The Italian aperitif is like the one from Madrid: a state of mind.
The Italian aperitif, like the one from Madrid, is a complex ritual that, from within, is assumed naturally. If we travel to Italy and want to be part of it, it is advisable to know some of its rules. Knowledge, in whatever field, does not annul enjoyment: it amplifies it.
1. How is it different from Spanish? In Italy it is taken in the afternoon, at the end of the work day and before dinner. And we promise to stop comparing it with Spanish, which is very… Spanish.
two. What does it consist of: It is a custom from the North of Italy that has spread throughout the rest. And it has reached some corners of Malasaña. The bars will prepare a small buffet of food that will accompany the drink . With a minimum consumption (about 7 euros) you can eat whatever you want standing up or sitting down. In reality, food and drink, as in the best houses, are an excuse to socialize, talk, watch, decompress and, if possible, laugh. It is better to go closer to 7:00 p.m. than 10:00 p.m. In theory it's a pre-dinner, which is a fabulous concept.
3. But, one moment, one moment: what is there to drink? Good question. It's not time for Coca Cola Zero. The aperitif is with alcohol or it is not. It is time for concoctions such as spritz with Aperol or Campari, Negroni or wine, especially prosecco. The exotic thing for carpetovetonic palates is to ask for a spritz and enjoy a lot with the bitter taste and the sidereal red color.
Four. And what do you eat? The PAI is not the buffet of an All Inclusive in Cancun. Eye. They take small portions (small, eh??) of different more or less complicated Italian dishes. They range from cold cuts (mortadella, speck, bresaola) to pasta salads , risotto, olives, roasted vegetables, various cheeses with mozarella and parmesan at the top and everything that politics or the desire of the bar owner wants.
5. When should we stop seeing palaces and entering shoe stores to have an aperitif? It starts at 6:30-7:00 pm, which has always been a great time to grab a spritz. A PAI is taken before dinner because, in theory, it works to whet your appetite. The truth is that sometimes replaces dinner , especially that of those of us who travel there, who are overwhelmed by anxiety and are unable to control ourselves when faced with a plate of mortadella cut to the size of a silk fabric from a Delpozo dress.
From cold cuts to risotto
6. How can we not look like travelers or even worse, tourists. The wet dream of any 21st century traveler is to be mistaken for a local. In Italy, if you look at the physique and the decibels of the conversations, it's easy. But that is not all. You have to observe them and behave like them and go where they are. There is a great documentation phase prior to each trip that will take us to THE places to have an aperitif. And we will obey. And we will not make the originals. In Rome it is taken in Campo dei Fiori, in Milan in the Brera and Navigli area and in Bologna around the Plaza Mayor as Pescherrie Vecchie or Viccolo Ranocchi. And you never have to call the appetizer Happy Hour. that can be catastrophic.
7. There are snacks and appetizers. The buffet system is the common one, but there are other modalities. For example, at the Zerocinquantino in Bologna the drink does not include food, but everyone orders a plate of bologna and cheese and a basket of hot bread . At Il Sole, also in Bologna, the aperitif is, like the place itself, somewhat special: there they only serve wine, which is usually ordered by the bottle and each person, if they want to eat something, brings it from home or buys it at nearby stores. Il Sole is a must on any Bolognese getaway. In other places there are aperifish: appetizers in which there is only fish . Italians have always been an imaginative people.
8. One site or several? The normal thing is a single place, but we Spaniards really like gastro nomadism, so we will go to more than one because we understand that "that's how we already have dinner".
9. It's a hipster custom. Holy Madonna: NO! The PAI is a classic custom, like in Spain and we feel ourselves falling, again, into comparative lowliness. There are appetizers of all kinds: more expensive, more ostentatious, more elegant, more humble, more heterodox, but it is an inclusive and very Italian custom, especially in the north. **Milan claims the paternity of the PAI. And Milan we do not discuss anything **.
10. Let's be practical: I'm traveling to Italy soon, do I book or not? If you want to go to some of those so-called trendy places, do it. If not, let yourself go, ask for your spritz, make yourself strong in the hole that the Italians leave you, on the street or inside and eat and drink. Yes, from a distance you look like one of them.
Long live Italy!