A Peruvian Mystery

Day 186 of My Italian Learning Journal*

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Do you like a mystery? Here's one I read about many years ago: The Nazca Lines of Peru. The reason I was thinking about this topics is that one of the new cafeteria servers at our school came from Peru. The renowned Nazca lines have been the subject of mystery for over 80 years. The image at right resembles a humming bird. From ground level the lines are just lines; however, from the air the lines take shape: bird, monkey, spider, and more. The lines were only first brought to public awareness with the advent of flight—by pilots flying commercial planes over Peru in the 1930's. The largest figures are up to 370 m (1,200 ft) long. One theory is that the Nazca people created large ancient geoglyphs to be seen by their gods in the sky. (Grammar corrections are welcome for the following practice script in Italian.)

Ascolta Questo:

• Nel deserto di Nazca, nel sud del Perù, c'è un mistero.
  In the Nazca Desert of southern Peru there is a mystery.

• Queste sono conosciute come le Linee di Nazca.
  These are known as the Nazca Lines.

• Le linee prendono una forma reale solo se viste dall'aria.
  The lines only take real shape when viewed from the air.

• Negli anni '30 i piloti hanno notato il profilo di un uccello, una scimmia, un ragno e altri animali.
  In the 1930's pilots notice the outline of a bird, monkey, spider, and other shapes.

• Il clima del deserto ha preservato le linee misteriose.
  The dessert climate has preserved the mysterious lines.

• Sono state designate come patrimonio mondiale dell'UNESCO nel 1994.
  They were designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1994.

[ Grazie ad _ADM_ ]
[ Grazie ad Arben Kqiku ]

Alla prossima!

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*Note: This is my personal journal of daily practice in learning Italian. I welcome Italian grammar corrections. Grazie.