Eh, Condo, Condo Italiano!

Has anyone else noticed how many condo
developments, both new and newly "converted," now have Italian (or Italianate) names?

So do some new single-house communities.

It seems Under the Tuscan Sun influenced not only travel, farmhouse renovation, kitchen design, home dec and furniture (including the author's pricey and overwrought "At Home in Tuscany" line), but has now reached developers and promoters of clusters of condominia and single-home enclaves.

For decades, American developers triggered our inner Anglophile by concocting names that sounded veddy English. In fact, there was and apparently still is a "Col. A/Col. B" formula: tree, flower, bird or other animal + topography and/or water: Stonybrook Hills, Victoria Park, Foxmoor Lakes, Osprey Ridge, Woodland Acres, Bay View Oaks et al.--even if the builders clear-cut every tree, and there isn't a waterway for miles.

Then in the '70s they gave us a little French: Chateau This, Maison That. Is there a town in America that doesn't have a Vieux Carré? The French were nestled among the growing proliferation of Spanish that featured plenty of "Buena" and "Vista" throughout the land.

But in the last year or two Italia has invaded the land, and now developers are spewing not just variations on "Tuscany" but who knows how many Italianate place names featuring "Bella," "Villa" and worse. Here are some I collected from property "signage" and recent ads here and elsewhere:

Bella Collina, B. Costa, B. Lago, B. Notte, B. Toscana
Bona Vista [Yes, they made it Bona, not Buona, the boneheads]
Capistrano Lakes
Fontana
Lago Vista
Montacino
Palma Bella
Portofino Vista
Serra Villa
Solana
Solivita
Trastevere
Toscana
Tuscany, T. Ridge, T. Hills
Urbana
Villa Capri
Villa Medici [I don't know how they say it, but this one really should be chee.]
Visconti

Next time you're out and about or reading the Sunday paper's Homes sections, see if Italy has invaded your part of the world. Send me what you find--I'd love to know, and I'll add them to the list.

Come se dice il mio nome? [How do you say my name?]

Meanwhile, let's revisit "Montacino" for a minute. I was interested in this one because it ends with -cino, as my name does. And I got a kick out of what happened.

When I first saw the "coming soon" signs and, a couple of years later, the print ads for a chi-chi development known as Montacino, I wondered: is it Monta-chee-no or Monta-cee-no?

Here in the US, my many relatives on the Saracino side always pronounced our name Sara-cee-no, and so do I. Not Sara-chee-no, unless we're introducing ourselves to Italian-speaking Italians.

Then I heard it on the radio: Monta-cee-no. OK.

Then I heard it again a day or two later: Monta-chee-no. Che cosa? They changed it!

Either way is fine with me, but I have to wonder why the change: Did the Montacino marketing mavens decide that chee-no is "authentic" and cee-no isn't (despite that a bazillion Italian-Americans who have names with -ci say cee), and when? Did the voice actor get it wrong in that first spot, so they had to re-do it in a hurry? Or did the voice get it right but someone piped up and the mavens decided chee-no sounds "better" (upscale? romantic?) and "more authentic," so they changed the ad to make it Monta-chee-no evermore?

I don't know. But it did raise a personal question: Should I change how I say my own name?
No. To do that now would mean I'm taking cultural cues and a sense of self from developers! (Besides, I'm already "authentic.")

Funny thing, though: I did think about this long before Montacino came to town. During several weeks in Italy a few years ago, I reconnected with my Italian-ness. Saying and hearing "Leen-da Sah-dah-chee-noh" countless times a day touched on a depth of identity I quite enjoyed and still do.

So I seriously considered changing how I say my name for good. Not the full-blown Italian version, of course: obviously "Leen-da" etc. isn't at home here.

But "Linda Sara-chee-no" would be, and surely more at home (and authentic!) than a condo called Toscana, Urbana or Montacino--no matter how they say it.

Photo © 2004 Jon Resh, Undaunted Design