Cuisine
The traditional Italian meal consists of an antipasto (appetizer), a primo (first course, generally a dish of pasta or rice), a secondo (second course, generally a dish of meat or fish) with a contorno (side dish), followed by a dessert, fruit or (less frequently) cheese. Salad is eaten with the second course as a side dish, not as an appetizer. Even when eating out at a restaurant, however, you don’t have to order every course. It’s perfectly acceptable to choose two dishes or, increasingly, just one.
Other alternatives include pizzerie, paninoteche (sandwich bars), or self-service (cafeteria-style service). For a quick and cheap lunch you can also buy focaccia or pizza al taglio, a very popular type of pizza, generally sold in rectangular slices by weight. Also try arancini, supplì and other street food (click here). In Torino, not mentioned in the previous link, try the gofri, crispy honeycomb wafers filled with cold cuts, cheese and vegetables. Click here for a list of places that sell great street food in Torino.
Another convenient place to eat is the rosticceria or tavola calda: these are basically “slow food” takeaways where the food on sale is of restaurant quality even if the price is much lower. You can find a variety of dishes, both hot and cold, ranging from roasts to pasta, from grilled vegetables to salads. Click here for more information.
Supermarkets often have a special section that sells a range of freshly cooked foods, which can include pasta, meat, vegetables and local specialties. (For more information on buying groceries in Italian supermarkets, see this article).
Many Italians still do their daily shopping in small shops—the butcher, the produce shop, the alimentari (grocery)—or in large open-air or covered markets. In Torino, don’t miss a trip to Porta Palazzo (in Piazza della Repubblica, less than a kilometer from your residence), the largest food market in Europe, with hundreds of stalls that will give you the opportunity to discover fresh seasonal products, improve your knowledge of regional Piedmontese cuisine and meet local producers, farmers and artisans (see this article). A much smaller open-air market is located in Piazza Santa Giulia, a two-minute walk from your residence (open Monday to Friday from 7am to 2pm, and Saturday from 7am to 7pm).
Furthermore, small cafés usually sell sandwiches. When eating or drinking in a café, it is customary to order at the cash desk and then take the receipt to a salesperson behind the counter. If you want to eat at the table, you sit down and then order, as the price for those sitting at the table and those standing at the bar or counter is different.
Restaurants near tourist sites and in city centers tend to be more expensive. Don’t eat in restaurants that display plasticized menus with pictures or have someone outside encouraging you to come in (often in English). You can save money by traveling off the beaten track. Look for restaurants full of locals; it usually means the food is good and the price is right.
You don’t need to speak Italian to eat well in Italy, you just need to be curious. Do a little research to find out what dishes a city or region is famous for and you’ll be able to eat in a way that allows you to understand the culture. Always go to a restaurant with a sense of adventure; not to try something new but what is popular in that location; waiters love to tell customers what’s good.

Some other advice regarding food and Italian habits:

• Eat gelato every day, it’s so good. Look for the signs produzione propria (homemade) and artigianale (artisan); they mean that the gelato is made on the premises using natural ingredients. When the pistachio or mint are bright green, the ingredients are not natural. When the gelato is fluffy and puffy, it’s for tourists.
• Order “un caffè” (or “un espresso”) with your breakfast, but only after you’ve had lunch or dinner. Don’t order a cappuccino after 11 in the morning, and never at lunch or dinner.
• Have a coffee at the counter (al banco) or pay extra to sit down.
• Try the regional specialities. Do some research or ask a local.
• Tap water is safe to drink but it’s not common in restaurants. Choose between a bottle of naturale (still water) or frizzante (sparkling water).
• Don’t ask for oil to go with your bread. It’s not a truly Italian thing. It’s not even served with butter.
• Don’t expect much for breakfast; a coffee or cappuccino and a cornetto (croissant) are the norm.

Tipping
When you eat out, a supplement (“coperto”) is added to the bill. This is a cover charge, generally indicated on the menu, which replaces the tip. A small tip would be a nice gesture, but it is not required and often not expected. In bars, Italians will often leave the change as a tip, even as little as 10 cents.
Although a tip isn’t required, neither is attentive service. If you have special requests for your waiter (water with ice, more tap water, more bread) or if you have special needs, you can consider leaving a few euros as a tip.

Alcohol
The legal drinking age in Italy is 18, but it is illegal for anyone to be intoxicated. Drunkenness is also frowned upon. Although wine is consumed with meals, especially in the evening, it is meant to accentuate the flavor of the food, and people usually limit themselves to one or two glasses.

Store hours and shopping customs
Outside the central areas of large cities such as Torino or tourist cities such as Siena, some shops are only open from 9.00 to 12.30 and from 15.30 to 19.30. Some shops may be closed on Monday mornings or sometimes for the whole day, while grocery shops generally close on Mondays and Wednesday afternoons. Restaurants often close on Mondays or Tuesdays. Except in tourist areas, shops are often closed on Sundays. Shop opening hours are usually displayed.
In many shops it is not appropriate to touch or handle the goods as you do in the United States. In grocery stores and supermarkets you must wear a plastic glove (provided by the store) before touching any unpackaged food (including bread). In small shops the salesperson will serve you, so wait your turn and tell them what you want. Observe what the locals do and ask a shop assistant before handling an item or trying on an item of clothing.

Money
The euro is the currency used in Italy. There are 200, 100, 50, 20, 10 and 5 Euro notes. Coins are in denominations of 2 and 1 Euro and 50, 20, 10, 5, 2 and 1 cents. For updated exchange rates, visit www.xe.com.
Credit cards, Google Pay and Apple Pay are widely accepted in Italy; however, don’t count on using them for very small expenses. MasterCard and Visa are the most widely accepted, followed by American Express. Credit card companies may charge a transaction fee for purchases made abroad. They may also deny transactions made abroad and sometimes block the card; to avoid this inconvenience, inform your credit card company that you will be spending two months in Italy.
Banking hours are Monday to Friday, usually 8:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., although opening and closing times vary from bank to bank. There are ATMs accessible 24 hours a day. Cirrus and Plus are widely recognized in Europe.
Ask your American bank if it has a partner institution in Italy, so that you can withdraw cash from an ATM without paying a commission.

Taxes and refunds
A tax of approximately 20% known as IVA (Imposta di Valore Aggiunto) is applied to practically everything in Italy. Note that the displayed prices are already inclusive of IVA. If you are not a resident of the EU and you spend more than 155 euros on a single purchase, you can ask for a refund when you leave. The refund only applies to purchases made at shops displaying a “tax free for tourists” sign or something similar. You need to fill in a form at the shop and then have it stamped by Italian customs when you leave (there are often long queues). At the main airports you can receive an immediate refund, otherwise the amount should be refunded to your credit card. For information, pick up a brochure at participating stores.

Electricity
In Italy, as in the rest of Europe, electricity comes out of the socket at 220 volts. In the United States, electricity comes out of the socket at 110 volts. The sockets are also different. Most laptops, tablets, smartphones and battery chargers can use any voltage between 100 and 240. In these cases, the only thing you’ll need is an inexpensive power adapter like the one on the right. Note that an adapter allows you to connect the electrical device to an Italian power socket, but it does not convert the electricity to 110 volts American. If your appliance is designed to operate only at 110-120 volts, do not bring it to Italy. If you accidentally connect a 110 volt appliance to a 220 volt circuit, it is very likely that it will burn out or blow the fuse. ring it to Italy.

Sales
There are two official Italian sales periods (saldi in Italian) each year—winter and summer—when every shop has what can amount to clearance sales for 6-8 weeks. Summer sales traditionally begin on the first Saturday in July, but the exact dates vary from city to city...