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LA BELLA VITA

La Bella Vita: Pasta, coffee, and the signs you’re becoming Italian

From how your eating habits become more Italian (without you even realising it) to the best ways to prepare and drink coffee, our new weekly newsletter La Bella Vita offers you an essential starting point for eating, talking, drinking and living like an Italian.

La Bella Vita: Pasta, coffee, and the signs you're becoming Italian
Moving to Italy often means a different lifestyle - and changing habits. Photo by Gabriella Clare Marino on Unsplash

La Bella Vita is our regular look at the real culture of Italy – from language to cuisine, manners to art. This new newsletter will be published weekly and you can receive it directly to your inbox, by going to newsletter preferences in ‘My Account’ or follow the instructions in the newsletter box below.

The longer you spend in Italy, the more you might find yourself adapting to Italian culture in ways you didn’t expect. For Brits like me, that might mean swapping your tea with milk for black espresso. For Americans it could be that your tastebuds have slowly become less accustomed to spicy foods (good tacos are, sadly, hard to find in Italy). And you’ve heard all about the tomatoes, but are you eating more lentils yet?

Once you find yourself eating pasta on an almost daily basis and reacting to the idea of fast food with a heartfelt ‘che schifo!’ you’ll know there’s really no going back. These are just some of the eating and drinking habits you might see change over time:

17 ways your eating and drinking habits change when you live in Italy

With all that pasta in mind, if you want to make sure your favourite recipe is executed in truly flawless Italian style we’ve got some expert advice on nailing the technique for saucing all of your pasta dishes correctly every time – and there’s more to it than you might expect.

Ask an Italian: How do you sauce pasta properly?

And then there’s the coffee. Whether you prefer yours from an espresso machine or the iconic stovetop moka coffee pot – personally I find it hard to pick a favourite – everyone who’s spent even a short time in Italy knows there’s an art to preparing and drinking coffee all’italiana

This rich tradition comes with a set of rules and norms that can be hard to navigate if you weren’t born in the country, so here’s our complete guide to where, when and how to drink coffee like a true Italian.

Where, when and how to drink coffee like an Italian

A shot of dark, velvety coffee is more than just a quick caffeine hit: Italy’s espresso is a prized social and cultural ritual the country considers a part of its national heritage. (Photo by Alberto PIZZOLI / AFP)

The weather has taken a turn for the worse this week and many parts of northern Italy are experiencing freezing temperatures and snow. It sounds obvious now, but before I moved to Italy I didn’t realise just how bitterly cold it gets, and my first winter in Tuscany was a bit of a shock. Luckily, Italians from around the peninsula share a love of talking – or complaining – about cold and wet weather so there were plenty of people ready to commiserate.

Here are ten Italian phrases you can throw into your weather-related conversations during these chilly days:

Ten phrases to talk about cold and wet weather in Italian

And have you noticed how some Italian translations of English-language film titles bear very little resemblance to the original? I first realised this when an Italian friend told me how they always watched something called ‘Mamma ho perso l’aereo’ at Christmas, and described the plot, which sounded identical to that of Home Alone…

From the very literal to the improbable, here’s a non-exhaustive list of our favourite Italian movie title translations.

Puns and plot spoilers: How English movie titles are translated into Italian

Remember if you’d like to have this weekly newsletter sent straight to your inbox you can sign up for it via Newsletter preferences in “My Account”.

Is there an aspect of the Italian way of life you’d like to see us write more about on The Local? Please email me at [email protected].

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LA BELLA VITA

La Bella Vita: Italy’s city tourist taxes and key Italian vocabulary for dining out

From knowing how much ‘tourist tax’ you’ll need to pay when visiting Italian destinations this summer to mastering essential Italian words and phrases for dining out, our weekly newsletter La Bella Vita offers you an essential starting point for eating, talking, drinking and living like an Italian.

La Bella Vita: Italy’s city tourist taxes and key Italian vocabulary for dining out

La Bella Vita is our regular look at the real culture of Italy – from language to cuisine, manners to art. This newsletter is published weekly and you can receive it directly to your inbox, by going to newsletter preferences in ‘My Account’ or following the instructions in the newsletter box below.

The summer months are by far the busiest time of year in Italy as millions of visitors travel to the peninsula from all over the world to explore its so-called citta’ d’arte (‘art cities’, including Rome, Florence and Venice), beach resorts or natural parks. 

But whether you’re staying in a big city, a seaside holiday spot, or a mountain resort, if you’re one of the 216 million tourists expected in the country this summer, there’s a good chance you’ll have to pay a local ‘tourist tax’ on top of your accommodation bill. 

The fee, which is used by local authorities to offset the costs of public services, is a frequent source of confusion for tourists as not all cities apply it, and those that do tend to vary their rates by type and star rating of accommodation, time of year or location.

As some cities plan to raise their tourist taxes this summer, we’ve looked at the rates (and exemptions) you can expect in Italy’s most popular destinations.

Tourist tax: How much is it increasing in Italy’s cities this year?

Besides an Italian nonna’s homemade cooking and the sagre food festivals cropping up in the warm months, dining out is arguably the best way to explore Italy’s famous cuisine. 

Generally speaking, waiting staff at most restaurants in big cities and holiday hotspots tend to have at least some basic knowledge of English, meaning you should be able to order your meal in inglese without a hitch.

But that’s not the case everywhere in the country.

Whether you’re dealing with staff with a cosi’ cosi’ command of English, or are simply eager to test out your Italian speaking skills, there is some essential vocabulary that’s well worth getting familiar with.

From prenotare un tavolo (booking a table) to pagare il conto (paying the bill), here are some key words and phrases to memorise before your next restaurant meal in Italy.

The essential vocabulary you’ll need to dine out in Italy

People eat in a restaurant in the Murazzi by the Po River, on May 8, 2024 in Turin.

Diners at a restaurant along the Po River in Turin. Photo by MARCO BERTORELLO / AFP

Speaking of paying the bill, Italian restaurants have some peculiar norms around squaring the books which can occasionally catch foreign visitors off guard – or even cause them offence in some cases. 

From where and how to pay to the controversial coperto charge and the tip/no tip dilemma, here’s an overview of what to do (and what not to do) for a stress-free experience next time you’re paying the bill in Italy.

What to do (and avoid) when paying a restaurant bill in Italy

If you’d like to have this weekly newsletter sent straight to your inbox you can sign up for it via Newsletter preferences in “My Account”.

Is there an aspect of the Italian way of life you’d like to see us write more about on The Local? Please email me at [email protected].

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