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ITALIAN WORD OF THE DAY

Italian expression of the day: ‘Settimana bianca’

Here’s a phrase you'll need for a truly Italian winter holiday.

Published: 9 December 2022 12:46 CET
Updated: 21 December 2023 09:01 CET
Italian word of the day: Settimana bianca
Photo: Annie Spratt/Unsplash/Nicolas Raymond

As far as winter traditions go, there’s only one thing more quintessentially Italian than a family feud over which is the best Christmas dessert between pandoro and panettone. That one thing is the ‘settimana bianca’ (pronunciation available here).

You might have already heard the expression on a couple of occasions, but if not, you’re very likely to hear it soon from Italian friends, relatives or colleagues as we enter the holiday season

There is a set of unwritten rules governing a respectable settimana bianca, but first, what does the expression actually mean?

The literal translation into English would be ‘white week’, and the phrase is used by native speakers to describe a period of around seven days (but sometimes more) spent in any mountain destination, whether that’s in Italy or abroad. 

As you might have guessed, ‘bianca’ refers to the colour of the location’s landscape, which would be white due to the presence of snow. 

Dove pensi di fare la settimana bianca quest’anno?

Boh, non ci ho ancora pensato bene. Forse Cortina.

Ma che sei pazzo? Con quei prezzi…

Where are you thinking of going for your ski holiday this year?

Hmm, I haven’t really thought about it yet. Maybe Cortina?

Are you out of your mind? With those prices…

That said, you might wonder what’s so special about a winter break up in the mountains.

Regardless of whether it’s a family vacation or a trip with friends, the settimana bianca has a precise set of features that all Italians seem to be aware of from a very young age, almost as though information on how to execute it came embedded in their own genetic setup.

Firstly, the settimana bianca is a very important social event and the smooth unfolding of the holiday is seen as vitally important.

As such, the organisers spend the preceding weeks and months working on an infallible day-by-day plan, which is generally scrapped the moment they reach their destination. 

Italian holidaymakers then spend most of their days engaging in a variety of winter sports, from skiing to ice skating, with tall tales of athletic prowess generally followed by tragic tumbles and other various health and safety mishaps.

Qual era il bilancio dell’ultima settimana bianca?

Due feriti, un malato.

Ah, non male dai. Pensavo peggio.

What was the toll of your last ski holiday?

Two injured, one sick.

Oh, not so bad then. I expected worse.

Finally, no settimana bianca is truly complete without at least one of the members of the group severely underestimating the rigid winter temperatures and ultimately falling ill, thus being begrudgingly looked after by a carousel of friends or relatives for the rest of the vacation. 

Do you have an Italian word you’d like us to feature? If so, please email us with your suggestion. 

Don’t miss any of our Italian words and expressions of the day by downloading our new app (available on Apple and Android) and then selecting the Italian Word of the Day in your Notification options via the User button.

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ITALIAN WORD OF THE DAY

Italian word of the day: Metà vs mezzo

These Italian words are both used to talk about 'half' of something, so what exactly is the difference and when should you use them?

Published: 23 April 2024 10:48 CEST
Updated: 23 April 2024 11:49 CEST
Italian word of the day: Metà vs mezzo

It’s often the case in Italy that you’ll find several words that mean something very similar, and it’s not always easy to know which one is appropriate. Our new mini series looks at some of the most common word pairs, and sorts out which should be used and when.

Why do I need to know the difference between metà and mezzo?

Because you’ll need to use both of them in daily conversation if you live in Italy, but the difference in meaning isn’t always clear.

What’s the difference?

When you want to talk about ‘half’ of something in Italian, it may seem as though you have two choices.

Depending on what you’re talking about, you could reach for either metà or mezzo (or mezza, which we’ll come to later) but many language learners say they’re not always sure which one to use in certain situations.

Put simply, the difference between metà and mezzo is much the same as the difference between ‘half’ and ‘middle’ in English.

Metà: a half, as in one of two equal parts of something.

Mezzo: the middle, as in equally distant from two points.

For example:

Ha mangiato metà torta

He ate half of the cake

Facciamo a metà

Let’s split it (in half)

E’ sdraiato in mezzo alla strada

He’s lying in the middle of the street

Non penso che ti dovrebbe mettere in mezzo

I don’t think she should be putting you in the middle of this

READ ALSO: Come stai vs come va

But is anything in Italian ever really that simple?

There are some specific situations where the two words seem to be used interchangeably, or where it’s not clear why one is typically used and not the other.

Confusion arises particularly around telling the time in Italian, as you could say:

Sono le undici e mezzo

It’s half past eleven

Il mio treno arriva alle 5.40: vediamoci dieci minuti prima, alla mezza.

My train arrives at 5.40: let’s meet ten minutes before, at half past.

Why in this case aren’t we using metà for ‘half’? And why is it sometimes mezza rather than mezzo?

The English ‘half past’ doesn’t translate literally into Italian. Mezzo is used here instead, since we’re talking about the ‘middle of’ the hour, the point equally distant between two hours.

This might take some getting used to for English native speakers, but it is pretty logical.

As for why it’s mezza in the second example, this isn’t because it needs to agree with the gender of the noun in the sentence.

In fact, dictionaries tell us it’s always more correct to use mezzo regardless (although many Italians themselves find this rule confusing.)

But, in this case, as the language guardians at Italy’s Accademia della Crusca explain, mezza may (if you prefer) be used instead of mezzo when we already know the time, or at least the hour, being talked about.

So if you had earlier told someone an event would start at 8pm, but it’s now been delayed by half an hour, you could then say:

Comincerà alle otto e mezza

But if you’re inviting someone for the first time, you’d probably stick to:

Alle otto e mezzo

This can be a lot to remember when you’re in the middle of a conversation, but with practice you’ll soon get a feel for which word sounds right in which context. 

Do you have an Italian word you’d like us to feature? If so, please email us with your suggestion.

Make sure you don’t miss any of our Italian words and expressions of the day: download our new app (available on Apple and Android) and then selecting the Italian Word of the Day in your Notification options via the User button.

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