Study Italian Language in Perugia : Lunch Meals

The summer of 2015 in Italy is a blessing. I get to practise Italian in Italy - yes, in his country - new extraordinary friends from all over the country, free accommodation and last but not least free food during school! I'm forever grateful to the Rotary Club of Perugia for giving me this Italian language scholarship, which I never thought would one day allow me to really improve my Italian language skills. Indonesian food is incomparable, but when it comes to pasta, any kind of pasta, Italian is the one. The Rotary Club of Perugia gave its students a lunch card and we called it Mensa Card or in English "canteen". It is organised by ADISU (Umbrian Agency for University Service). Students have to top up their Mensa Card before they can order food.

You need to know that Italian has a rule of eating. There is Aperitivo, Antipasto, Primo, Secondo, Insalata, Formaggi e Frutta, Dolce and Caffè. Let me just break down all the rules. The aperitif is an open meal. It usually starts with olives, nuts, cheese or crackers. Antipasto is something heavier like bread, cold salmon or vegetables. Primo is when you eat pasta. Secondo is for beef, fish, pork, chicken, etc. Insalata is a salad in Italian. Formaggi e frutta means cheese and fruit. Dolce, which you have heard most of the time, means dessert. Like panna cotta and tiramisu. The last is coffee. One of the perks of being a scholarship holder is that I get to eat for free, because my Mensa card was unlimited. However, since Mensa ADISU is designed for students, they only offer Antipasto, Primo, Secondo, Formaggi e Frutta. It costs around €7 - if I'm not mistaken - to get the full set and luckily I spent €0 and got to eat from Antipasto to Frutti, you can see my lunches below.

La Mensa is strategically located in the centre of Perugia. It is accessible for students like from the Università per Stranieri di Perugia and the Università degli Studi di Perugia. I feel completely a student because I have never eaten together in a huge cafeteria with other students from different universities and shared a tray. I usually go to the canteen at 1 pm, just after our professor has dismissed the class. It is summer, 35°C, and it takes 10 minutes to walk from the campus to the canteen. What is frustrating along with the weather is that the road of Perugia is up and down which makes it necessary for you to take a small hike.

Schedule for Holiday for all Mensa around Central Perugia

Mensa Via Pascoli around 1 pm

Office Hour of Mensa Via XIV Settembre

There is not only one canteen in Perugia. Mine is the closest to campus and my dormitory is in Via Pascoli. Once the mensa in Via Pascoli was closed and I had a class that day. My friends and I, who are also scholars of the Rotary Club of Perugia, had to go to the other Mensa, in Via XIV Settembre, to get a free meal. Fortunately, the Mensa Card can be used in any Mensa - though I'm not sure about outside Perugia. It took 15 minutes of walking and burning skin to get there. To be honest, the menu was not as tempting as in Via Pascoli, but enough to make the stomach happy. If you happen to eat Italian food at the local cafeteria, you can take a leaf out of my book. They are all halal.