How to Set a Table for an Italian Meal

The Italians love to gather over food and wine, sometimes for hours. Children in Italy or born to Italian-American families learn about dining etiquette early, including how to properly set a table. If you want to throw and Italian dinner party, there are a few things you will need to do in order to make your guests feel like they are at an authentic Italian dinner.

Instructions

1

Lay a white linen tablecloth over the tables and smooth it out so that there are no wrinkles. You can use placemats for informal occasions, but in most cases the tablecloth is the preferred choice.

2

Set the china dinnerware for each guest. The number of plates or bowls will depend on the number of courses in the meal, but traditionally the main course plate should be on the bottom with the salad plate and soup bowl on top of it. In other words, the order in which you use them is the order in which you stack them, with the first course on top.

3

Place silverware at each place setting. These utensils should be well polished with the knives on the right and the forks and spoons on the left. Again, just as with the plates, the number of utensils will depend on the number of courses, and you will position them according to the order in which you will use them throughout the meal.

4

Roll the napkins and secure them with a napkin ring or fold them into a triangular shape. These can then be placed on the center or rim of the dinner plate, which helps to give the table a more formal Italian look.

5

Set crystal wine glasses to the top right corner of every place setting. You may have two at each setting if you wish, one for water and one for wine. Pour the wine for your guests, white wine with seafood, pasta, fish and veal and red wine for all other meats.

6

Finish the table by making a centerpiece. You can use fruits, vegetables, candles or flowers. A simple design is to arrange breadsticks in a vase like flower stems and surround the base with vines or other arrangements, so that the centerpiece can be multifunctional. Remember in this case, however, to have a short or wide vase; your guests should still be able to see one another over the centerpiece without straining.