bella Italia
/ˈbɛl.la iˈta.lja/word by word
To say beautiful italy in Italian, say bella Italia.
bella Italia is the usual way to praise Italy as a beautiful country.
Which one should you use?
L'Italia Incantevole means Enchanting Italy and sounds more formal.
How does it change in a sentence?
In formal or poetic writing bella is often shortened to bell'Italia before the vowel. To say very beautiful Italy, use the superlative bellissima Italia.
How do you pronounce it?
The stress falls on the first syllable of bella and on the second syllable of Italia.
Did you know?
- The name Italia originally referred only to the southwestern tip of the peninsula and likely meant 'land of bulls'.
- In Italian, the word bella can be used as a greeting or a way to get someone's attention, such as bella! to mean 'hey!'
- While bella Italia is common, Italians often refer to their country as il Bel Paese, which means 'the beautiful country'.
Examples in context
- Non vedo l'ora di tornare a visitare l'Italia, che è una meraviglia!I can't wait to go back and visit Italy, which is a wonder!
- Amo la nostra bella Italia.I love our beautiful Italy.
- Voglio visitare la bella Italia.I want to visit beautiful Italy.
Example conversation
Francesco and Sofia are looking at travel photos together.
- FrancescoGuarda queste foto della bella Italia.Look at these photos of beautiful Italy.
- SofiaI paesaggi sono davvero incredibili, Francesco.The landscapes are truly incredible, Francesco.
- FrancescoVoglio tornarci il prossimo anno.I want to go back there next year.
- SofiaAndiamo insieme, Sofia approva!Let's go together, Sofia approves!
Sources
- IPA marked “word by word” joins the Wiktionary pronunciations of each word (bella, Italia) and can differ in connected speech.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries Italia, bella, CC BY-SA 4.0.
