Eat cheap in Italy by learning about this great Italian tradition.

Eat Cheap In Italy

Oddly enough it was while we were in Scotland that we discovered Prosecco, a sparkling wine similar to Champagne, but it was while we were in Rome that we discovered it is sometimes served with free food. You order a glass of Prosecco and it shows up with a few plates of food as well at no extra cost.

We found this curious but the bar we frequented during our time in Rome spoke zero English so we could not get any details as to what was going on.

Turns out what we experienced was the Italian tradition of apericena or aperitivo depending on the type of food being served with your beverage. I learned this when I came across A beginner’s guide to aperitivo in Italy over at TheLocal.it.

The article introduces the aperitivo like this:

They are long leisurely affairs to be undertaken with friends in early or late evening, the food is usually more than decent and they are affordable even on the most meagre of budgets. All you need to do is buy a drink and your food is free.

And goes on to clarify the difference between aperitivo and apericena:

A standard pre-dinner drink becomes an aperitivo when it is accompanied by more than just nuts or crisps. Maybe a small starter of goats cheese, olives, or something like that.

You can be sure you’re at an apericena however, when your drink is accompanied by dinner in the form of an all-you-can-eat buffet. Confusingly, the word aperitivo is often used to describe this too, which will probably annoy the traditionalists but hey-ho, we didn’t make the rules.

Now that that’s out the way we’re ready to get going. All you need to do is order a drink.

Click here to read the whole article, and eat cheap in Italy!

So you can see how this is a great way to enjoy yourself in Italy even when on a budget.

Thank you Michela Simoncini for the photo used in the title image.