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LA BELLA VITA

La Bella Vita: Secret places in Milan and making the perfect moka coffee

From visiting Milan's hidden treasures to getting the best out of your trusty Italian moka pot, our weekly newsletter La Bella Vita offers you an essential starting point for eating, talking, drinking and living like an Italian.

La Bella Vita: Secret places in Milan and making the perfect moka coffee
An Italian moka coffee pot. Photo by Thanos Amoutzias 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.

Summer finally seems to be on the way, and we’re more than ready for gelato, dining all’aperto, and long days at the beach. But summer in Italy also means unbearable crowds, particularly if you want to do some sightseeing on a trip to any major city.

Milan isn’t always known for its artistic cachet, but the city has its fair share of tourist destinations which get extremely crowded during the warmer months: take the Duomo and Castello Sforzesco to name just two examples.

If you’d rather skip the long queues and dodge the selfie-stick waving crowds, there are plenty of other options which we think are just as interesting to visit.

Here are six of the northern city’s lesser-known attractions where you can soak up some culture and escape the tourist crush:

Six ‘secret’ places in Milan you need to visit

If you love Italian cuisine but don’t live in Italy, you won’t need us to tell you how difficult it can be to find Italian food abroad that passes as authentic.

Some readers rejoiced at the recent news that the Italian minister for ‘agriculture and food sovereignty’ had proposed the creation of an official ranking system for Italian restaurants abroad.

There’s no doubt that sourcing quality raw ingredients, never mind finding acceptable restaurant versions of classic dishes, is generally a challenge.

Luckily though, the ratings system proposed by the agriculture minister already exists. And there are a few other things you could try if you’re craving well-executed Italian classics, but can’t make it back to Italy just yet:

EXPLAINED: How do you find good Italian food abroad?

Tracking down a good Italian restaurant abroad is not always easy. Photo by Gabriella Clare Marino on Unsplash

And who doesn’t appreciate the classic Italian design of the Bialetti moka coffee pot?

This little gadget became an essential part of the morning routine for many Italian families after its invention in the 1930s and, if you live in Italy, chances are there’s at least one in your kitchen right now. But do you know how to get the best possible coffee out of it?

Opinions on the best way to use the moka pot vary in Italy and this can, unsurprisingly, be the subject of heated debate. But here’s what the experts had to say on the subject:

How to make the perfect Italian moka coffee at home

Though lots of popular English sayings are largely similar (or even identical) to their Italian equivalents, this is not always the case.

In fact, some Italian translations of famous English idioms can leave language learners perplexed.

From full barrels and drunk wives to catching fish in the morning, here are some of the creative ways in which the Italian language expresses the sentiments behind familiar English sayings:

REVEALED: The Italian versions of 11 famous English sayings

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? 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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