Everyone knows the Italians love meeting to have a drink and most of all to eat. Going to eat in a restaurant or in a pizzeria is a way to make friends, a way to start a romantic relationship, to spend time with friends, a place to do business or to celebrate a special date or event; it is a way to relax.
The Italians really love food and they are always searching for new opportunities to meet and eat. It was for this reason that the Apericena was born: a way of eating that is halfway between an aperitif and dinner.
It is easier that a dinner but it takes place at the traditional dinner time. It’s also extremely economic: you pay for “la bevuta”, which means you pay between 5 and 8 euros for a drink and then you can eat as much as you like.
Usually we meet between 7pm and 9pm in a bar that offers this form of aperitif. You drink something light, for example a Spritz, a Martini or a Mojito or perhaps a nice glass of white wine, D.O.C of course, and then you help yourself to the buffet. At the buffet you can find tomato bruschetta, pasta with vegetables, risotto, cuts of salami, salads dressed with Italian extra virgin olive oil, all together in no particular order.
The higher the quality and the more abundant the buffet, the more successful the bar is.
One can meet for an Apericena both in summer and in winter but of course they are far more frequent during the summer months.
Indeed, during the summer, it is possible to sit outside in the fresh evening air and relax, chat with friends and watch as the people pass by after a day at work or by the beach.
This way of meeting is an ideal way to learn Italian and experience our Italian culture. It’s like doing an Italian language course while eating and drinking!
In Pisa the students attending our Italian Language School meet in Piazza della Pera in a bar called “Chicchessia”, where our friend Catia serves the best cocktails and beers with an abundant and varied buffet. Or perhaps we will go to Sud which is a bar located in the heart of the historic centre of Pisa, where they serve typical products from the South of Italy.
In Viareggio on the other hand it is possible to eat a “Frittino”– a portion of small fried fish – accompanied by a glass of white wine while sat on the boats docked at the pier, and then it’s off to Bar Eden for the classic apericena by the sea.
Therefore the Apericena is a not-to-be-missed experience on a trip to Italy.
