Italian meal structure

A cup of cappuccino and cornetti at breakfast

The most popular breakfast (Colazione) nationwide is sweet, consumed at home or at a café. If the breakfast is consumed at home, it consists of coffee (espresso or prepared with a moka pot), milk, or latte accompanied by baked goods such as biscuits, for example shortbread, or by slices of bread spread with butter and jam or with honey or gianduja cream, made with chocolate and hazelnuts. Milk is sometimes replaced by fruit juice.[11][12] On some special occasions, such as Sundays or holidays, there may also be more baked goods in the house, such as cakes, pies, pastries, or other regional specialties.

If breakfast is consumed at a café, espresso coffee predominates, together with cappuccino or latte macchiato, accompanied by the classic cornetto, bombolone, or other pastry;[13] however, the choice of breakfast desserts is varied, some of which are often present only in certain regions or cities. In recent decades, other types of coffee drinks have also spread, such as mocaccino and marocchino.[14][15]

Much less frequent, but not completely unusual, is the savory breakfast (although much lighter and frugal than other European savory breakfasts), often consisting of focaccia (of different types and depending on the region) or even just toasted homemade bread and seasoned with extra virgin olive oil, tomato, or sliced salami.[16]

However, many Italians only drink coffee for breakfast without the addition of food.[17]

An Insalata Caprese, a cold dish which might be consumed at a lunch in Italy during the hot summer

In Italian culture, lunch (Pranzo) is often considered the most important meal of the day and is, if complete, composed of four courses, namely:[18][19]

• a first course (Primo), usually a dish based on pasta, risotto, rice, polenta, legumes, or a soup;[20][21][22]
• a second course (Secondo), based on meat, fish, dairy products such as cheese, or eggs (served in various ways, such as in a frittata, in a pan, boiled, or scrambled);[23][24][25]
• a side dish (contorno) of raw or cooked vegetables, which accompanies the second dish;
• seasonal fruit (frutta) as a conclusion.

The lunch is always accompanied by bread.

It is traditional in Italy that a meal, particularly lunch, be concluded with a cup of espresso or prepared with a caffè moka, sometimes followed by the so-called ammazzacaffè, consisting of a glass of local liqueur, bitter or sweet (of which there is wide choice).[26][27]

On special occasions, such as holidays and anniversaries, there are also two other courses:

• an appetizer, to whet the appetite before the meal; cold or hot, it is the least abundant course, and is generally composed of crostini, bruschetta, salami and/or sausages, cheeses and/or dairy products, cooked and/or raw vegetables, or preparations based on seafood;[28][29]
• a dessert to finish;[30][31]

Wine is often a part of the meal, especially during lunch and dinner.[32][33]

A classic panino with salame for the merenda

The merenda (from the Latin merenda) is not a main meal, but an important snack in the mid-morning (around 10 o'clock a.m.) or mid-afternoon (around 5 o'clock p.m.). It is usually a light meal, consisting of a panino or tramezzino, fruit alone, or bread and jam, if not some typical dessert and, in summer, possibly ice cream. It is particularly carried out in childhood, but is also quite common among adults.[34]

Along with lunch, it is the other main meal of the day. The supper (Cena) scheme follows that of the classic Italian lunch, therefore with the same courses, but with dishes and foods that are usually lighter.[35][36]

Exceptions are suppers, called cenoni, consumed on the occasion of certain annual anniversaries such as New Year's Eve, Christmas Eve and the Carnival period;[37] dinners are richer and more substantial than the lunch itself.[38]

Unlike lunch, the Italian supper, when consumed among close family members, does not necessarily include the presence of a first course based on starchy foods (such as pasta or polenta) or cereals (such as rice), so sometimes supper consists of what during lunch would be equivalent to a second course (therefore a meat or fish-based preparation), with or without a side dish, or a single dish, such as a soup or a light soup, however including the presence of bread.[14][39][40]