Author: David Cox

Rome is unique. With most historical cities, there are eras when the city was a dominant force. Venice rose to power as a merchant and military powerhouse starting around the 9th century. The art and architecture of Venice is demonstrative of that time period. Their dominance slowly faded when their status as a merchant city was lessened by the Age of Discovery beginning in the 15th Century. At that time, Europe no longer needed to send goods from Asia through the ports of Venice and instead could simply sail to where the goods were produced rather than count on a series of merchants that controlled a portion of a trade route. As a result, places like Amsterdam, with the Dutch East India Company, flourished while Venice faded.

In Florence, the history of the city revolves around the renaissance. Florence rose to prominence around the 14th century, mainly because of the wool trade, and remained a dominant force in Italy for a couple of centuries. Driven by the wealth of the powerful Medici family, the art and architecture of Florence displayed today are dominated by works from that time frame.

Rome however, rose to prominence in the 3rd century BC, more than a millennium before Venice. Rome not only became the center of a huge empire that lasted centuries, but they also later became the center of the Catholic church. Rome is also the modern capital of Italy. Because of this, Rome has layers of history, with art that goes back to the Roman Empire and continues through the Renaissance and into the modern age. There is so much history, everywhere that you just stumble across it while wandering the streets. It’s practically a museum that people live in.

Attractions

Parco Archeologico

Many of the remnants of the Roman Empire reside in one location, the Parco Archeologico del Colosseo. This includes the Colosseum, the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill. We might also be able to see the remnants of Circus Maximus which you might remember from the chariot races in Ben Hur.

According to legend, Rome was founded by twin brothers around 750 BC named Romulus and Remus. They were supposedly raised by a she-wolf who does appear in many Roman works of art. The founding of Rome was at Palatine Hill and many wealthy Romans lived there during the Republican Era (509 BC to 44 BC). It’s no surprise that so many important buildings such as the Forum, the Circus Maximus, and the Colosseum were built in and around Palatine Hill.

There are different types of tickets you can buy at Parco Archeologico, but the start at 18 Euros.

The Vatican

The Vatican is obviously the worldwide headquarters of the Catholic Church. But, in my opinion, it’s surprisingly new. St Peter’s Basilica wasn’t completed until 1626. The Sistine Chapel was built by Pope Sixtus IV and completed in 1481. Michelangelo painted the ceiling from 1508 to 1512. The Vatican didn’t even become it’s own country until 1929.

What most people visit when they go to the Vatican is the Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel. This is likely to be wall to wall people, but the Vatican is packed with amazing pieces of art, scientific exhibits, and maps dating back thousands of years. A lot of the exhibits are from the Renaissance to the present, but there are a surprising amount of secular pieces from the early days of Rome.

My favorite parts of the Vatican Museums was the map room and the Raphael Rooms which feature Raphael’s artwork commissioned by Pope Julius II. Raphael did some amazing work in those rooms, with one of his most famous frescoes “The School of Athens” being one of the pieces.

The Sistine Chapel is also amazing, but you aren’t allowed to take pictures and you basically have to stand in a square and stare at the ceiling, so that can be a little disappointing.

The Pantheon

The Pantheon was commissioned by the emperor Hadrian in AD 126 as a temple to all the Gods. Nearly 2 millennia after its construction, it remains the world’s largest unsupported concrete dome.

In 609 AD, the Catholic church didn’t like all those pagan gods and renovated the Pantheon into the Basilica of St Mary and the Martyrs. Tickets for the Pantheon cost 5 Euros.

Trevi Fountain

Trevi Fountain is a baroque fountain designed by Nicola Salvi and completed in 1762. You are allowed to throw coins in the fountain and the coins are collected and donated to a Catholic charity. You are absolutely not allowed to strip down and bathe in the Trevi Fountain – I won’t make that mistake twice.

Spanish Steps

There is a lot of talk in travel blogs and videos about visiting the Spanish Steps, and I’m not sure I get it. Pope Gregory XIII first envisioned a set of stairs that connected the Piazza di Spagna to Trinita dei Monte church in the 1580s. A french diplomat left money for the construction of the stairs when he died in 1660 and the stairs were finally completed in 1725. So yeah, 145 years to build steps.

Apparently, it’s illegal with a penalty of 400 euros to sit on the steps and if you attempt it people will whistle at you to get you to stop. Anyway, it’s pretty close to our Airbnb and also close to a subway station, so we might end up going past this a few times.

Piazza Navona

Piazza Navona is a large Piazza built on the site of the Stadium of Domitian. Because of that, it is a large oval shape. It has three main fountains and a lot of restaurants. It’s just a relaxing, beautiful place. They have excavated a portion of the Stadium of Domitian under the Piazza, so you can see a little of that it was like, or you can just sit down at a cafe and enjoy a beer.

Food

Gnocchi

Gnocchi is a Thursday tradition in Rome. It’s related to the fact that Catholics don’t eat meat on Fridays during lent, so they think they need to eat something heavy the day before and gnocchi does the job. It sounds like something that should be served at a number of restaurants on Thursdays, and might not be on their regular menu. My knowledge of gnocchi ends at the dry packaged stuff at Aldi, and that’s pretty good, so I’m imagining fresh gnocchi in Rome must be amazing.

Cacio e Pepe

This is one of those dishes that’s too good to be that simple. Its pasta, pecorino cheese and pepper. That’s it. It’s also amazing.

Maritozzo con la panna

Maritozzo con la panna is a sweet brioche style bread, split and then filled with whipped cream. Apparently it’s a big deal in Rome.

Cannoli

If you haven’t had a cannoli by this time in the trip, you’re running out of time.

Craft Beer Near the Vatican

There seem to be a number of places to get craft beer near the entrance to the Vatican, like a siren song luring folks away from the Holy See. Honestly, it’s a little weird considering the lack of real beer bars in Rome. For them all to be located near the entrance to the Vatican seems like the work of, Satan, maybe? Oh well, best not to think about it.

• Birreria Martini Esperienza Tedesca – German themed Restaurant with a very Italian name
• Be.Re. + Trapizzino – Gastropub with 24 taps, if it’s been a week or two since you’ve had a proper stout, this might be the place to get it.
• Angrypig Birretta e Porchetta – It’s really a sandwich shop, but in a photo on Google, it shows a really impressive bottle collection of hard to find beers, specifically Belgian ales.
• Aeternum Beer Shop Roma – Sandwich shop/pizza, but with a really impressive tap list.

Would you like to visit a swamp filled with a bunch of people who get drunk and dress in costumes right before having to cleanse themselves for Lent? No I’m not talking about New Orleans, I’m talking about real debauchery, Venice!

Carnival began in Venice to celebrate a military victory in 1162. They enjoyed the party so much that they began to hold it annually and the celebration changed to be a pre-Lent sinful blowout. In fact, the masks that people associate with Carnival were worn to facilitate anonymous trysts as well as trips to brothels and casinos.

We are visiting in November, not February so keep those masks off and those pants on!

Getting Around Venice

Venice was laid out by Satan himself. It’s an absolute shit show. Literally all of the buildings seem to be dropped at random. Any place where there is a decent space between buildings is called a Campo, which serve as plazas.

There are addresses in Venice, but the numbers aren’t always sequential or frankly even logical.

Campos are pretty much the best way to identify where you’re at. If you say “I’m near Campo San Polo” that might be understood, but if you say I’m at 3433 Dorsoduro that may be the address, but it’s completely meaningless, because, you know, designed by Satan.

So you might be asking “Why are we going to a swamp, where it’s impossible to find anything and it’s filled with a bunch of drunken sex perverts?” Good question, and the answer is “Because it’s awesome!”

Attractions

St Mark’s Basilica and St Mark’s Square

Unlike the Duomo in Florence, St Mark’s Basilica has a distinctively Byzantine Style because the Byzantine Empire ruled over the region off and on over many centuries.

The Basilica was built in 828 and was built to house the body of St Mark. His body had been stolen and moved from Alexandria, Egypt. Apparently the head of St Mark the Evangelist remains in Alexandria because, I don’t know, maybe the skull just fell out of the thief’s hands when he was walking and he just couldn’t pick it up. I mean, who does that? Steals his body and then leaves the head? Anyway, the church looks cool, even if they only have like 90% of a saint interred there.

There is also a campanile which is 323 feet tall. It was rebuilt in 1912 after the previous campanile had collapsed a decade earlier.

Tickets to visit the Basilica are free, you can purchase skip the line tickets, but I don’t know if that is necessary in the off-season. I would like to visit this and climb the campanile if possible, we did not do this the last time we were in Venice.

Doge’s Palace

The Doge was the name given to the leader of Venice from the 7th Century all the way up to 1797 when Napoleon Bonaparte ended the reign of the last Doge, Ludovicio Manin. As you can expect from the leader of one of the most opulent cities in the world at the time, this is an enormous palace with lots and lots of art and other grandiose displays of wealth.

Tickets to the Doge’s Palace run around 30 Euros.

Rialto Bridge

Rialto Bridge is an iconic bridge spanning the grand canal in Venice. The Rialto Bridge is near our Airbnb, so we will cross it multiple times. There also is a market nearby called Rialto market that we should visit.

Leonardo Da Vinci Museum

Okay, this isn’t a huge attractions for Venice, but I’ve always been interested in Leonardo Da Vinci and they have an exhibit of his inventions, sketches, etc. The cost to get in is 9 euros. More information here

Murano Island – Glass Blowing

Murano Island is well known for it’s industry of craft glass blowing. There are several glass shops and glass factories on the island. Many of them have demonstrations. One unique place on the island is The Glass Cathedral which is an old cathedral that has been converted into an events center. They also do glass blowing demonstrations that take around 25 minutes and cost 14 euros.

Food

Cicchetti

Cicchetti is a term used for small finger foods. They are often sold at wine bars known as enotecas or bacari. We went to Archicchetti Bakaro the last time we were in Venice and it was definitely a favorite of the locals. Very good. We ate crostini which are little open faced sandwiches similar to bruschetta.

Cicchetti can be found all over Venice, especially at wine bars, You will also find little crustless sandwiches named tramezzini, croquettes, and even salted mashed cod formed into balls called baccalà mantecato (looks like a better version of canned tuna fish)

Risotto

Have you ever watched 12 hours straight of the Food Network and convinced yourself that Squid Ink Risotto sounds delicious? Well now is your chance to try it! You’ll find it all over Venice on the menu as Risotto Al Nero di Seppia. Honestly, you will see a lot of squid ink dishes on menus, and they will all be labeled with ‘Nero di Seppia’.

I’ll stick with vegetable risotto known as risotto primavera. There is a similar dish known as Risi e Bisi which translates as rice and peas which is more of a thick soup.

Places to Eat

• Mare Magno – This place has 4.9 stars on Google (370+ reviews). It’s a little pasta restaurant on the Grand Canal run by a couple. Maybe 6 dishes, mainly pasta, that change daily on the menu, around 15 euros a plate, open 1-3 and 7:30-10. I assume you need to be there at 1 or 7:30.
• Antico Forno – Pizza near our Airbnb, and the Rialto bridge. Known for it’s Sicilian style thick crust pizza, but also has a traditional thin crust.
• Archicchetti Bakaro – This is where we tried cicchetti when we were in Venice last time. There were so many locals there, I have to believe its one of the best. Bonus – they had Birra Morretti Rossa on tap. Oh and its very cheap.
• Al Merca – A little wine bar that has a ton of little 2 euro sandwiches.

The Vaporetto

The Vaporetto is the only form of public transportation on the islands in Venice. They travel around the outside of the main cluster of islands in Venice as well as through the Grand Canal. They also connect the main part of Venice with other islands such as Murano, Burano, and Lido. A map of the main lines of the Vaporetto can be found here.

We should be able to buy Vaporetto tickets at the train station. Ticket prices for the Vaporetto depend on how long you want the ticket.

• 60 minute pass – 7.50 Euros
• 24 hour pass – 20 Euros
• 48 hour pass – 30 Euros
• 72 hour pass – 40 Euros
• 7 day pass – 60 Euros

I know we are only in Venice for a few days so we will have to make a decision about whether we want to spend the entire time in the main cluster of islands or if we want to venture off using the Vaporetto. I did find some interesting places on other islands if we choose to go wandering off.

• Murano Island – glass blowing factories, shops, demonstrations
• Lido Island – It’s likely too cold to really enjoy this, but its the beach area for Venice, there are a number of beachfront bars, such as Bluemoon Spiaggia Lido di Venezia
• Guidecca – Skyline Rooftop bar, on the roof of the Hilton Milano Stucky. This looks a bit bougie, but the views of Venice would be pretty amazing

We are going to be heading to Cinque Terre after the tourist season is over, so this is going to make things perhaps a little trickier but perhaps better? I would expect that we won’t be waiting in any lines and we won’t be fighting crowds but the trains only run once an hour during the off-season and some of the stores and restaurants will be closed, unfortunately.

What is Cinque Terre?

Cinque Terre is actually a national park and a UNESCO world heritage site. It consists of 5 Italian villages that are perched over the Mediterranean Sea. In order along the train from La Spezia those towns are:

• Riomaggiore
• Manarola
• Corniglia
• Vernazza
• Monterroso Al Mare

Villages of Cinque Terre

Riomaggiore

The first town on the list is Riomaggiore. Cinque Terre is well known for the wine produced in the area. The most famous wine from the region is Sciacchetra, a sweet, strong wine made from grapes that have been slightly dried over 50 days.

I wanted to try to get a tasting/tour at Terre Di Bargon but they only offer that on certain days and we weren’t going to be there at the right time. I think we might be able to see if they’re open for a glass of wine, but their website is not helpful. Either way, we should be able to try a glass of Sciacchetra in any number of wine bars throughout Cinque Terre.

If it’s early we can head to a bar for a cappuccino, because bars usually are open for coffee in the morning.

Manarola

Manarola is the second town as we head north. We will have to get off the train and into a tunnel for a walk to the town. Manarola has a small church built in 1338, Chiesa di San Lorezno. There is basically one main road that snakes through the town with restaurants, bars and shopping along it.

There is one offshoot road that goes north along the coast and leads to an overlook and a restaurant that I would really like to visit. Nessun Dorma is well known for their pesto, tagliere (charcuterie), and especially bruschetta. It has an amazing view of the sea from the terrazzo. Their hours are super short from 4:30 PM to 7 PM or 8 PM depending on the day, so this might not work out.

Corniglia

I suspect it is going to be difficult to do all of the towns in one day, and I assumed we would have to skip one or two. This is one I think we would want to skip. I didn’t find anything that made me think we had to go. But the number one reason not to go is the ridiculous number of steps from the train station to the town. It looks a little strenuous.

Vernazza

Vernazza is going to be super accessible as the train station is right smack dab in the center of town. While we definitely should visit as many enotecas (wine bars) as possible in Cinque Terre, there is a funky bar called the Monkey Artpub that I’d like to pop in for a visit.

The marina in Vernazza looks pretty awesome and has the Chiesa di Santa Margarita di Antioch right on it. The church is from the 14th century and hopefully the doors will be open and we can peak inside.

The most famous view in Cinque Terre is the view from the hiking trail overlooking the marina in Vernazza. We might manage to sneak up there if we have time.

Monterossa Al Mare

Monterossa Al Mare is the only one of the five towns that has a sandy beach. Like Vernazza, the train station is very close to the center of town and makes it very accessible. This area is much flatter than the other towns and actually has multiple streets rather than one narrow street in a valley. There are quite a few restaurants and shops that are in this town and we can probably just wonder around and see what we see.

Monterossa is separated into two parts by a large hill in between. On top of that hill is a monastery. Walking by the sea will be the best way to get around that hill. The area to the east has more restaurants and shops. The area to the west also has shops, but it also has a giant statue which is interesting.

Order of Operations

So in order to see as much as we can see, I think the optimal way to approach this is probably to go to Riomaggiore in the morning and then skip to Vernazza, then Monterossa Al Mare. If we have time, I would like to head back to Manarola to go to Nessun Dorma.

If we want to really simplify things, I think skipping to Vernazza and then going to Monterossa Al Mare makes sense. Those two towns will probably be the best two to visit.

This place is a major wine region, with a lot of wine styles that can only be experienced in Italy. We should do our best to visit as many enotecas as possible and hopefully get some tips from the store keepers.

We will always have to be mindful of the time, because we are off season in Cinque Terre and the trains will only come once an hour. Since there is a very good chance this turns into a high class pub crawl, someone needs to stay sober enough to get us to the damn trains on time.

In a few hours, you will be landing in Fiumincino “Leonardo Da Vinci” Airport. This airport was named after one of the ninja turtles, who outside of fighting crime in the sewers, also created major artwork around Italy. It is very likely you will be seeing work by Leonardo, Donatello, Michelangelo and Rafael during this trip.

It sounds like you guys will be there before us, but hopefully if everything goes according to plan, we will be meeting around noon.

The signs in the airport will be Italian on top and English below, so you shouldn’t have any issue navigating the airport. I’m not sure about the bathroom signs, but it’s really important to know that Donne means women and Uomini means men.

Once we have met up, and you’ve gotten that coveted Italy passport stamp, we will move to the train station where we will be getting on our train to Florence.

Attractions

The Duomo

Everyone refers to the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore as “the Duomo.” Duomo means “Cathedral” in Italian. The Duomo dominates the skyline in Florence and was completed in 1436. It is 500 feet long 295 feet wide and 295 tall to the base of the lantern.

To visit the crypt of Santa Reparata, the museum, and the baptistery, it costs 15 euros, if you add a trip to the top of a the campanile (tower 414 steps, no elevator) it’s 20 euros. To add the campanile and the top of the Duomo (463 steps, no elevator) it’s 30 euros

For more information visit: https://duomo.firenze.it/en/discover/cathedral

Naked Guys named David

In the Galleria Dell’Academia you will find the original Statue of David by Michelangelo. Other artwork in the Galleria is from the 13th century through the renaissance and contains paintings of Botticelli and statues from Michelangelo.

What is weird about David is that he appears to be uncircumcised, which is an odd choice considering King David’s history with the practice. You see, King Saul offered his daughter Michel’s hand in marriage but he wanted a dowry in exchange. The King was seeking revenge from their Philistine enemies and asked for a different sort of dowry.

He decided to send David and a group of soldiers on what is one of the weirdest scavenger hunts of all time. King Saul asked the young man to go into the Philistine camp and return with the foreskins of 100 Philistines. Being an overachiever, he returned with 200 foreskins. Unfortunately, it is unclear from the King James Version if David told Saul to “Eat a bag of dicks” when he presented Saul with the dowry. You don’t believe me, do you? Fine read it yourself!

Either way, I would assume that David was circumcised based on that Bible story. I also question my Mother’s decision to name me after a prolific penis mutilator.

Tickets to see this historically inaccurate todger cost 20 euros.

There is a replica of the Statue of David in the Piazza Della Signoria if you don’t care if you see the original.

Piazzale Michelangelo

The Piazzale Michelangelo is across the Arno from the main part of the city. It is known for being a beautiful place to view the city and see a sunset. This is probably the furthest point on my list from our Airbnb, but its still only about 2.7 km away. We might need a couple of aperol spritz stops to complete this journey.

Getting Alcohol

We will be embarking on a much more pleasant scavenger hunt. Instead of foreskins, we will be looking for wine windows.

Wine windows were a result of nobles attempting to sell wine during the black plague. Selling wine through windows allowed the seller to socially distance themselves from their clients. There are over 200 of these windows throughout the city and they do allow you to purchase wine through these cute little windows.

Native Wine Varieties

• Chianti is the most famous variety from Tuscany
• Vinsanto is an Italian sweet red wine made from a high sugar must due to drying Trebbiano Toscano and Malvasia Bianca grapes
• Moscadello di Montalcino DOC is similar to Moscato

Most of the wine in Florence will be dry and most of those will be red.

Beer in Italy?

Yes, there is beer in Italy. Thank God. Most common will probably be Birra Morretti, which is an Italian Pilsner. If you can find the Birra Morretti Rossa, get it, it’s delicious. There is also Peroni Navarro Azzurro and Menabrea which are also Pilsners. Navarro Azzurro means “blue ribbon” so Italian PBR?

Also keep in mind bottiglia means bottle and al spina means on tap. Rossa means red, ambrata means amber.

There are a surprising amount of Irish bars in Florence, but if we’re looking for a craft beer bar, we can head to Alibi Craft Beer and Kitchen. 17 taps, not sure if it’s their own or purchased.

Aperitifs and Mixed Drinks

• Aperol Spritz – Aperol, Prosecco, soda and delicious
• Negroni – gin, vermouth, Campari – a classic Italian cocktail
• Lemoncello – had it, don’t remember it, sounds good

Getting Food

Panini

In Florence, everyone raves about the panini. It’s made with Schiacciata bread which is like focaccia but thinner and more chewy. It shouldn’t be too hard to find a sandwich shop, but if we can’t then we need to find Vinaino Fiorenza, which has some great looking sandwiches and vegetarian options.

Pizza

We’re going to eat pizza, this is non-negotiable. Some highly rated pizza shops include Gustapizza, Bondi Le Focaccine, and Antica Figgitoria Dell’Alberto.

Street Food

It won’t be hard to find street food, but Ará é Sicilia looks really interesting if we get a chance for a snack.

Different Kinds of Italian Restaurants

You will notice a few terms on restaurants that identify what kind of restaurant it is. These terms are semi-interchangeable but they do give an indication of what kind of experience that you are likely to have in that restaurant.

• Osterias – Simple rustic restaurants with rotating menus.
• Trattoria – Family restaurants that serve regional cuisines, typically affordable, and no-frills
• Ristorante – A little more high-end, better service, higher end wines, more curated menus
• Enoteca – Wine bar that may have evolved into a restaurant, although it would be a wine forward restaurant.
• Bar – Most bars will serve coffee in the morning, and maybe a pastry. In the afternoon and evening it switches to small bites and alcoholic beverages

For a much better and more complete explanation of this visit curiousappetitetravel.com

Reading an italian Menu

If we do end up in a Ristorante (this can also be true of some Osterias or Trattorias), you will find a little more complex menu then we are used to in the US. Most of the time, the menus will be set up the same, however. The menu will be split into sections.

• Antipasti – Appetizers (like good appetizers, not mozzarella sticks or boneless wings)
• Primi – First Course, typically pasta, risotto, or soup (although soup could be under a section called zuppa)
• Secondi – Second Course, heartier dishes, which could include beef, fish, shellfish, etc.
• Contorni – Side dishes – chances are your Primi and Secondi won’t come with any sides
• Dolci – Dessert
• Digesti – After dinner liquors such as limoncello, grappa (made from grapes), mirto (made from blueberries)

You don’t need to order from all of the sections, you aren’t required to eat a 6 course dinner. Typically I was satisfied by just eating pasta from the Primi menu, considering we eat all day on vacation, but obviously that’s up to how hungry you are. There is a good article on Italian menus at walksofitaly.com.

The Bill/Tipping

As far as tipping is concerned, there will be some fees added to the bill and that will determine whether it is customary to tip. If there is a coperto only (sitting fee), you should perhaps round up your bill, but you’ll need to tell the server that before they take your payment. If there is a servizio added, they already took your tip, and you can just pay the bill.

One other thing, a lot of restaurants will put a basket of bread on your table, don’t be surprised if it shows up on your bill. It shouldn’t if you don’t eat it, and it might be complementary, but I wouldn’t expect to eat free bread.

Pretty much at any restaurant in Europe, water isn’t free and it’s not tap water. If you ask for water, they will ask you if you want still or carbonated and they will bring you a bottle.

Oh yeah, and you might have to tackle the waiter in order to get another beer or your bill, they will pretty much leave you alone unless you want something. Once you do manage to tackle your server, don’t expect them to split the bill for us, apparently that’s not a thing in Italy. We will have to have one person pay and split it ourselves.

Special Food Terms

IGP – means Indicative of Geographic Province, which is a term indicating a product that is only produced in a specific region. You’ll see this on salamis and cheeses

DOC – means Denominazione di Origine Controllata or in English, Controlled Designation of Origin -basically the same thing as IGP, just with wines

DOCG – means Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita or Controlled and Guaranteed Designation of Origin – the same as DOC only this time they’re super serious.

DOP – means Denominazione di Origine Protetta – means Protected Designation of Origin -you know how Eskimos have like 100 words for snow?

PDO – means Protective Designation of Origin – seriously why are there so many terms that mean the same thing? Dammit Italy you’re giving me a headache. Ok, so if you see any 3 letters after a wine name, it means its a unique wine from the area it says its from.

Shopping

• San Lorenzo Market – Well known for clothing and leather goods
• Ponte Vecchio – Well known bridge/landmark, its a place to buy jewelry and souvenirs
• Mercato Central – World Famous Farmer’s Market

Learn A Little Italian

It shouldn’t be difficult to find someone who speaks English virtually everywhere we go. However, Italians will appreciate it if you put in a little effort to speak a little Italian. Here are few words/phrases that you might recognize but are helpful to know.

• Ciao – Hello/Goodbye
• Arrivederci – Goodbye
• Buongiorno – Good Morning
• Buonasera – Good Evening
• Buona Notte – Good Night
• Vino – Wine
• Birra – Beer
• Scusi – Excuse Me
• Non Parlo Italiano – I Don’t Speak Italian
• Parlo Inglese – I Speak English