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LA BELLA VITA

La Bella Vita: Italian vocabulary for autumn and the best seasonal food fairs to visit

From understanding the language used to talk about autumn in Italy to sampling the best of the season's produce, our weekly newsletter La Bella Vita offers you an essential starting point for eating, talking, drinking and living like an Italian.

La Bella Vita: Italian vocabulary for autumn and the best seasonal food fairs to visit
Grapes pictured in Tuscany's Chianti Classico region. Autumn is the perfect time to visit Italy's local wine and food fairs. (Photo by FABIO MUZZI / AFP)

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: go to newsletter preferences in ‘My Account’ or follow the instructions in the newsletter box below.

It might not feel much like it at the moment, with unusually warm temperatures for this time of year across Italy and other parts of Europe, but it is technically autumn now – and that means we have plenty to look forward to in the coming weeks.

A packed calendar of food festivals and cultural events, perfect sightseeing weather, few crowds, and pretty autumnal landscapes are all on the cards, and these are just some of the reasons why we think the period between October and November might just be the very best time of year to visit, or travel within, Italy.

In case you need any more excuses to book a trip, here’s why we think you really should:

Six reasons autumn is the best time to visit Italy

An essential part of any autumn weekend in Italy is of course a visit to a local sagra: these traditional, food-centred festivals held in villages all over the country usually showcase one particular local delicacy, which can be anything from wine to porcini mushrooms, truffles, roasted chestnuts, and chocolate.

(Photo by MIGUEL MEDINA / AFP)

You’ll find every small town or village in your region is likely to have its own sagra, and they’re often worth travelling further afield for, too.

By their nature, these events are for locals and aren’t usually geared towards tourists (though we are warned that some of the more commercial events aren’t entirely ‘authentic’), which is a bonus as it means you’ll be able to immerse yourself in the culture and practice speaking Italian as you sample all the local produce.

To help you make the most of the coming weekends, here’s a roundup of some of the very best sagre happening up and down the country throughout the next month. If you have a favourite local event we’d love to hear about it in the comments section below this article:

Sagra: The best Italian food festivals to visit in October

And in Italy as elsewhere, one of the best ways to strike up a casual conversation is by commenting on the weather.

From complaining about the cold (when it eventually arrives) to talking in more detail about seasonal changes, and understanding the particularly Italian habits and sometimes surprising beliefs associated with this time of year, here’s a look at some of the essential Italian words and phrases you’ll need to be able to use and understand.

The essential vocabulary you’ll need for autumn in Italy

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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