Notes on the Names of Countries in Italian

 

This post is about the name of countries in Italian. We felt motivated to write this after stumbling many times on how to say 'Russia' in Italian and asking ourselves why. In English it’s “RUSH-uh” and in Italian “RUS-sya”. Seems easy enough, right? 

As we investigated that, we realized we could say a little more about how countries are written and pronounced in Italian. In the past, we talked about cities but haven’t talked about countries. (See Foreign City Names in Italian – Why They Are Sometimes in English.) Here are 10 points about countries in Italian.


Note 1: The basics: pronunciation and writing.

Don’t forget vowels at the end of country names, and to sound them out as they should be in Italian. Examples: Russia, Albania.

Italian is a phonetic language: Every written vowel is meant to be pronounced, so dropping it changes the sound, and sometimes the meaning, of the word.

In English, we often clip or swallow final syllables (“Romania” might come out as “Roman-yuh”), but in Italian, Romania is Ro-ma-ní-a, each vowel crisp and distinct.

Don’t anglicize vowels. For example, don't turn the Italian “a” into an English “uh” or “ay.”

Watch which syllable you stress. For example, in English, Romania is pronounced “ro-MAY-nee-uh", and in Italian, “ro-ma-NEE-a".

In Italian, the stressed syllable for countries is on the penultimate syllable except for compound forms (Stati Uniti, Costa d’Avorio) or foreign names used untranslated.

Standard country names don’t use written accents or diacritics. Example: Côte d’Ivoire → Costa d’Avorio. México instead of Messico, it’s a foreignism, not an Italian spelling.

Note 2: Types of articles.


All articles are used, but “La” is most common.

Examples of “La”: la Grecia, la Scozia, l’Italia
Examples of “Il”: il Portogallo, il Giappone, il Brasile
Examples of “Gli”: gli Stati Uniti, gli Emirati Arabi Uniti
Examples of “Le”: le Filippine, le Maldive
Examples of “I”: i Paesi Bassi, i Caraibi


Note 3: When to use articles.

A few countries are used without an article. Examples: Israel, Cipro, Malta, Singapore, Monaco, San Marino, Andorra, Haiti, and Cuba. They are used without article for historical, linguistic, and stylistic reasons.

Articles aren’t used with prepositions like “in” or “a” for travel or location.

• Vado in Germania.
• Sono in Francia.
• Vivo a Cuba.

When the country name is treated as a proper noun in isolation, the article isn’t used.

• Italia è bellissima.
• Francia ha una lunga storia.

Note 4: Most country names end in vowels, but not all do.

Examples of countries that don't end in a vowel in Italian: Chad, Niger, Qatar, Yemen, Nepal, Bangladesh, Iraq, Iran, Sudan, Pakistan

For some modern or politically sensitive names, the original spelling is preserved for clarity or respect.

Countries with short, consonant-ending names are more likely to remain unchanged.


Note 5: Modifications: drop the H, change the X, change the PH.

Examples of X to SS: Mexico => Messico, Luxembourg => Lussemburgo

Examples of H removed: Chile => Cile, China => Cina, Thailand => Tailandia, Ethiopia => Etiopia

Examples of PH to F: Philippines => Filippine

Note 6: Many countries are feminine, but not all.

Examples: la Danimarca, la Francia, la Spagna

Many country names in Italian derive from Latin, where the names of lands and regions were often feminine.

The feminine form often reflected the idea of a territory or land, which was conceptually treated as feminine.

Countries are often seen as collective entities or abstract concepts, which tend to be feminine in Italian.

Note 7: The “nia” ending is commonly used.

Examples: Albania, Armenia, Romania, Slovenia, Estonia

Latin Roots: Many country names ending in “-nia” derive from Latin or Greek origins, where “-ia” was a common suffix for lands or regions (e.g., Armenia, Romania). These are all feminine.

Italian Phonetics: Italian prefers words to end in vowels, and “-nia” is a smooth, melodic ending that fits the language’s rhythm.

  
 

Note 8: Nationalities derive from country names usually, with exceptions.

Examples: italiano/italiana/italiani/italiane, francese/francesi, argentino/argentina/argentini/argentine

Italian uses specific suffixes, such as -ese/esi, -ano/ana, -ino/ina and others that are added to the end of a country name to form the nationality. See: The Intrepid Guide - Countries and Nationalities in Italian Cheat-Sheet

Exceptions: tedesco/tedesca/tedeschi/tedesche, greco/greca/greci/greche, olandese/olandese/olandesi/olandesi, britannico/britannica/britannici/britanniche, svizzero/svizzera/svizzeri/svizzere

Note 9: Some Italian names different from English.

Examples: Regno Unito, Corea del Sud.  See: Italian Country Names: Regions & Meanings | Vaia

Italian often prefers clarity and context, especially for compound or political names.

Some names reflect historical relationships or colonial-era naming conventions.

It’s also a way to preserve meaning when a direct translation might be ambiguous or misleading.

Note 10: Some names don’t change how they are written between English and Italian, though pronunciation may vary.

Examples: Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Andorra, Australia, Bermuda

Comprehensive list: List of Countries of the World in Italian, Nomi di paesi in italiano - Nations Online Project

Sticky Lyrics – Please Take My Earworms

A mix-up of three different albums covers.
Can you figure out what they are?

An earworm doesn’t have to be a full song. It can be a short, repetitive snippet. Even stranger, is when you have several in your head at the same time as I did recently. The three snippets that kept cycling in my head were:

• “If you feel like going hunting, we’re gonna shoot you down”
• “It’s gonna take an airplane to get me off the ground”
• “She was so good at being in trouble, so bad at being in love”

Maybe the word “gonna” connects the first two and they are all connected rhythmically? Who knows? Or, maybe they nam-shubs, an incantation or spell that can directly alter reality?

Some psychologists casually call what I experienced “sticky lyrics” or “lyric loops”, but there’s no widely accepted separate scientific term beyond involuntary musical imagery (INMI) — it’s just a partial earworm. Whatever you want to call them they intrude on your mental soundscape as if your brain is chewing gum with them.

Can you name these songs? It took me a few days to hunt the songs down and listen to them. That’s one way to get rid of the loops: listen to the song. Other ways are discussed at 7 Simple Ways Get Rid of a Song That's Stuck in Your Head. Another way is suggested in the Mark Twain short story “A Literary Nightmare” (1876): infect someone else!

Are you ready for the answers?

• “If you feel like going hunting, we’re gonna shoot you down” - Camel Power Club – “Laïka” from the album “Club Vinyl” (2020)
• “It’s gonna take an airplane to get me off the ground” - Destroyer – “It's Gonna Take an Airplane” from the album “Your Blues” (2004)
• “She was so good at being in trouble, so bad at being in love” - Unknown Mortal Orchestra - “So Good at Being in Trouble” from the albums “II” (2013)

Unknown Mortal Orchestra also has the catchy “Ffunny Friends” song...I beg you don’t go and listen to it.


  

Cardeto Hike - Giro dei Laghi

Overview ~ Notes ~ Flora ~ Photos

  
Left: Lago di Mezza di Cardeto - Alta Val Seriana.
Center: A horse grazing above Gromo - Alta Val Seriana.
Right: Trail 233 in Alta Val Seriana - heading down into Gromo.

Overview

Length: 14.1 km
Duration: 6.5 hours (includes a leisurely lunch)
Elevation gain: 881 m
Location: Italy, Bergamo, Alta Val Seriana, Gromo

Notes

Just like our last hike to Alpe Dosdè, a call comes from friends with a hike offer. We said yes, and we went. It’s good to have friends!

This time to Alta Val Seriana, above Gromo to visit the Cardeto Lakes (Laghi di Cardeto).

The name Cardeto most likely comes from the Italian word cardo — meaning thistle — with the suffix -eto, which indicates a place characterized by or abundant in something. So Cardeto can be interpreted as “place of thistles” or “thistle field,” a toponymic nod to the vegetation that once grew (or still grows) in that high alpine basin.

The trails that we followed were Sentiero 233: Gromo - Passo Portula and Sentiero 233A: Cardeto - Giro dei Laghi. We stopped at Baita alta di Cardeto but did not go up to Passo Portula. We had a wonderful lunch at Baita Cardeto Flavio Rodigari. The brasato con polenta had tender chunks of beef that melted in your mouth.

On our clockwise tour of the lakes we visited:

• Lago Basso (1708 m)
• Lago di Mezzo (1798 m)
• Lago Alto (1862 m) - and then we dove in for a quick swim.

Flora 

[Asteraceae] Carlina acaulis


[Caryophyllaceae] Silene dioica


[Ericaceae] Erica carnea


[Hypericaceae] Hypericum maculatum


[Juncaceae] Juncus sp.


[Melanthiaceae] Veratrum album

This plant is poisonous to humans and livestock. Humans should avoid touching it. If you touch it, wash your hands afterward.  V. album is generally avoided by cattle, but if there is nothing else available may graze it. Farmers pasturing their animals in alpine pastures consider this plant a "problem plant", "underuse indicator", and "space thief". It spreads easily and needs to be maintained. 

[Rosaceae] Sanguisorba dodecandra

Sanguisorba is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rosaceae native to the temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. The common name is burnet. This species is unique to the Bergamasque Alps.


[Rosaceae] Sorbus aucuparia

We usually don't talk about trees that much on Travelmarx, but the rowan trees we saw today were numerous and made for beautiful photos against the mountain backdrops. Rowans are mostly small deciduous trees 10–20 meters (33–66 ft) tall in the Rosaceae family. They are flashy in the spring with their flowers and again in late summer with the clusters of orange fruit, looking like a cluster of berries though they are not true berries. 

Rowan berries have a natural preservative called sorbic acid, but when they’re raw they also pack a bit of parasorbic acid (around 0.4%–0.7% in the European variety). Parasorbic acid can upset your stomach and even mess with your kidneys if you eat a lot. Luckily, cooking, drying, or even freezing them breaks it down into harmless sorbic acid. They're far too mouth-puckering to enjoy straight off the tree.

Photos

  

Left: Baita Cardeto Flavio Rodigari - brasato con polenta.

Center: Baita Cardeto Flavio Rodigari - pasta con verdure.
Right: Baita Cardeto Flavio Rodigari - tagliere.

  

Left: Baita Cardeto Flavio Rodigari.

Center: A horse grazing along trail 233 in Alta Val Seriana.

Right: Monte Calvera in Alta Val Seriana.

  

Left: Lago Alto di Cardeto - Alta Val Seriana.
Center: Lago Basso di Cardeto - Alta Val Seriana.

Right: The Bergamasque Alps - view east from Laghetti di Cardeto.

  

Left: Trail 233 - walking from Baita Cardeto toward Gromo.

Right: View of Alta Val Seriana from Trail 233 above Gromo.

  

Left: Trail 233 starts out among Rowan trees.
Center: Trail marking for 233.
Right: Tracks of Laghetti di Cardeto hike.

Val Grosina and Alpe Dosdè Two-Day Hike

Overview ~ Notes ~ Photos

   

Left: Lago Negro - view southeast - Val di Avedo.
Center: Beam of light lights up the flanks of Corno di Lago Negro.
Right: The tracks for day 2 of the hike.

  

Left: View from Agriturismo Alpe Verva, north toward Monte Forcellina.
Center: A yellow wheelbarrow at Agriturismo Alpe Verva.

Right: The tracks for day 1 of the hike.

Overview

Hike 1

Length: 15.5 km
Duration: 4 hours (moving time)
Elevation gain: 897 m
Location: Italy, Valtellina, Grosio, Val Grosina, Alpe Verva

Hike 2

Length: 16.7 km
Duration: 4 hours 53 minutes (moving time)
Elevation gain: 743 m
Location: Italy, Valtellina, Grosio, Alpe Dosdè

Notes

This hike came about when friends texted us and proposed this itinerary to escape the heat of Bergamo. What were we to say, no?

It’s a two-day hike with one night at Rifugio Federico in Dosdè. We hadn’t visited this area before and were happy to discover some more of the mountains around Bormio. We were here in late June, but south of Bormio, see Valtellina Week Hike 1: Forni Glacier Trail, Valtellina Week Hike 2: Val Zebrù to Rifugio Campo – Loop Hike, and Valtellina Week Hike 3: Val Cedec at the Foot of Gran Zebrù and Rifugio Pizzini.


Alpe Dosdè is a high-altitude pasture area (alpeggio) situated at around 2,100 - 2,200 m in the Livigno Alps of Lombardy, northern Italy. The pastures lie at the foot of Pizzo Dosdè and Corno di Dosdè, just inside the municipality of Valdidentro in the province of Sondrio, near the Swiss border. Rifugio Federico (Valgoi), where we stayed, is in the Alpe Dosdè pasture.

Our two-day hike went counterclockwise around Cima Viola (3,374 m). Thinking of a clock, we started at the 4 pm mark at Rifugio Eita (1,703 m), crossed Passo di Verva (2,301 m) and ended up at 10 pm mark at Rifugio Federico in Dosdè (2,133 m). The next day we returned to 4 pm mark, passing through Capanna Dosdè (2,824 m), completing our loop.

We had half-board (dinner and breakfast the next morning) at Rifugio Federico in Dosdè, a very fun and friendly place. The shared accommodations were good. Bring noise-cancelling headphones if you are sensitive to night sounds like snoring. 😊

The start of the first day was a bit grueling going from Rifugio Eita to Passo di Verva, then the second half of the walk was more relaxed and more interesting with its views north toward Val Viola and Monte Forcellina, followed by a left turn to walk up Val Viola to reach the rifugio.

On the second day, the first part of the day was gorgeous walking along the eastern flanks of Alpe Dosdè. We walked through groups of cows and horses, some who came over to us for a scratch. We heard marmots whistle and occasionally could spot them.

Then, we climbed up to 2,824 m (9,265 ft) to reach Capanna Dosdè. After that, it was all downhill, with a stop at Lago Negro. This is in the upper Val di Avedo.

On our way back to Bergamo, we made a detour to Teglio for dinner to try some... drum roll please ...pizzoccheri.  We ate at Ristorante Pizzeria Al Castello where pizzoccheri is for a minimum of two people. See photos in the section below. For more information about this Valtellina dish, see the blog post The Many Faces of Pizzoccheri.

For information about the plants we saw and the meadow ecosystems we walked through, see the post Val Grosina and Alpe Dosdè Hike Plant Notes.

Photos

 

Left: Full hike route - counterclockwise, starting and ending at 4 pm on the clock face.
Right: Livigno Alps and where this hike is around Cima Viola.

  

Left: Leaving Eita behind as we start the hike - view over our shoulders, looking south.

Center: A small lake in Val Grosina.

Right: Agriturismo Alpe Verva (Ristorante).

 

Left: Polenta e formaggio dell'Alpe at Agriturismo Alpe Verva.

Right: Ricotta at Agriturismo Alpe Verva.

  

Left: Entering Alpe Dosdè - with glacier in the distance.
Center: Entrance to Rifugio Federico Valgoi in Dosdè.

Right: Sign - Sentiero glaciologico Giuseppe Nangeroni e Italo Bellotti al Ghiacciaio di Dosdè Est.

  

Left: Example room in Rifugio Federico in Dosdè.
Center: Dinner at Rifugio Federico in Dosdè.

Right: White polenta gnocchi with gorgonzola - dinner at Rifugio Federico Valgoi in Dosdè.

  

  
Left: View from Passo Verva looking south.

Center: View over Val Grossina.

Right: Val Viola - walking towards Rifugio Federico.

 
Left: View nearby rifugio early morning - east - upper Val Viola.
Right: Valley of Cantone di Dosdè - with moraine deposits.


 

Left: Sign - Explaining Vermulera Area, which includes Lago Negro.

Right: Rifugio Eita.

  

Left: Teglio - Ristorante Pizzeria Al Castello - Pizzoccheri.

Center: Teglio - Ristorante Pizzeria Al Castello - Sciatt.

Right: Teglio - Ristorante Pizzeria Al Castello - Ravioli al Castello.

  

Left: Looking south down Vermulèra (Grosio) below Lago Negro.

Center: Looking over Lac di Tres in Vermulèra.

Right: Walking down Val di Avedo (Val Grosina) - heading east - southeast.

  

Left: Lago Negro in Val di Avedo (Vermulèra) person at the edge.

Center: Lago Negro - and Italian trail sign in Val di Avedo (Vermulèra).

Right: Capanna Dosdè at 2,824 m.

   

Left: Horses in the morning in Val Cantone di Dosdè.

Center: Horses graze in Val Cantone di Dosdè.

Right: Cows keep watch in Alpe di Tres - Vermulèra.

  

Left: Alpe Dosdè - Val Cantone di Dosdè.

Center: Leaving Rifugio Federico Valgoi in Dosdè - looking back over our shoulders.

Right: A view back over Alpe Dosdè with Rifugio Federico visible.