When in Italy do as the Italians do: make the most of the aperitivo hour

Take your appetite because the waiters can be persuasive.

Hungry Traveller

Sunset nibbles. Picture: Getty Images

By Natascha Mirosch

Updated July 10 2025 - 3:56pm, first published 2:00pm

I order three more negroni and tell the waiter that we don't need the snacks replenished, but he just looks offended and brings a fresh plateful anyway.

As Italians eat late (often the earliest restaurant booking you'll get is 8pm), "un aperitivo", a drink intended to whet the appetite, is generally taken between 7pm and 9 pm. The word comes from the Latin "aprire" - to open, the tradition dating from the 19th century.

Most often, the drinks are cocktails, something with a little bitterness such as a Campari-based drink or the ubiquitous Aperol spritz, both made from herbs said to stimulate digestive juices. But a glass of Prosecco, wine or even beer is perfectly acceptable, too.

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In Italy, the aperitivo inevitably comes with some kind of snack. With the exception of Venice, where cicchetti, slightly more substantial snacks, are usually priced at a euro or two, aperitivo accompaniments are free, included in the price of the drink.

In Milan, we drink Milano-Torino (Campari and vermouth) with bruschetta of finely diced tomato and bowls of nuts, replenished as soon as they're eaten. In Turin, we stand at the bar drinking Torino-Milano (same drink) with tramezzini, finger sandwiches stuffed with tuna and artichoke, and prosciutto and peppers. On the island of Ponza, we toast the sunset with an Aperol spritz and a generous spread of dips, chips, olives and nuts. In Puglia it's crunchy taralli biscuits and skewers of bright green olives.

In Liguria, we're served the most generous of aperitivi - squares of focaccia filled with ham, soft white rolls wrapped around a piece of sausage with a dab of mayonnaise, a bowl of chips, miniature squares of pizza with tomato and olives, local salami and slices of pecorino cheese. Despite my initial protestations, we polish off the second round as well, vowing to eschew entrees as we stroll down the laneway to our dinner booking.