona Lisa isn’t on one: Leonardo painted her on poplar wood (4)
Cruciverba avanzato
Clues in Italian, answers in Italian.
Orizzontali (Across)
2 Le consonanti di nube (2)
3 Gli estremi di pennellate (2)
5 Le consonanti di rosa (2)
7 Quella della pietra precede quella del bronzo (3)
9 Angolo di pace nel deserto, o in mezzo al traffico (4)
10 La città dei mosaici di San Vitale, dove riposa Dante (7)
11 Però, in due lettere (2)
12 Lì, nel linguaggio dei documenti (3)
13 Quello di Dio quasi tocca Adamo, nella Sistina (4)
14 Pronome: a ___ piace l’arte moderna (2)
15 Protegge la testa del cavaliere in armatura (4)
16 Quelle medicee sono patrimonio UNESCO (5)
18 Prima persona di avere: ___ fame (2)
19 Preposizione: vengo ___ Firenze (2)
21 Lo porti in spalla in gita (5)
22 Detto, ___: subito! (5)
23 Con i, tutto attaccato (3)
Verticali (Down)
1 Il giorno prima di oggi (4)
2 Solcano il mare con passeggeri o merci (4)
3 Si moltiplicarono insieme ai pesci (4)
4 Precisi, senza errori (6)
6 Lo batte il mazzuolo dello scultore (9)
8 Il pittore ci mescola i colori, tenendola col pollice (9)
9 Le cavalca il surfista (4)
14 Maniere, metodi (4)
15 Esclamazione di chi non ha capito (2)
17 ___ comune: un’idea trita e ritrita (5)
20 Dura dodici mesi (4)
Soluzioni #1: Visiting Italy
How I write: I choose the topics, do the research and analysis, and bring the Italian perspective. AI helps me turn that into polished drafts faster and assists with data and charts. I review and edit everything, verify every source, and take responsibility for what I publish. This lets me bring you more (and better) articles. Grazie for reading!