Meals in Italy
The traditional Italian meal starts with the Antipasti or appetizers, which can be hot or cold.
The first two courses are termed Primo and Secondo, the former consisting of a hot carb dish like pasta and the latter a fish or meat dish.
Contorno is the side dish of a salad or cooked vegetables and can be served together with the main course.
Following is two dessert courses: Formaggio and Frutta is the cheese and fruit dessert, while Dolce are sweets.
Caffe (coffee/espresso) and Digestivo (liquors or liqueurs) follow.
Lunch is usually served at 1:30 p.m. while dinner is from 7:30 p.m. to as late as 10:30 p.m. in the south.
The observance of this structure today is reserved for religious festivals and special events, but people who travel to Italy may find that this is also observed in restaurants, and somewhat strictly at that, too.