Use the concept of the Italian Apericena to introduce vocabulary associated with people, places and things relating to meeting and greeting friends, food, dining and 32 of Italy’s most popular verbs.

1. APERICENA
Learning Italian in Courses®
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2. USE THE CONCEPT OF THE ITALIAN APERICENA TO
INTRODUCE VOCABULARY ASSOCIATED WITH PEOPLE,
PLACES AND THINGS RELATING TO MEETING AND
GREETING FRIENDS, FOOD, DINING AND 30 OF ITALY’S
MOST POPULAR VERBS.
Learning Goal

3. An Italian tradition, apericena or the aperitivo
hour is an after work ritual that offers a moment
of relaxation at the end of a day. A pre-dinner
(before 8 or 9 o’clock) time to relax, nibble and
nip and socialize with your friends and get your
palate and stomach warmed up for the evening
meal.
It’s a pretty great way to see and savor Italy and
we’re using it as an opportunity to learn some
conversational and grammatical Italian
associated with eating, drinking, ordering food
and meeting your friends in the piazza.
.
APERICENA

4. STARTERS
Begin the lesson by serving a typical
Italian aperitivo drink accompanied
by a selection of Italian cured meats,
cheese, olives and a savory pastry.
Suggested Drinks: Campari, Aperol
or wine Spritz, an Americano,
Negroni or Prosecco. Or a non-
alcoholic Crodino.

5. CLASS DURATION
Class duration is approximate and may
vary by 10-15 minutes. Please note, the
level of hands-on participation differs
from class to class. All guests planning to
consume alcohol must be able to produce
valid government-issued identification to
prove they are 21 or older

6. BACKSTORY
Many Italian aperitivo bars
are located near or on a
piazza.
Introduce the concept of a
piazza. Use pictures of
famous Italian piazze for
students to see the
different types and
locations.
Aperitivo Bar

7. LA PIAZZA
A piazza is an open public square
generally surrounded by buildings.
What we might refer to as a “town
square’. It is where all the action
happens in Italy. Where people gather,
meet and greet and linger or pass
through on their way. It can be small or
large, intimate or encompassing. Often
associated with a church or government
building. Generally historical and of
significance to the life of the town or
village.

8. The setting for this lesson takes place in
Milano, in Northern Italy. The city of Milano
is said to be the birthplace of the Italian
aperitivo.
We meet our Italian friends Luca and Luigi
and we are introduced to Luigi’s wife Marta
at the local aperitivo bar to try some of her
favorite small bites, a Campari and
a spritz before dinner.
SETTING

9. LESSON
Pass out study sheets with the following vocabulary and a
list of 32 of Italy’s most famous verbs. Verb conjugations
are in the past and present tenses and emphasize the
difference between the verb endings -are, -ere and -ire.

10. VOCABULARY
The Learning Italian in Courses vocabulary to see and
savor an Italian apericena.
Vocabulary will be used for multiple lessons.

11. la piazza le piazze
la ora le ore
il cibo i cibi
il bar
il amico gli amici
la amica le amiche
la cena
il tavolo i tavoli
la tavola le tavole
la sedia le sedie
il piatto i piatti
la tazza le tazze

12. a forchetta le forchette
il cucchiaio i cucchiai
il coltello i coltelli.
il bicchiere i bicchieri
il tovagliolo i tovaglioli
l’ uomo gli uomi
la donna le donne
il ragazzo i ragazzi
la ragazza le ragazze
il vino i vini
la birra le birre
l’acqua

13. il vino i vini
la birra le birre
l’acqua
il formaggio i formaggi
il prosciutto i prosciutti
il pane i pani
la oliva le olive
il menu
il salame i salami
il salume i
salumi
la bottiglia le bottiglie
il minuto i minuti

14. ADDITIONAL
VOCABULARY
• stasera - evening
• molto - much, a lot, very
• bene - well
• buono - good
• incontrare - to meet
• davanti - in front of
• la chiesa - church
• qui - here
• il nostro i nostri - our
• la vostra le vostre - your
• complimenti
•

15. 32 OF ITALY'S MOST POPULAR VERBS
• 1 essere - to be
• 2 avere - to have
• 3 andare - to go
• 4 fare -to make, to do
• 5 potere - to be able to
• 6 volere - to want
• 7 venire - to come
• 8 dovere - to do
• 9 dare - to give
• 10 stare - to be
• 11 dire - to tell, to say

16. 12 vedere - to see
13 sapere - to know
14 prendere - to take
15 uscire - to exit, to go out
16 mangiare - to eat
17 parlare - to speak
18 piacere - to like, to be fond of
19 finire - to finish
20 capire - to understand
21 leggere - to read
22 bere - to drink
23 arrivare - to arrive
16 mangiare - to eat
17 parlare - to speak
18 piacere - to like, to be fond of
19 finire - to finish
20 capire - to understand
21 leggere - to read
22 bere - to drink
23 arrivare - to arrive

17. 24 mettere - to place
25 rimanere - to remain
26 partire - to depart
27 cominciare - to begin
28 camminare - to walk
29 aprire - to open
30 scrivere - to write
31. abitare - to live
32. decidere - to decide
Provide a Handout of the above mentioned verb
conjugations in the Present and Past Tense. They
will be used in the next several lessons.

18. IL DIALOGO
Il bar nella piazza apre alle sei stasera.
Decidiamo arrivare alle cinque nella piazza
davanti la chiesa di Francesco per incontrare i
nostri amici, Luca e Luigi.
"Ciao cari amici. Come state"?
Luca e Lugi stanno molto bene.
Vogliamo andare al Bar Antichi sud dal
Duomo vicino dove Luigi abita per incontrare
la moglie di Luigi, Marta. Il suo cognome e
Mara. Camminiamo lungo i canali per venti
minuti allora arriviamo al bar. Marta dice “il
cibo e’ molto buono qui”

19. LA GRAMMATICA
The word along can be used as either a preposition or an adverb. Prepositions
describe a relationship and adverbs usually tell when, how, in what manner or to
what extent the action is performed.
When along is used as a preposition (describing a relationship) it is translated as
lungo meaning “running next to”, “following the length of” (along the canals).
When along is used as an adverb as in “along with” or “accompanying” it would
be used to mean “together” and translated as con or insieme. Marta e Luigi
camminano con noi. (present tense) or in the past tense Marta e Luigi hanno
camminato con noi.

20. LA GRAMMATICA
Bene vs buono. What is the difference? For the answer we
need to look at the grammar.
Buono is an adjective which says something about a noun.
Bene is an adverb which says something about a verb. So
‘buono’ is always used with a noun and ‘bene’ with a verb.

21. FINITO
Complimenti !
Grazie mille per la vostra partecipazione