Chiesa di Santa Maria del Carmine and Piazza via Instagram

Could your city or town us a piazza? Share in the comments!

Chiesa di Santa Maria del Carmine and Piazza

Another amazing part of Italian life is the piazza — the outdoor living room of Italian towns large and small. 

I sat at the cafe here, having my espresso and chocolate crossing and watching the world go by — a wonderful thing to do at any time of day. 

I remember this day specifically as I walked into the cafe and ordered a ”caffe, per favore.” As I am clearly NOT and Italian and with Milano being a big tourist town, he responded ”Caffe normale?” This was my cue to use my somewhat limited and strangely accented Italian to say let him know I spoke a few words and, indeed, wanted the usual coffee that the Milanese drink. He was quite happy I spoke Italian and I explained that my wife’s family was Italian so I had to learn the language a bit. 

This happened again and again in Milan and led to some great conversations in both English and Italian with shopkeepers, bar owners, and restauranteurs throughout my trip. 

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