Aperitivo

Aperitivo is a small meal or snack eaten in the early evening.  Enjoyed by Italians everywhere, it comes in many forms depending on where in Italy you are. 

The same cafes that serve coffee in the mornings and afternoons, often serve an inexpensive aperitivo between six and eight p.m., that consists of an alcoholic beverage, often with a small assortment of cheeses, bruschetta, crostini, small sandwiches, chips and antipasti. For a price that is a little more than what you would pay for a drink alone, you can sit an hour and watch passers-by as they slowly take their evening stroll, or “passeggiata” as it is called in Italian.

An aperitivo isn’t only a cultural ritual, it is one of those social occasions that is meant to slow us down a bit after a hectic day and that makes an Italian evening so memorable. The word aperitivo is derived from the Latin “aperire,” (open) and the drink and small array of finger-food is meant “to open” the stomach before dining, or more simply put, it is an appetizer before your real dinner begins at eight or nine o’clock.

There is also a hybrid combining aperitivo and “cena” a meal that is called an “apericena,” that includes more substantial dishes and can be a substitute for dinner.