#coperto

Una Vista Iconica Catturata da Alessandro Schiappelli Il ponte coperto di Pavia, splendidamente immortalato da Alessandro Schiappelli, è uno dei monumenti più riconoscibili della città. La foto, condivisa sulla pagina Facebook “IMMAGINI – Pavia la città e la sua Provincia”, mette in risalto l’eleganza architettonica e la ricca storia di questa struttura. Costruito originariamente nel XIV secolo…

so tonight was my last night in town [i am so deeply far into should-have-been-asleep-by-now so have mercy on the inevitable typos] and i got up to one or two things, including one last dinner out. I decided to take myself to one of the pop-up restaurants that are along the river, there’s a whole festival about it, details there aren’t important.

if you have not been to Italy or have only been to Rome, the important vocab word of the day is “coperto” which is a cover charge for the place setting etc, pretty typical in italy, usually 2-3 euro- you can find it in small print on the menu, usually somewhere on the bottom or in the allergen section.

except it is banned in Lazio, which is the region that includes Rome. some restaurants will charge “coperto e pane” where by bringing out unasked for bread they can include it, so it’s not totally unused but not really a thing here

i had a middling time at this spot [they took 20 minutes to even take my order and the side I wanted was 86′d, the pasta was caloric and warm] and when i finally get the check, i see a line item for coperto, and am surprised, but think, hey, maybe i missed something

i check the QR code menu: nothing

i crane my head to see the chalk sign menu: nope

so i go up to the counter to pay “Ciao, scusa!...” and point it out- the waiter begins to explain in English while gesturing at the paper placemat etc what coperto is paying for, with the tone one might use to explain to a toddler that what they found in the dog park was not free chocolate. i stay focused on the hostess/other guy milling around at the register

“non e` coperto en Roma” she is now, slightly less rudely, explaining what coperto is

“no dice ‘coperto’ e” i gesture at where i was sitting for quite a long time for them only being half full, “no scrive gli menu” more gesturing at the signboard and the nearest QR code “non e’ coperto en Roma” the dude standing there is talking fast at me, which i don’t catch all of but seemed to be more of the same as dude a, “en tutti Lazio no e` coperto”

they are repeating themselves in the crosstalk but so am i, not letting myself get distracted by the performative “oh, whaaat, there’s no coperto in Lazio?” conversation now breaking out, and laser focus on the hostess, “non e` scrive da nessuna...” we have another quick cycle of me pointing at all the places they could have put it visible to customers