3

I think this is related to my question about multiple words for coffee shop.

I've come across three different words for bakery. I think I've deduced the correct meanings but would like to make sure I'm correct in my assumptions.

  1. la panetteria: I'm assuming this is a bakery/pastry shop.
  2. il panificio: I'm assuming this is a bakery/bread shop.
  3. il forno: I know this is the word for oven. I've also seen it in some of my books as bakery. I assume it means the baking area where the ovens are vs a bakeshop.

I'm assuming la panetteria and il panificio are similar to French in the sense that in France there are patisseries and boulangeries. I'm in the United States and bakery is a universal term that coverers both pastry shops and bread shops.

Am I correct in my assumptions? Are there other terms in Italian for bakery/bake shop?

Rosie
  • 307
  • 2
  • 11

1 Answers1

8

A panetteria is a shop that sells bread and other baked food; a panificio is a place that makes (-ficio has the same origin as fare) bread etc., and often sells it too (and sometimes the word is used to mean what actually is just a shop); forno, as well as meaning oven – as you say – is also often used to mean a panificio.

Many larger panetterie also have pastries and other sweet baked goods, but that's actually what pasticcerie are for.

Note that all of the above, and more, can be found in a good monolingual dictionary. For instance: panetteria, panificio and forno.

DaG
  • 36,593
  • 6
  • 68
  • 128