From making the most of Italy’s cultural highlights this summer to navigating the surprising complexity of a pizza order, our weekly newsletter La Bella Vita offers you an essential starting point for eating, talking, drinking and living like an Italian.
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.
Of course, you’ve come to Italy to eat. And a real Italian pizza is no doubt near the top of the list of most people’s priorities – whether that’s a pizza napolitana or pizza romana.
The former is the more traditional version (the dish did, after all, originate in Naples, which in 2017 was awarded UNESCO heritage status for its pizza-making process), and has a thicker, more elastic dough. The latter is thinner and crispier.
And once you’ve decided on that, you’ll be faced with plenty more choices at any good pizzeria in Italy – some of which come as a surprise to first-time visitors.
We’ve put together five simple tips on ordering pizza confidently in Italy, whatever your preferences are.
Five key tips for ordering pizza in Italy
If you’re planning a trip to Italy this summer and have already mastered the basics of the Italian language, how’s your transport-related vocabulary?
As well as the basics, there are some less obvious travel-related words and phrases that are likely to trip visitors up; from the correct word for a ride in a taxi to key phrases for deciphering public transport timetables.
Advertisement
At the very least, you’ll feel more confident while travelling when you know exactly what the difference is between a few of the more often-confused words.
How many do you already know? And are there any more you’d add to this list? We’d love to hear what you think.
The key Italian words you won’t want to mix up when travelling
Have you ever been to the Palio di Siena? If you haven’t, you’ve probably still heard of it.
It’s one of the most famous horse races in the world, with the Tuscan town’s 17 contrade, or neighbourhoods, competing against each other in the main Piazza del Campo.
The Palio takes place twice a year, on July 2nd and August 16th, and it’s one of the biggest summer cultural events in the country.
But if you’re not planning to be in Siena, there are plenty of other exciting events happening around Italy throughout July. We’ve listed some of our favourites in the article below.
What’s on in Italy: 10 of the best events to look forward to this July
Advertisement
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 us at news@thelocal.it.