The Italian Art of Aperitivo

More than a drink before dinner, aperitivo is one of Italy’s most beloved everyday rituals.

There is a particular moment in Italy when the day begins to change.

Work is ending. The heat of the afternoon has started to fade. Café tables begin to fill, glasses appear, and friends gather before heading home or going on to dinner.

This is aperitivo.

At its simplest, aperitivo is a pre-dinner drink accompanied by something small to eat. But like so many Italian traditions, its meaning goes well beyond what is being served.

Aperitivo is about the pause between one part of the day and the next. It is time deliberately set aside to slow down, meet friends, have a conversation and enjoy being exactly where you are.

MORE THAN HAPPY HOUR

It can be tempting to compare aperitivo to the American happy hour, but the two aren't quite the same.

Happy hour is often defined by discounted drinks and the end of the workday. Aperitivo is a ritual built around preparing for the evening ahead.

The word itself comes from the Latin aperire, meaning “to open.” Traditionally, the purpose of an aperitivo was to open or stimulate the appetite before dinner.

But over time, it became something much more social.

Across Italy, particularly in the early evening, bars and cafés fill with people meeting for a drink and a small bite before dinner. Sometimes it leads to a long evening out. Sometimes one drink is enough.

The point isn't excess.

It's the ritual.

WHAT DO ITALIANS DRINK FOR APERITIVO?

There is no single aperitivo drink, although a few have become synonymous with the tradition.

The brilliantly orange Aperol Spritz may be the most recognizable today, particularly in Venice and northern Italy.

Then there's the slightly more bitter Campari Spritz, the sophisticated Negroni, and the lighter Americano, made with Campari, sweet vermouth and soda.

Vermouth, prosecco and even a simple glass of wine are equally at home on an aperitivo table.

And aperitivo doesn't have to include alcohol at all. Italian bitter sodas and other analcolici have long been part of the ritual.

What matters isn't necessarily what's in the glass.

It's what happens around it.

AND THEN THERE'S THE FOOD

Order an aperitivo in Italy and your drink will often arrive with something to nibble on.

The offering might be as simple as olives, potato chips and nuts. Elsewhere, you may find small sandwiches, crostini, cheese, salumi, focaccia or other regional specialties.

What appears on the table often depends on where you are.

In Venice, the ritual is closely connected to cicchetti—small bites served in the city's traditional bacari. In other parts of northern Italy, particularly Milan, aperitivo can become a much more elaborate spread.

But traditionally, the food isn't intended to replace dinner.

It's there to accompany the drink, encourage conversation and awaken the appetite for what's still to come.

AN HOUR THAT ISN'T REALLY AN HOUR

Aperitivo usually begins in the early evening, often somewhere around 6 or 7 p.m., but treating it as a strict appointment misses the point.

It occupies that wonderfully undefined space between the obligations of the day and the pleasures of the evening.

You sit.

You order something.

Someone else arrives.

One conversation becomes another.

Dinner can wait a little longer.

There is something distinctly Italian about that refusal to rush immediately from one thing to the next.

APERITIVO, FROM MILAN TO SICILY

Although aperitivo culture has particularly strong roots in northern Italy, the ritual can now be found throughout the country.

In Milan, it might mean a Negroni surrounded by the energy of the city.

In Venice, an ombra of wine and cicchetti at a neighborhood bacaro.

In Rome, a Spritz at an outdoor table as the streets begin filling for the evening.

And in Sicily, perhaps a glass of wine overlooking the sea accompanied by olives, cheese and something made nearby.

The details change from place to place.

The instinct—to gather before dinner and enjoy the transition into evening—remains.

HOW TO BRING APERITIVO HOME

You don't need to be sitting in a piazza to adopt the ritual.

Aperitivo at home can be remarkably simple.

Open a bottle of prosecco or wine. Make a Spritz. Put out a bowl of olives, some good cheese, salumi, crackers or focaccia. Invite a few people over—or simply sit outside with someone you love before dinner.

Don't worry about creating an elaborate spread.

In fact, that somewhat misses the point.

The beauty of aperitivo is that it turns an ordinary hour into something worth enjoying.

A RITUAL WORTH KEEPING

Perhaps that's what makes aperitivo so appealing beyond Italy.

It gives us permission to create a little space in the day.

To put down what we're doing. Pour something into a glass. Put a few things on the table. Sit with other people. Talk. Stay longer than expected.

No special occasion required.

Because in Italian culture, some of life's best rituals aren't reserved for special occasions at all.

They're simply part of living.