“Salute!” — the clink-clink of glasses resounds like church bells throughout Italy as the late afternoon begins to dissolve towards evening. It’s aperitivo time – that glorious hour or two (or three) when the busy-ness of the day is set aside for drinks,  nibbles and elbow rubbing with friends.  

But you won’t see any neon signs glowing with “2 for 1” or “Half Price Drinks” — this is not your hometown Happy Hour. The bella figura of socializing, aperitivo time in Italy is a ritual of passage, even if we’re talking about the passage of a few hours.