General language

yes/no/maybe si/no/forse
I don't know non lo so
I don't understand non capisco
Does someone speak English here? c'è qualcuno qui che parla Inglese?
Speak slowly parla lentamente
Could you assist me? potrebbe aiutarmi?
Help! aiuto!
Please per favore
Thank you grazie
You're welcome prego
It doesn't matter non importa
All right va bene
Excuse me scusi
Be careful! attenzione!
Nothing niente
It is urgent! è urgente!
How are you? come sta?
Well, and you? bene, e lei?
What is your name? come ti chiami?
Hello ciao
Good morning buon giorno
Good afternoon/evening Buona /sera
Goodnight Buonanotte
Goodbye arrivederci, ciao
What do you call this in Italian? come si chiama questo in Italiano?
What? cosa?
Who? chi?
Where? dove?
When? quando?
Why? perchè?
How? come?
How much? quanto?
I am lost mi sono smarrito
I am hungry ho fame
I am thirsty ho sete
I am sorry mi spiace
I am tired sono stanco
I am sleepy ho sonno
I am ill mi sento male
Leave me alone lasciami in pace
 good buono, bene
bad cattivo, male
It's all the same fa lo stesso
Slow piano
Fast veloce
Big grande
Small piccolo
Hot caldo
Cold freddo
Here qui
There laggiù

Shopping, Service and Sightseeing

I would like... vorrei...

Wher is /are dov'è, dove sono?
How much is it? quanto costa questo?
Open aperto
Closed chiuso
Cheap/expensive economico/caro
Bank banca
Beach spiaggia
Bed letto
Church chiesa
Entrance entrata
Exit uscita
Hospital ospedale
Money soldi
Museum museo
Newspaper giornale
Pharmacy farmacia
Police station commissariato
Policeman poliziotto
Post office ufficio postale
Sea mare
Shop negozio
Telephone telefono
Tobacco shop tabaccaio
WC bagno
Men uomini
Women donne

Time
 What time is it? che ora è? che ore sono?
Month mese
Week settimana
Day giorno
Morning mattino
Afternoon pomeriggio
Evening sera
Today oggi
Yesterday ieri
Tomorrow domani
Soon presto
Later dopo, più tardi
It is too early è troppo presto
It is too late è troppo tardi

Days

Monday lunedì
Tuesday martedì
Wednesday mercoledì
Thursday giorvedì
Friday venerdì
Saturday sabato
Sunday domenica

Numbers

One uno
Two due
Three tre
Four quattro
Five cinque
Six sei
Seven sette
Eight otto
Nine nove
Ten dieci
Eleven undici
Twelve dodici
Thirteen tredici
Fourteen quattordici
Fifteen quindici
Sixteen sedici
 Seventeen diciassette
Eighteen diciotto
Nineteen diciannove
Twenty venti
Twenty-one ventuno
Twenty-two ventidue
Thirty trenta
Thirty-one trentuno
Forty quaranta
Fifty cinquanta
Sixty sessanta
Seventy settanta
Eighty ottanta
Ninety novanta
Hundred cento
One hundred and one cento uno
Two hundred due cento
Thousand mille
Two thousand due mila
Million milione
Billion miliardo

Transport

Airport aeroporto
Bus stop fermata
Bus / Coach autobus / pullman
Railway station stazione ferroviaria
Train treno
Track binario
Port porto
Port station stazione marittima
Ship nave
Automobile macchina
Taxi taxi / tassì
Ticket biglietto
Customs dogana
Seat posto

Travel Directions

I want to go... desideo andare a...

How can I get to...? Come posso andare a ...?
 Do you stop at...? Ferma a...?
Where is...? dov'è?
How far is to...? quanto siamo lontani da...?
When does the... leave? a che ora parte...?
what is the name of this station? come si chiama questa stazione?
When does the next... leave? quanddo parte il prossimo...?
From where does it leave? da dove parte?
How long does the trip take...? quanto tempo dura il viaggio?
How much is the fare? quant'è il biglietto?
Good trip! buon viaggio!
Near vicino
Far lontano
Left sinistra
Right destra
Straight ahead sempre dritto
Forward avanti
Backward indietro
North nord
South sud
East est
West ovest
Around the corner dietro l'angolo
Crossroads bivio
Street/road strada
Square piazza

Driving

Car hire noleggio macchina

Motorbike/scooter motocicletta/ scooter
Bicycle bicicletta
Petrol/diesel benzina/gasolio
Garage garage
This doesn't work questo non funziona
Mechanic meccanico
Map/town plan carta/pianta
Where is the road to...? dov'è la strada per...?
Breakdown guasto
Driver's licence patente di guida
Driver guidatore
Speed velocità
Danger pericolo
 Parking parcheggio
No parking sosta vietata
Narrow stretto
Bridge ponte
Toll pedaggio
Slow down rallentare

Architectural, Artistic & Historical Terms

Atrium entrance court of a Roman house or early church

Badia abbazia, an abbey or abbey church

Baldacchino baldachin, a columned stone canopy above the altar of a church

a rectangular building, usually divided into three aisles by rows of columns. In Rome this was
Basilica the common form for law courts and other public buildings, and Roman Christians adapted it
for their early curches
a series of outdoor chapels, usually on hillside, that commemorate stages of the passion of
Calvary chapels Christ

Campanile a bell-tower
local patriotrism, the Italians' own word for their historic tendency to be more faithful to their
Campanilismo home towns than to the abstarct idea of 'Italy'

Camposanto a cemetery

Cardo transverse street of a Roman castrum-shaped city

a wagon carrying the banners of a medieval city and an altar; it served as the rallying point
Carroccio in battles

Cartoon the preliminary sketch for a fresco or tapestry

supporting pillar or column carved into a standing female form; male versions are called
Caryatid telamones
a roman military camp, always neatly rectangular, with straight streets and gates at the
Castrum cardinal points. Later the Romans founded or refounded cities in this form, hundreds of which
survive today (Pavia, Como, Brescia)

Cavea the semicircle of seats in a classical theatre

Cenacolo fresco of the Last Supper, on the wall of the refectory in santa maria delle Grazie in Milano
a tabernacle; the word is often used for large freestanding tabernacles, or in the sense of
Ciborium baldacchino
commune, or commonwealth, referring to the governments of the free cities of the Middle
Comune Ages. Today it denotes any local governent, from the Comune di Roma to the smallest village

Condottiere the leader of a band of mercenaries in late medieval and Renaissance times
a religious lay brotherhood, often serving as a neighbourhood mutual-aid and burial society,
Confraternity or following some specific charitable work (Michelangelo, for example, belonged to one that
cared for condemned prisoners in Rome)

Cupola a dome
street of a Roman castrum-shaped city parallel to the longer axis, the central, main avenue
Decumanus called the Decumanus Major

Duomo cathedral
the central square of a Roman town, with its most important temples and public buildings.
Forum The word means 'outside', as the original Roman forum was outside the first city walls
wall painting, the most important Italian medium of art since Etruscan times. It isn't easy;
first the artist draws the sinopia on the wall. This is covered with plaster, but only a little at a
Fresco time, as the paint must be on the plaster before it dries. Leonardo da Vinci's endless attempt
to find clever short-cuts ensured that little of his work would survive

Ghibellines one of the two great medieval parties, the supporters of the Holy Roman Emperors
the banner of a medieval free city; the gonfaloniere, or flag bearer, was often the most
Gonfalon important public official
Guelphs the other political faction of meddieval Italy, supporters of the Pope

Intarsia work in inlaid wood or marble

Narthex the enclosed porch of a church

not just a palace, but any large, important building (though the word comes from the
Palazzo Imperial palatinum on Rome's Palatine Hill)
Christ 'ruler of all', a common subject for apse painting and mosaics in areas influenced by
Pantocrator Byzantine art

Pietra Dura richi inlay work using semi-precious stones, perfected in post-Renaissance Florence

Pieve a parish church, especially in the north

Predella smaller paintings on panels below the main subject of a painted altarpiece

Presepio a Christmas crib

flocks of plaster cherubs with rosy cheeks and bums that infested much of Italy in the
Putti Baroque era

Quadriga chariot pulled by four horses

the 1400s - the Italian way to referring to centuries (duecento, trecento, quattrocento,
Quattrocento cinquecento, etc.)
the layout of a fresco, etched by the artist on the wall before the plaster is applied. Often
Sinopia these are works of art in their own right
a miraculous simulation of the bleeding wounds of Christ, appearing in Holy men like St.
Stigmata francis in the 12th century, and St.Padre Pio of Apulia in our own time

Telamon see Caryatid

Thermae Roman baths

Tondo round relief, painting of terracotta

Transenna marble screen separating the altar area from the rest of an early Christian church
hard, light coloured stone, sometimes fleccked or pitted with black, sometimes perfect. the
Travertine most widely used material in ancient and modern Rome

Triptych a painting, especially an altarpiece, in three sections

art that uses perspective effects to deceive the eye - for example, to create the illusion of
Trompe l'oeil depth on a flat surface, or to make columns and arches painted on a wall seem real

Tympanum the semicircular space, often beating a painting or relief, above the portal of a church