This short contribution is not intended as a scholarly treatise on translation theory and practice, nor as a criticai review of the latest published translation of some outstanding literary or non-literary work. Rather, it was conceived simply as a way of listing a few tragically sad and, at the same time, tragically funny observations of a translation teacher (me) on a gastronomie l linguistic journey through the main tourist attractions in ltaly over the past few years. And though amusement and indeed some merriment are undeniably the immediate aim of this excursus from the more serious stuff of translation criticism, this "comedy of errors" or "comedy of horrors" is also specifically designed to convey a piea to both employers and translators alike.

The intention of this paper has been an analysis and explanation of some of his aspects which may lead to varying degrees of incomprehension. For the interpreter, political language may often give rise to comprehension difficulties which may render his job more nerve-rancking or frustrating than it normally is. For the translator, his task is little easier since his job is considerably more brain-rancking, for it involves hours and hours of working and re-working the italian original at the interpretation stage of the political message translation process.