The Italian Meal

Have a read through this. My stomach grumbled. I am now hungry for Italian!

"Italian meals eaten outside of Italy, however delicious, never taste quite the same as they do at home. It's a question of local produce and the customs of cooking and serving foods peculiar to each place, tied in with a certain atmosphere-the smells and sights and sounds of restaurants, trattorie, taverns, cafés, shops and markets-that can't be duplicated elsewhere.

That might be why visitors come away with fond memories of dining experiences in a country whose social life has always focused on the pleasures of the table. Readers not yet introduced to such pleasures might find this summary of Italian dining terminology useful.
Pasto is a generic term for meal. Colazione may refer to lunch or a mid-morning repast or, as prima colazione, breakfast, which usually runs to "continental" standards with coffee or tea and bread or pastries. Merenda, more or less synonymous with spuntino, may refer to a mid-afternoon or mid-morning snack-or light lunch. Cena signifies an evening meal or late supper. Pranzo, which in parts of Italy means lunch (synonymous with colazione) and in other places dinner or supper (synonymous with cena), also refers to an important meal, banquet or business dinner. Local expressions can complicate matters.

Full meals may range through three to six courses (called portate) or sometimes more. Curiously, though, antipasti don't rate a number, even if the range of appetizers offered in some places would constitute a feast. The first course--primo piatto (also simply primo) or minestra--may consist of pasta, risotto, polenta, gnocchi or soup. The second or main course--secondo piatto or piatto di mezzo--may cover seafood, meat, poultry, game, omelets or other cooked cheese or vegetable dishes.

The numbering system falls flat when meals include two or more primi or secondi or when a fish entrée, for example, precedes a meat course. With the main course or courses will come a contorno, a side dish or garnish of cooked vegetables, salad, rice, noodles or polenta. Courses may continue with formaggio (cheese), frutta (fresh fruit), dolce (also called dessert), caffè (espresso, of course) and digestivo (grappa, brandy or liqueurs, such as amaro or sambuca)."