h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Entry: Prato, Tuscany, Italy - A694316
Author: Leeneh - Keeper of Lutefisk - U189728

Something missing - apart from the wool industry which I left out because of the smell and a more correct grammar, I mean?

I'd make it "Famous Pratesi". It sounds less forced. Other than that it's fine. The only other change I would make is the title, which I would amend to "Prato, Tuscany, Italy: Ugly as Hell" But you may excercise your discretion on this matter.

Thank you for your input!

I agree - Pratesi *is* what they call themselves. I've never really had the chance to hear an English speaking person call them anything, so the word I used was a pure invention

Not so sure about your suggestions about the title though - I happen to live there, you see (not that I don't agree)

If there's no English word for a local name (like Florentines), I usually just use the original name. It's simpler.

I was making a joke about the title. But seriously, what on earth are you doing in Prato? There are beautiful places to live just kilometers away.

It sounds Like a beutiful place to visit. Nicely done. Editor 4th Class The KID

Well, if your entry makes Prato sound like a beautiful place to visit, then it needs some heavy revising. Then you can write an entry calling Piombino a picturesque Tuscan village.

Thank you!
Well, Prato is basicly nice only because
it's where my hubby happens to live. And I.
You need to use a looking glass to find
the pearls I wrote about. And a lot of luck.
The rest isn't that much to brag about, really.
But we have the best pizza in the world (*including* Neapel).

Yes, I realized your title suggestion was a joke
I don't think the Pratesi would find it funny, though.
Your suggestion's good too, because it expresses the truth,
but it would have been hazardious to my health using it,
since I live there...

*shudders at the thought of being surrounded by 174.512 p****d-off Pratesi*

Hi, Leeneh, I had a look at your very lovely article. I've got a list of all the English and grammar problems I could find here. It looks a little long, but mostly these are pretty simple mistakes. I'm not sure if there's any kind of standard format for this, so I've just copied and pasted portions of your article and placed my suggestions in brackets (and in all CAPS, so maybe they'll be easier to pick out). Hope this helps.



In the middle of the heavily industrialized Tuscan plains lies Prato, a town [THAT]174.513 (Jan. 2001) human beings seem very happy to call home.

A newcomer will [I THINK YOU NEED A COMMA HERE] upon entering the town [AND HERE]wonder if he/she has taken a wrong turn somewhere.

You will have to cross several vast areas with ugly factories, office blocks [SHOULD HAVE A COMMA HERE] and warehouses before you arrive to more pleasant spots.

In some cases [COMMA] the pleasant spots can be rather hard to spot, as they tend to hide in between the rubbish.

And [IT'S GENERALLY PREFERABLE NOT TO START A SENTENCE WITH A CONJUNCTION (AND, BUT, OR...), THOUGH IT'S DONE OFTEN ENOUGH THAT IT MAYBE ISN'T THAT BIG OF A DEAL. IF IT BOTHERS YOU, THOUGH, YOU MAY WANT TO CONSIDER TAKING THE AND OUT OR REPLACING IT WITH "ALSO" OR SOMETHING. NOTE THAT IF YOU DO YOU ALSO HERE, YOU SHOULD PROBABLY FOLLOW IT WITH A COMMA.] the fact that the town is situated a stone's throw from the beautiful city of FLORENCE, well known for it's [A COMMON MISTAKE, THE POSSESSIVE FORM OF IT DOES NOT INCLUDE AN APOSTROPHE, SO THIS SHOULD BE ITS] lovely architecture, [I THINK THIS COMMA SHOULD PROBABLY GO]and the home of uncountable antique treasures, does indeed give the impression that the pleasant spots of Prato may not even exist.

But the pleasant spots are there. [BEGINNING A SENTENCE WITH BUT. IF YOU WANT TO AVOID THIS, YOU MIGHT REPLACE IT WITH "HOWEVER" (FOLLOWED BY A COMMA) OR TRY SOMETHING LIKE "The pleasant spots are there, though."]

Near the center of the town, the first glittering pearl of tremendous beauty will be the Town Wall (built ca. 1175-1196), of which several of the eight original gates [MIGHT WANT TO USE "STILL" HERE] are in use still [INSTEAD OF HERE] today.

For the best view of the wall from the outside [COMMA] we recommend a walk along the newly built footpath along [ALONG TWO TIMES IN CLOSE PROXIMITY. THIS ISN'T GRAMMATICALLY WRONG, BUT IS A TAD AWKWARD. YOU MIGHT CONSIDER CHANGING THE FIRST ONE TO "DOWN" OR THE SECOND TO "NEXT TO"] the river Bisenzio which follows the wall on the eastern side.

This walk can be a pleasant experience even for those with no interest in the town wall, we [MAYBE THIS SHOULD BE "I" PROBABLY DOESN'T MATTER, THOUGH] might add.

From inside the wall, our [AGAIN, PROBABLY DOESN'T MATTER, BUT UNLESS THIS IS SOMEONE ELSE'S BEST TIP, AS WELL, THIS SHOULD TECHNICALLY BE "MY"] best tip is to stop and gawk a bit every time a piece of the wall can be glimpsed between the houses.

[MAYBE THERE SHOULD BE A "THE" HERE] Next pearl to admire, [LOSE THE COMMA HERE] will be the Emperor's Castle [PUT COMMA HERE] built by Emperor Frederick II (1194-1250), to guard the south route, [AND LOSE THE COMMA HERE] and as a resting place on travels across the empire.

The building is believed to have been raised between 1242-1248, [LOSE THE COMMA] and is said to look more or less the same today with its square lay out and four main towers.

Poor Frederick was not able to enjoy his castle, [MAYBE THIS COMMA SHOULD BE A CHANGED TO A DASH] he died shortly after the work was finished, [THIS ONE, TOO] and in the years to come [MAYBE THERE SHOULD BE A COMMA HERE] the castle has been used mostly as barracks for the military and also as a military prison.

In the thirties [COMMA] the castle was partly restored, [LOSE THE COMMA] and is today used for cultural manifestations.

Above and to the left of the door is the famous open-air pulpit, built by Donatello and Michelozzo (finished 1434), [I THINK YOU NEED SOMETHING HERE. MAYBE AN 'AND' OR 'WHICH IS'. A SEMICOLON MIGHT WORK AS WELL] decorated all around with a band of delightful little 'putti'.

We could also mention the Palazzo Pretorio, one of the strangest buildings on the planet, with its mixture of architectural styles ranging from who-knows-when to today. But [BEGINNING A SENTENCE WITH "BUT," AGAIN. YOU CAN FIX THIS SIMPLY BY CHANGING THE PRECEDING PERIOD TO A COMMA AND COMBINING THESE SENTENCES] we won't.

This building is undescribable [INDESCRIBABLE].

[THIS IS A SENTENCE FRAGMENT. YOU SHOULD PROBABLY START WITH "It is an..."] An absolute must see. [STARTING WITH AND. YOU MIGHT COMBINE THESE SENTENCES] And if you are daring (and invisible), you can climb it and collect the pillow-sized lump of pure gold that a long-dead Pratesian family placed between the bricks about 12-15 meters off the ground to keep it safe from raiding neighbours [NOT SURE ABOUT THIS. AMERICANS WOULD SPELL IT NEIGHBORS, I DON'T KNOW ABOUT BRITISH].

And [AND, AGAIN. MIGHT JUST WANT TO LEAVE IT OUT, HERE] we could also discuss the many contemporary sculptures that can be found scattered about town, [I THINK THIS NEXT PART MIGHT WORK BETTER AS ITS OWN SENTENCE. YOU MIGHT CHANGE THE COMMA TO A PERIOD AND START THIS NEXT SENTENCE, "For instance, there is..."] for instance "Large Square Form With [THE 'W' IN WITH SHOULD PROBABLY NOT BE CAPITALIZED] Cut" by British Henry Moore (1898-1986), among the Pratesi popularly known [MAYBE "popularly known" SHOULD BE MOVED TO JUST AFTER THE COMMA AND BEFORE "among"] as "Il Buco" (the hole).

Prato has [COMMA] of course [COMMA] several other pleasant spots than those we have looked at here, but we'll [WE AGAIN]leave them to [MIGHT CHANGE "to" TO "for"] you to discover.

Thanks to Arthbard my commas are now where they should be.
Anybody who knows how to credit him for his help on the page?

When you edit the page, add his number to the space at the bottom.

This entry looks good. Any scouts out there want to flag it?

Goody! Thanks!

Ouch... now it says it's written and researched by Arthbard...