Susan wrote that she’s looking for the Italian version of “This Little Piggy”, with “Giovanni” instead of the “piggy”. Here’s what she emailed me…
Hi,
I just came across your site and first I have to say it’s absolutely wonderful! I wanted to know if you’d be able to help me. I am looking for a song in Italian, the sound was similar to that of this little piggy went to the market etc. (the American rhyme). My father used to sing the song while doing the same thing you would for the American version on our toes. I don’t remember anything about a pig, but it started with Giovanni. I know my information is quite limited and reaching out to you is a stretch but I’ve searched all over the Internet and cannot find anything.
Thank you,
Susan
If anyone can help out Susan, please let us know in the comments below. She’d be most grateful!
Thanks!
Lisa
This article was posted on Monday, September 22nd, 2008 at 10:42 am and is filed under Children's Songs, Countries & Cultures, Italian, Italian Children's Songs, Italian Nursery Rhymes, Italy, Languages, Nursery Rhymes, Questions, Readers Questions, Toe Rhymes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.
22 Responses to “Can Anyone Help with an Italian Song That’s Similar to “This Little Piggy”?”
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September 24th, 2008 at 10:17 am
Hi Susan I know an Italian song about three little pigs, but there is no Giovanni on the text. I think it has the Disney music…
we are three little pigs, we are three little brothers, no one can separate us…trallalà..
can it be?
October 1st, 2008 at 1:07 pm
Thank you Paoletta for responding but Im certain there was a giovanni in there. Ive been trying to remember and I know that giovanni wasnt an the beginning, but the third . First one was pico piquero, then I think grano granero ? forgive my spelling, then giovanni
but thank you for trying
August 16th, 2009 at 3:32 am
My g-grandmother spoke only Italian and this is how my mom remembers the thing like this little piggy she would do with our fingers – we call it (phonetically) cadja-stay-va-na-funtanel. this is how it started, the rest had something to do with cheese, meat, milk, etc with each finger then some funny thing with the thumb. I have been looking for the orig w/ translation forever! She was from Naples area if that helps…
February 8th, 2010 at 1:10 pm
My grandfather was from Abruzzo, and he would tell us something like “this little piggy.” I can’t remember much, and neither can my relatives of my father’s generation. But perhaps this will jog someone else’s memory:
Chistu dita, vuol mania’ (mangiare)
Chistu dita, non ci sta (non c’e ne)
And it would always end with the last one getting “nu schiaff’ allo muso”, but perhaps that was my grandfather’s own interpolation.
February 17th, 2010 at 9:39 am
LOOK TO http://www.infanziaweb.it/filastrocche/fila_5dita.htm FOR THIS RELEASE AND OTHERS.
DICE IL POLLICE: NON C’E’ PIU’ PANE!
DICE L’INDICE: COME FAREMO?
DICE IL MEDIO: LO COMPREREMO
DICE L’ANULARE: CE N’E’ UN PEZZETTINO
DICE IL MIGNOLO: DATELO A ME CHE SONO IL PIU’ PICCOLINO.
SAYS THE THUMB: THERE IS NO BREAD!
SAYS THE INDEX: HOW ARE WE GOING?
SAYS THE MIDDLE: THE SHOPPING
SAYS RING FINGER: THERE IS A PIECE
MIGNOLO SAYS: GIVE IT TO ME WHICH ARE THE MOST CHILDREN
June 17th, 2011 at 6:28 pm
My grandparents, also from Abruzzo, used to use a rhyme which I only learned phonetically. It went something like this:
Io c’ho fame
e non c’e pane
e come faremo
Lo ruberemo
e nica, nica, che rube, se pica
I always understood the translation to be something like:
I’m hungry
And there is no bread
How will we eat?
Let’s steal!
No, no, [those who] steal get hanged!
July 9th, 2011 at 11:38 pm
My Nuna who is Calabrese used to sing a song on our fingers when we were little that went something like this:
Mini minel (the littlest finger of all)
furor de anillo (the finger that wears the ring)
grande de tut (the longest finger of all)
Liqua quiare (the finger that stirs the pot)
Gidi
July 9th, 2011 at 11:41 pm
The rest is Gidi podi fokolata all I remember is that the thumb stirs the coals of the fire. Sound familiar to anyone?
May 13th, 2012 at 1:27 am
The version I know was like the comment above from Roberto. My grandmother was from Partinico. “Chistu voglio pane, Chistu si dici Non ce Ne, Chistu si di Camini cu mia, voglio insengiare la via, ……and it goes on about stealing the bread and rumning all the way home
October 13th, 2012 at 8:48 pm
My mother would do this on the palms of our hands. She told us it was something to the effect this is the pond where the little duck stands or swims. She would move her finger in a circle and tap the middle of the circle (in the middle of the palm).
The previous replies each have some words I remember. I would love to learn it so I can teach my grand daughters.
Thank you for helping!
Ciao!
January 6th, 2013 at 1:43 am
I too am looking for this nursery rhyme. Le marche dialect.
It starts something like this: fountana fontenella
Can anyone help?
July 8th, 2013 at 1:25 pm
Hi Susan,
I’m an italian girl and I can say that there isn’t the Ialian version of the song you’ve sayed. The song that Paoletta is a song of Disney cartoon of the three littlle piggy (the story):
Siam tre piccoli porcellin, siamo tre fratellin,mai nessun ci dividerà, trallalero trallallà
There are a lot of regional variations of the poem of 5 fingers.
I don’t know anythig…
Sorry Lynda, I don’t help you because I’m not from Marche…
I hope that I can help you for other things. Write another comments if you will ask me other.
Sorry for my poor English
Federica
December 20th, 2013 at 7:31 pm
ok I am going to totally ruin this but my mom used to say something like:
Canja stea na voon dinella jivva via la babadella
gee stoo la gaul, gee stoo man gowl etc…I dont know…lol but I wish I remembered the whole thing!!
April 30th, 2014 at 3:27 pm
Holly, is this the poem you’re looking for?
L’anatra dice:
qua qua qua
presto tuffatevi nel fosso qua.
Ma gli anatroccoli hanno paura
stan sulla riva, ch’è più sicura.
Treman tutti – pio pio pio
è fredda l’acqua non vengo io.
E allora l’anatra – qua qua qua
la volpe capita eccola qua.
Tutti ci credon la vedon già
tutti si tuffano
pio pio qua qua.
http://www.filastrocche.it/contenuti/anatre-al-fosso/
July 27th, 2015 at 1:22 am
Carlo,
My family, also from Abruzzo, knew the same version as you know. I learned it from my Nonna, who was from Pescina (though it might also have been from my Nonno, who was from Colledimacine.
October 16th, 2016 at 9:08 pm
My grandmother came from Abruzzo (Atri specifically) and used to sing a song that she compared to the 3 little pigs, but when I would ask what it meant translated directly, she said the last part meant “kill the bugs” and whereas the American version is done on the toes, this version was to be said on fingers working backwards from pinky to thumb. I only know the song phonetically so if anyone knows the actual words, I’d love to know them:
Di-di-da-Della
Fiord-i-nella
LON-i-cha-bana
CHOCK-ah-bootch
POO-ti-calla POO-ti-calla POO-ti-calla
November 2nd, 2016 at 12:29 am
I remember my grandmother singing this and my father does it with my son now. Instead of ending “wee wee wee wee wee all the way home” it goes “tutta tutta tutta tutta tutta” they’re from outside of Parma about an hour south of Milan
December 9th, 2016 at 2:15 am
Yes! Holly (above), that’s what my grandmother would do. It was all in Italian and it was about a little duck swimming around a pond. She would move her finger in a circle around my palm. The end of the poem was similar to this little piggy..she would touch each finger and then repeat something maybe about the little duck. I would love to know all the words.
July 17th, 2017 at 2:02 am
Was anyone successful in finding this “duck” song in actual Italian? I’m coming up with nothing. My great grandmother sang it to my mother and aunt and they sang it to us phonetically, but would love the actual words. Grazie!
March 11th, 2018 at 12:41 am
My grandmother was from the Siragusa area of Sicily and all I can remember is her saying something like “click, click, click avadole” when she got to our baby toe. Does anyone remember something like that at all?
July 17th, 2023 at 7:14 pm
My sister and I have been trying to figure this out. Our grandmother was from Abruzzo. It was about a duck, swimming in a pond (the palm of your hand) and it started something like enda la fundanelle… She would hold each finger with a saying. Would love to know that rest!!
August 3rd, 2023 at 4:32 pm
Rita, here is your rhyme:
In mezzo alla piazzetta c’è una fontanella:
nuota una paperella;
uno l’acchiappa;
uno la spenna;
uno la cucina;
uno la mangia;
e il mignolino: “Pio… pio…
un poco a me che son piccolino!”
Which means:
In the middle of the little square there is a fountain:
A little duck swims;
One catches it;
One plucks it;
One cooks it;
One eats it;
And the little pinkie goes: “Peep, peep…
A little to me as I’m very little!”
You can find another version here.