Italian Table Talk: The aperitivo

It’s early evening, you’ve finished work and are ready to wind down. Perhaps you’re also a tiny bit hungry, or, at least, are at that point where you start imagining what you’ll be eating for dinner. You’re on your way home and perhaps it’s a place on the way, your regular, where you know you’ll bump into a friend or two and a drink is in order, along with some nibbles. Nothing that will ruin your appetite for dinner, of course, anzi (quite the contrary), something that will help it along. That’s the aperitivo.

The word “aperitivo” is the name for both the ritual of going out for a pre-dinner drink, as well as the sort of drink that you would probably have at such a ritual. “Aperitivo” comes from the Latin word meaning “to open” and in Italian you still describe the effect of something appetising – that sensation you get when you smell garlic sizzling in butter or your favourite cake baking in the oven – as something that literally “opens your stomach.” That’s the idea behind the Italian aperitivo, a little something to encourage you to feel hungry, to get the juices flowing, if you will, so you can fully enjoy your upcoming meal.

Unsurprisingly, the people credited with inventing the aperitivo ritual were also the creators of the ideal aperitivo beverages –  Antonio Benedetto Carpano, the creator of Vermouth, in Torino in 1786 (and later, Joseph Dubbonet brought the aperitif to Paris). Good marketing ploy? Perhaps. But the habit of taking an aperitivo in the evening before a meal became an enormously  popular one in a short amount of time and soon the classic bars and cafes of the big Italian cities were serving up aperitivo to their fashionable nineteenth century clients. Today aperitivo still plays an important role in Italian social life and is as much about the food and drink as it is about socialising.

There are, as with anything to do with eating and drinking in Italy, rules.

Drink rules.

Certain beverages are seen as appropriate aperitivi, “stomach-opening” liquids that will have your tummy rumbling as they’re thought to help kickstart your digestion. They’re usually relatively low in alcohol content and dry or even bitter rather than sweet – things like prosecco, vermouth (of course), Campari or Aperol. In the beginning these were often served straight up or on the rocks, but now more commonly they are mixed – see below for the classics. Their non-alcoholic counterparts include drinks such as Sanbitter (bianco or rosso) and Crodino, bittersweet, slightly medicinal tasting soft drinks. Then you have drinks that are known as digestivi, or sometimes known as an amazzacaffe (a “coffee killer” for the fact that you take it after you’ve had your after dinner espresso), after dinner drinks, to help you digest your heavy meal after a particularly indulgent eating session – things like grappa, sambuca or any number of amari (called so for their characteristic bitterness) such as Averna or Montenegro. Some are even considered both aperitivi and digestivi, sharing those much-appreciated digestive properties. The retro artichoke liqueur, Cynar, is an example of a herby, bitter drink that was marketed as both.

Food rules.

While traditionally a small, complimentary offering of nuts, olives, perhaps some grissini, cheese or salumi, may accompany your drink, you can find more and more elaborate meals being offered. It’s become (annoyingly) popular now for bars to do an apericena, rather than a traditional aperitivo. Apericena is a made up word (a combination of aperitivo and cena, dinner) to describe a richer, larger buffet of food, an all-you-can-eat smorgasbord of (usually) lunch leftovers that are repurposed and revived for the aperitivo-goer to dine on, all included in the cost of one drink. I personally find this goes against the whole idea of what an aperitivo is and it unfortunately has become the rule rather than the exception in most cities, such as Florence, where bars take advantage of using up their leftovers to charge more for their cocktails. It’s much-used by penniless students and other folk, who use the apericena as dinner for the cost of a drink, but what happens when you all you want is a drink because you’re about to go home to your favourite homemade ragu or you’re on your way out to dinner and don’t need or want to eat twice?

For those few establishments that still serve a good, proper aperitivo – a little bowl of nuts or olives, or perhaps even a tidy little plate of stuzzichini, canape-like nibbles – you may need to search a bit deeper these days. In places like Venice they have conserved beautifully their traditional ritual of bites to eat – known as cicchetti – with their favourite drinks (namely, the spritz) and is a custom that can easily be compared to the aperitivo but which is a ritual of its own that you only find in Venice. To me, the Venetian way is the ideal way aperitivo should be conducted. You pay for your drink (a spritz can cost as little as 2.50 euro), perhaps a cicchetto or two (1-2 euros each) and that’s you ready to go and no need to break the bank. See below for a couple of places suggested to visit.

What to drink.

The classic aperitivi are simple and although they have originated in very specific places, they are now found universally around Italy and beyond – the spritz, whether Campari or Aperol based, is a mainstay of the Venetian aperitivo but as beloved in other cities now too. There’s nothing else I’d rather have on a summer evening: roughly 3 parts prosecco, 2 parts Aperol or Campari (I’m of the Aperol camp personally), a splash of soda and lots (and I mean LOTS) of ice. Garnish with a half slice of orange.

There’s also the Americano, but let me tell you first about a similar drink, the Negroni. It is Florence’s only claim to fame in the cocktail world. “Invented” in 1919 by Count Camillo Negroni, inspired after trip to London, the Count asked the bartender at what is now Florence’s Caffe Giacosa to stiften his Americano with some gin in place of the soda water. Equal parts of gin, vermouth and cherry-red Campari, the Negroni is, like the spritz, served with plenty of ice and a half slice of orange. It’s a little stronger than your average aperitivo, the bitter, cough-syrup-like Campari giving it its distinct ruby hue as well as its mouth-watering quality – exactly what makes it a perfect aperitivo. Your mouth waters, stimulating your appetite and letting your digestive system get prepared for dinner. James Bond drank it when he wasn’t ordering martinis, and when Orson Welles tried his first Negroni in 1947 he observed, “The bitters are excellent for your liver, the gin is bad for you. They balance each other.”

Another aperitivo that I love but unlike the spritz, Americano and Negroni, you are unlikely to find outside of its northern hometown of Bassano del Grappa is the mezzo e mezzo, “half and half”. A closely guarded recipe of local bitters, served with no ice and lemon rind. You also can’t go wrong with a simple glass of prosecco for aperitivo.

What to eat.

If you’re replicating your own aperitivo at home (something I love doing), a simple antipasto is what you’ll need to accompany your aperitivo. Try a plate of cheese and salumi, some crostini – in Tuscany, you can never go wrong with a plate of crostini di fegatini or stracchino e salsiccia – or something deep fried like these wild garlic fritters or polpette di trippa, delicious tripe meatballs (don’t judge until you have tried these!). If you’re going down the Venetian route, these vinegar soaked sarde in saor on a slice of baguette are just the thing with a spritz or a glass of prosecco.

Where to have it.

These photographs were all taken at tried and true places for a great aperitivo experience and I highly recommend them if you’re passing through Venice, Florence or a day trip away (respectively) in charming Bassano del Grappa or coastal Castiglioncello. From top to bottom, left to right: Caffe Rosso, Campo Santa Margherita, Venice; All’Arco, San Paolo, Venice; Station Gallery, Castiglioncello (LI), Tuscany; Circolo A.S. Aurora, Piazza Tasso, Florence;  a bar in Bassano del Grappa, Veneto.

Italian Table Talk is a monthly discussion on aspects, traditions and ingredients of true Italian cuisine amongst a group of four bloggers – join our facebook page if you want to keep in touch with us. Check out the rest of this month’s aperitivo edition: Giulia fries up a southern favourite, mozzarella in carrozza, to go with her aperitivo; Valeria discusses the aperitivo ritual in her native north-eastern Italy and shares a typical Venetian cicchetto recipe, meso ovo, while Jasmine does aperitivo in her city, Milan and a great version of the negroni, a negroni sbagliato.

Comments

  1. Rosa says:

    A wonderful post! The pictures are delightful and so is the writing.

    I love this ritual and have an “apéritif” every Friday and Saturday. It is such a great way of chilling out.

    Cheers,

    Rosa

  2. Aperitivo is such a great topic for Italian Table Talk! I must take this inspiration and host one at home before our Irish heat wave ends!

    • Emiko says:

      At home is the main way we do aperitivo these days; not just because of the little one but because it’s just not the same here going out (well, it doesn’t exist, and you end up spending $15 on a cocktail and then another $20 on food, each… sigh!)! But I love doing aperitivi at home, it’s a nice, informal way to have people round at last minute too!

  3. Anna says:

    Mhmhmh my office is right in front of Caffè Rosso ……. I love it … and I wont survive without my aperitivo-time!!!!!!

  4. Peter Dushko says:

    When we had small children it was la passeggiata – the Italian tradition of the family evening stroll, to meet friends and hone the appetitie – but now that we are older it is a combo of la passeggiata leading to an ice cream and/or an aperitivo.

    I enjoyed it so much that I have become an importer of the finest Prosecco DOCG

    Just google fizzitaly and see what I mean

  5. I enjoyed reading your post, because, as always, it shows what is behind out habits, something often given for granted but so so interesting. And thank you again for the good tip on Golden View Bar in Florence!

    • Emiko says:

      You’re welcome, of course. As you now know, it’s a place of sentimental value for me so I always find it a bit romantic especially in the evenings or when they have a jazz night 😉

  6. Fragolina says:

    i enjoyed reading your blog, went through some of your posts. i find it an interesting and informative blog. and i desire to try few recipes i liked. thank you

  7. Valeria says:

    Ah, I never miss a dedicated trip to Bassano for a Mezzo e Mezzo chez Nardini -it is simply part of the local attractions. And when in Torino, something made with Punt e Mes Carpano is always in order.
    Great post as usual – with so so so many shared thoughts and feelings, as usual 😉

    • Emiko says:

      It is a part of the local attraction isn’t it? Especially when you visit Bassano’s Ponte Vecchio at the right time and absolutely everyone’s out, standing around, mezzo e mezzo in hand. I love that.

  8. Jasmine says:

    Emiko, this post made me feel like I need to quit my job right now and set off to explore Italy and its food (and drinks, especially!): considering the “aim” of the whole ITTT project, this is probably a very successfully written post 🙂
    Will bear your super useful info in mind next time I travel to Venice or Florence.
    xoxo

    • Emiko says:

      Thanks Jasmine 🙂 Exploring every inch of Italy and its food and drink is basically what I dream about every day! There’s just so much of it to experience but then you find your favourite places and want to keep going back, which makes going to new places more difficult because you’re always going back to the favourites! That’s the paradox! haha.

  9. Ahmet says:

    Wonderful post, again. I’m sharing this blog with all my friends especially the ones crazy about Italy. Btw, I had the chance to enjoy my aperitivo in Palazzo della Ragione, Padua
    another astonishing place in Italy.

  10. The Italian aperitivo is a great ritual, one of my favorite pastimes when visiting Italia – and such a fun way to entertain friends …

    Buon Ferragosto from the Northern Hemisphere!

  11. I like that in Italy you can still get a decent drink for a decent price, the fact that you get some food with it as an aperitivo is making it even better! I guess it is to keep people interested in going for a drink after work, here in Belgium you pay 6 euros for a procecco and maybe 5 or 6 for an Aperol, you don’t get any snack with that, as you often need to pay for a bowl of nuts or olives. Result, people don’t really go out for drinks anymore unless it’s the weekend, and even still people will prefer to go out to dinner. Everything seems to be for the rich these days here in this country.
    Great guide!

  12. ilaria says:

    Either you are Italian either you are definitely very well informed! This is an excellent and very good review of the most important “meal” in Italian evenings. I come from Milan and aperitivo is the thing I miss the most from my hometown! Thank you for your article … you made my day 🙂

    • Emiko says:

      Ha, thanks for saying so. Perhaps I was Italian in a past life! Glad you enjoyed reading about one of the things I enjoy most about Italian culture.

  13. Kerry says:

    I was looking for the meaning of the word apertivo and thank you for offering this great insight into the intregueing Italian culture and your pointers on some fine cusine.

  14. Alexandra says:

    I love this article! Thank you so much for sharing the inside scoop. Your writing is awesome.

    Now I’m really in the mood to hang out in a cafe in Milano… 🙂

  15. Flavia says:

    I thoroughly enjoy reading your posts, Emiko. You always have so much knowledge about Italian food and culture. There’s so much I still need to learn and your blog is the first place I go to further my knowledge. Well done!

  16. Ilaria says:

    So well described the true meaning of the aperitivo!
    I am italian and I am very admired by the way you entered in the italian habits and culture.
    Well done!

  17. Bob says:

    “what happens when you all you want is a drink because you’re about to go home to your favourite homemade ragu or you’re on your way out to dinner and don’t need or want to eat twice?”

    Simple: you tell them. They’re not forcing you to eat.

    • Emiko Davies says:

      Ha, no of course not, you’re right. It’s more about the price as in many of these places at aperitivo hour you can’t just pay for the drink. You’re paying for drink plus “apericena”, all the food, and if all you wanted was a quick drink, I think it’d be nice to have an option to only pay for that. The answer is, of course, what we’ve been doing, which is to head somewhere else! 🙂

  18. Pietra says:

    I love aperitivo and I saw in one of the comments from an Italian from Milano that it is the most important meal of the day.. ah ha

    I usually stock up on aperitivo items so that I can always have an impromptu aperitivo with friends. Things that stock well are lupine beans, olives and roasted nuts. I will also freeze a bag of piadina made from the grain of kamut or farro because they thaw quickly and I can make pizzas or spread some aperitivo topping that I got from the local farmers market like cream of porcini, truffle oil, cream of asparagus..
    I always like a spritz.. it is the most refreshing to me but I have gotten creative and try to think of a new mixed drink. I also make my spritz not with Aperol but with a non alcoholic aperitivo drink that is infused with ginger but is the same color and bitter like Aperol and Campari..
    All sorts of gin drinks are fun to make these days especially since there has been such a revival of small scale artisan gin makers.

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