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LEARNING ITALIAN

The essential vocabulary you’ll need for autumn in Italy

If you're spending the autumn months in Italy, there are some key words and phrases you'll want to add to your repertoire.

Published: 28 September 2023 16:09 CEST
The essential vocabulary you'll need for autumn in Italy
A view of Rome's Tiber river in November 2012. Photo by TIZIANA FABI / AFP

Foglie

Autumn is arguably one of the best times to visit Italy. 

And that’s not simply because it’s when the summer heat wanes and the most popular attractions become less crowded, but also because landscapes get a breathtaking new look as the foglie (leaves) turn dark red, orange and yellow.

Fa fresco!

One of the best ways to strike up a conversation with an Italian, whether that be a neighbour, a colleague or simply a fellow queuer at the local pasticceria (pastry shop), is to comment on the weather. 

And for this time of the year, fa fresco (‘it’s chilly’) is the phrase you’ll likely need the most.

READ ALSO: Seven reasons autumn is the best time to visit Italy

But if you’re looking to use the expression like a true local, make sure you say it with a look of surprise and slight apprehension painted across your face, almost as if you’d never seen temperatures drop in autumn before. 

Colpo d’aria

The autumn months in Italy have many delights, but this time of year also brings its own particular dangers, at least according to Italians.

In fact, you may find yourself being warned about the colpo d’aria, the dreaded ‘blast’ of cold air which Italians invariably identify as the main cause of all sorts of physical maladies experienced in autumn, from a stiff neck to a back sprain to an upset stomach.

As temperatures start to drop, people in Italy wrap up warm to avoid the so-called ‘colpo d’aria’. Photo by Vincenzo PINTO / AFP

And if you pay heed to Italian grandmas’ lore, failing to wrap up warm as soon as temperatures drop below 20C, leaving the house with capelli bagnati (wet hair) and opening a window while sweaty are all common ways to fall victim to the infamous colpo.

Cambio armadio

The summer-to-autumn wardrobe switch is serious business in Italy, as people around the country scramble around the house for entire weekends to see to the lofty task. 

Out go shorts, short-sleeved shirts and tees, flip-flops and sandals; in come felpe (sweatshirts), maglioni (jumpers), pantaloni lunghi (long trousers) and giacche a vento (windbreakers). 

READ ALSO: Why the great autumn wardrobe switch is serious business in Italy

The maglia della salute (literally ‘health shirt’), a wool-blend or lace-trimmed vest largely considered as the most tried-and-tested defence against the colpo d’aria, also makes a reappearance. 

Scampagnata 

Autumn is the time of the year where people around the country collectively rediscover the pleasures of the scampagnata (literally ‘countryside wandering’), a weekend trip out of town that’s far more than just a break from the hustle and bustle of daily life.

READ ALSO: ‘La scampagnata’: What it is and how to do it the Italian way

Most locals see scampagnate as a golden opportunity to explore nearby rural areas and discover lesser-known sites in the company of family or friends, but also as a chance – or perhaps an excuse – to feast on local specialties in traditional taverns and trattorias. 

Italy, countryside

Trips to the countryside, or ‘scampagnate’, are one of Italians’ favourite weekend activities in the autumn months. Photo by MARCO BERTORELLO / AFP

Ottobrata

While October and November are the rainiest time of year for most Italian regions, this doesn’t mean that the country lies in a permanent state of gloom and darkness for the entire autumn season. 

In fact, spells of sunny weather and generally warm temperatures are so frequent in October that there’s even a name for them: ottobrate. 

And, of course, an ottobrata is just about the perfect time to go on a scampagnata.

Sagra

The autumn months are the best time of the year to attend a sagra, a type of harvest festival or fair centred around one particular food or drink item local to the town hosting it.

red chili peppers at food stand

Autumn is the best time of the year to attend one of Italy’s countless local food festivals, or ‘sagre’. Photo by ANDREAS SOLARO / AFP

Sagre around the country don’t follow a precise format: they could last for several weeks or one day, and might consist of anything from raucous celebrations with music and dancing to more relaxed tasting experiences amid food stalls and wooden benches.

But what all events have in common is the focus on fresh local produce, and the assurance that you won’t leave unsated.

Zucche, funghi and castagne

Italian cuisine is very much rooted in fresh seasonal produce, which means that as seasons change, some dishes and recipes are temporarily put to one side, while some others make a welcome reappearance. 

Zucche (pumpkins), funghi (mushrooms) and castagne (chestnuts) are all staples of Italians’ diet as well as restaurant menus in autumn as they are used in a variety of dishes, from main courses (pumpkin risotto, mushroom tagliatelle) to sides (polenta and mushrooms, roasted pumpkin) to desserts (chestnut flour cake, pumpkin pie).

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FAMILY

‘Not easy, but worth it’: The ups and downs of raising bilingual kids in Italy

Foreigners living and raising children in Italy often want them to become native speakers of at least two languages. We asked those who’ve done it to share their tips and experiences.

Published: 7 May 2024 16:39 CEST
Updated: 11 May 2024 08:17 CEST
‘Not easy, but worth it’: The ups and downs of raising bilingual kids in Italy

Foreign residents in Italy with children understandably spend a lot of time thinking about how to best make their offspring bilingual.

The Local asked parents in Italy about their experiences with raising children to speak more than one language, and many say they believe that raising their children to be bilingual or multilingual will give them advantages in life.

“When I was pregnant with my first son back in 2018, I read as many books as I could,” Stefanie Mellano, a freelance translator and UK national with Italian heritage tells The Local. 

Stefanie, who lives in Piedmont, said she flicked endlessly through the pages of ‘Bringing up a Bilingual Child’ by Rita Rosenback and ‘Maximize Your Child’s Bilingual Ability’ by Adam Beck before her now five-year-old son was born.

She follows a method called ‘one parent one language’, also known as OPOL. She speaks in English and her partner in Italian. The two parents speak to one another in Italian however. 

“The books gave me great ideas and advice that I was raring to put into action,” she adds.

“Now the reality isn’t quite as easy as that, and I’ll tell you why.”

READ ALSO: ‘Kids are adored here’: What parenting in Italy is really like

Stefanie says dinnertime conversations are “funny”. Her partner understands what she is saying when she speaks in English to their son and he will contribute in Italian. Their son will mostly respond to them in Italian with a few words in English.

“When my son was younger, I was confident that he understood (and still does) everything I say, precisely because I never explain anything in Italian and I’ve always spoken English to him. He also would speak some English back to me. 

“That became more difficult once he started preschool and I would say that now the main challenge is getting him to speak English to me. 

“It’s hard trying to find a balance between letting him express himself and having him actually talk to me and tell me about his day or whatever he wants to talk about, and trying to get that out of him in English.

“However, we’ve always read books in English and when he started watching television, we made a rule that he could only watch it in English.”

READ ALSO: ‘Very underfunded, very strict’: What readers think of Italy’s schools

When asked if their efforts have been worth it, she answers a resounding ‘yes’, adding that her son switches to English completely when he goes abroad to visit family and friends in the UK. She adds that, when her partner goes away for work, her son speaks more English too. 

“He comes out with perfect sentences that make me want to cry with happiness,” she says.

Her biggest piece of advice is to never resort to the other language even if you are explaining something. 

Stefanie also has a one-year-old son. “He’s too little to speak yet, but he does wave when I ask him to say bye to daddy,” she says.

While Stefanie’s experience so far has been largely positive, the same cannot be said for Paru Agarwal, an interior designer who lives in Milan.

Paru got in touch via a post on Facebook group Mothers of Milan. Her native language is Hindi whilst her husband’s is Italian. 

She wanted to raise her children speaking English, Hindi and Italian, but the road was not easy. She suggested that she speak in Hindi to their first born, her husband speak in Italian, and that they speak to one another in English.

“He did not quite support my approach believing that it’s too confusing for the little baby. 

A father reading to his son in English. Photo by JOHANNES EISELE / AFP.

“In a very Italian environment surrounded by all Italians only around me, I tried my best speaking in Hindi with my daughter,” she says.

She said her in-laws made the transition in speaking both languages harder as they’d come over to help out and asked Paru to translate into Italian what she said to her daughter in Hindi. On the birth of their second child, the pair eventually decided to teach their children Italian and English first of all. 

“Today my kids are aged 8 and 7, and while their English is excellent and fluent, they need another year before their accent becomes neutral,” Paru says.

She also mentions she’s started sprinkling a bit of Hindi into their conversations too.

“In my experience of this, I’ve learnt not to listen to ignorance and do what you feel is best even if no one supports you,” she adds.

“I felt drained at first, but now things are looking better.”

READ MORE: ‘Being bilingual has made me a more creative writer’

For some parents, such as Francesca Grilli and her husband, raising their eight-year-old daughter to be bilingual in Italian and English makes sense in the global context.

Francesca, a managing director and partner of a technology firm, says speaking English will create an abundance of opportunities. Both she and her husband are Italian.

“We’ve travelled extensively and we have friends all over the world,” she tells The Local. 

“We believe our daughter shouldn’t feel excluded from conversations with our English speaking friends and their children.”

Francesca lived abroad for a period in her teens and focused on perfecting her English since. 

“We never followed a method with our child,” she mentioned. “We don’t want to force anything on her and we teach her English as another way of expressing herself rather than an achievement.”

“Overall, I see raising a child to be bilingual as something positive.”

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