Life in Italy: How Italians Eat and Enjoy Their Meals Every Day

Francesca Di Meglio

·

Jul 21, 2021

Learn how people in Italy eat at each meal of the day. There are more meals than you’re used to… and extra deliciousness to the day.

Pesto could be on the menu at pranzo (lunch) in Italy. Photo by Francesca Di Meglio

Breakfast

Breakfast is called colazione in Italy. Most people eat something light between 7 and 9 a.m. Children will have warm milk and cereal or cookies. Adults will have espresso or macchiato, which is espresso with a “stain” of milk. They often dip some biscotti (cookies) in the espresso or have a sweet like a sfogliatella pastry. They may also have toast with jam.

Snack

Around 10 or 11 a.m., some people take a break for a spuntino or snack. Italians do not snack like Americans do. They don’t have cupboards full of granola bars, chips, or the kinds of treats that are the stuff of American legend.

But they might have a piece of cheese or some fruit and yogurt at this time. They are particularly careful to provide this sort of snack to the elderly or ill. Back in the day, when my grandfather was working the land in the mountains, he and his fellow workers would stop and have pane e pomodori (bread and tomatoes) with olive oil and salt or some sort of sandwich. They needed to refuel to get through the rest of the morning until lunch.

Lunch

Pranzo or lunch is usually the big meal of the day, especially in southern Italy, where people still take a siesta. Most people eat between 1:30 and 2:30 p.m. If this is a special meal or they are eating out, Italians will have antipasto, which usually consists of appetizers, such as Italian cold cuts (think prosciutto di Parma), cheese, olives, marinated artichokes, and the like. They will have a primo or first course of soup, risotto, or pasta. Then, they usually have a secondo, such as some sort of meat or fish.

Also, there are contorni or sides, such as eggplant parmigiano, string beans, or potatoes. You will likely find some sort of salad as well. Usually, you will end the meal with a seasonal fruit, such as cantaloupe or watermelon in the summer and grapes or pears in the fall, mandarins in the winter, and wild strawberries in late spring/early summer.