Speaking Italian

The oval Piazza Anfiteatro of Lucca, the former amphitheatre of the Roman city

The other day in Lucca a couple of women stopped me and asked: ‘Doe-vay an-fee-tay-atro squa-ray?’ I got ‘Where is amphitheatre’, but I couldn’t figure out ‘squa-ray’. I knew they weren’t Italian, but I didn’t think they were native English speakers either, so I didn’t revert to English. I asked them in Italian to repeat their question. Exactly the same. Hmmm. Eventually it dawned on me that they thought ‘square’ was an Italian word, and having boned up on Italian pronunciation before coming on their holiday (good on them!), they were doing their best to pronounce it properly. Unfortunately, ‘square’ isn’t Italian. We say ‘piazza’ (pee-atz-a). It comes from the Latin ‘platea’ meaning wide. Treccani (widely accepted as the best Italian dictionary) defines it as:

A free area, more or less spacious, square or rectangular or circular or polygonal [ed.—they could add oval], which opens in an urban environment, often architecturally important, and sometimes beautified with a garden, monuments, fountains, having the urban functions of facilitating movement, possibly the parking of vehicles, giving access to public buildings, serving as a meeting place for citizens, constituting not infrequently the centre of economic and political life of the city or town.

In the city of Lucca you will find many beautiful examples of piazzas fulfilling all these functions.

The rectangular Piazza Napoleone. At my back are the provincial offices. In the piazza are vendors' stalls during a winter festival.

Piazza San Frediano where people meet for a coffee or lunch. Photo: Klaus Falbe-Hansen

Piazza Cittadella, hosting a monument to Giacomo Puccini, who was born in the house on a small piazza attached to this one.

The fountain in Piazza San Salvatore, better known as Piazza Puppurona (big breast in Lucchese vernacular). This is the only time I've seen people in the marble bathtub!

Cars parked in Piazza Santa Maria. Definitely polygonal.

Piazza San Michele, originally the Roman forum and now a raised platform for the church San Michele in Foro. A gathering place for people waiting to see the Luminara procession which takes place on 13 September every year.

The oval Piazza Anfiteatro again. This time filled with flower vendors on the Festa di Santa Zita on 26 April.

‘Square’ really doesn’t quite do it.

So why do English-language guides to Italy translate ‘piazza’ as ‘square’? Because they don’t realise that we know perfectly well what ‘piazza’ means. The same with ‘gelato’. They don’t know that there are gelaterias in London (and lots of other places). Even if you aren’t aware that gelato is a different frozen dessert from ice cream, you at least have some idea of what you’ll get at a gelateria. If you’re curious about the differences, here’s a great article: https://londonist.com/london/food/best-gelato-ice-cream-gelateria-shops-london

Natural gelato at Cremeria Opera, Lucca (not in a piazza)

So if you’re in Italy, why not take the opportunity to practise the Italian you already know? You came all this way, and since you’re a ‘slow traveller’, you want to immerse yourself in the culture. Why not listen to what the natives around you are saying? Don’t assume you won’t understand. If you know a little Spanish or French, Italian isn’t a million miles away. If you’re travelling with other English speakers, make a game of it. Always use the Italian words you already know, and try to learn one or two new ones every day.

If you’re worried about mispronouncing the words, stop fretting. Italians love it when people try to speak their language, and they’re so intuitive they’ll figure it out no matter how mangled it is. And think how good you’ll feel when they beam and give you want you asked for. By the way, don’t worry if they then babble on in Italian. They love to talk, even if the listener doesn’t understand a thing.

If all else fails, try hand gestures.

Paolo Magazzini, who teaches during our bread course, telling a story. It's all hands.

Need a more detailed and humorous lesson? Here's Marco in a Box: https://youtu.be/_8hAOxsTpVY

If you’re not convinced, and you’re still going to say ‘square’ and ‘ice cream’, then I hope you’re going to call the dish in the photo above ‘small strings with bacon and eggs’ because ‘spago’ means ‘string’ and ‘-etti’ is a diminutive suffix.

Grazie (pronounced gratz-ee-ay) for reading!

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I wrote this blog in 2019 for the Slow Travel Tours website, and I'm still wondering why my guests say 'square'.

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