🔍 In short. Italian has a whole family of longer location words for saying where something is: vicino a (near), accanto a (next to), a fianco di (alongside), presso (at, c/o), davanti a (in front of), dietro a (behind), di fronte a (opposite). They all describe position, but they are not interchangeable. Vicino a means a general “nearby”. Accanto a means immediately beside, next door. A fianco di means side by side. Presso is formal: at someone’s home, at a company, or “c/o” on an envelope. Mix them up and your Italian will work, but it will sound off. Sort them out and your sense of place clicks into Italian rhythm.
This A2 guide covers the seven core location words, the tone difference between vicino a and presso, the small grammar trap with vicino casa versus vicino a casa, a comparison table to keep open, and a Palermo address-directions dialogue between Romina and Saverio.
Cosa impareremo oggi
👆🏻 Jump to section
- The family of italian vicino accanto presso words
- Vicino a: the everyday “near”
- Accanto a: right next to, next door
- A fianco di: side by side
- Presso: at the home or office of
- Davanti a, dietro a, di fronte a
- Comparison table
- Dialogue: Saverio’s apartment in Palermo
- Mini-challenge
- Frequently asked questions
- Related guides
The family of italian vicino accanto presso words
Walk through any old quarter of Palermo and you will hear Italians give directions with a small but very precise toolbox. The post office is accanto al bar. The pharmacy is vicino alla piazza. The notary’s studio is presso lo studio del dottor Greco. The benches sit a fianco della fontana. These are not just synonyms for “near”. They are italian vicino accanto presso words with different distances, different registers, and different jobs.
The good news for A2 learners: the seven main words almost all end in a, and many of them are the same word the speaker might use as a plain adverb. Vicino alone means “nearby”. Add a and a noun, and you have a location word: vicino al mare (“near the sea”). The same happens with davanti, dietro, accanto. The little a turns them from “where” into “near what”. Only presso and a fianco di behave differently, and we will see why.
- La banca è vicino alla farmacia.
The bank is near the pharmacy. - Il bar è accanto alla chiesa.
The bar is right next to the church. - Romina abita presso una famiglia di Palermo.
Romina is living with a family in Palermo. - Saverio si è seduto a fianco di sua madre.
Saverio sat down at his mother’s side. - L’autobus si ferma davanti alla scuola.
The bus stops in front of the school. - Il giardino è dietro al palazzo.
The garden is behind the building. - Il museo è di fronte al teatro.
The museum is opposite the theatre. - Caterina lavora presso uno studio legale a Palermo.
Caterina works at a law office in Palermo.
Vicino a: the everyday “near”
The italian vicino accanto presso group starts with the most flexible member: vicino a. It means “near”, in the broad sense. A house can be vicino al mare even if the beach is a fifteen-minute walk away. A city can be vicino a Bari even if it is forty kilometres up the coast. The word measures proximity loosely, the way English “near” does. It works for buildings, cities, people, even moments in time (vicino a Natale).
- Abitiamo vicino al mercato di Ballarò.
We live near the Ballarò market. - Pietro lavora vicino a Palermo, in un paese sulle colline.
Pietro works near Palermo, in a hill town. - Vicino a Natale i negozi del corso restano aperti fino a tardi.
Near Christmas the shops on the main street stay open late. - Mi siedo vicino a te, così possiamo parlare meglio.
I’ll sit near you, so we can talk better. - La nuova pasticceria è vicino alla stazione centrale.
The new pastry shop is near the central station.
There is one trap. In casual speech you will hear Italians drop the a: vicino casa, vicino Palermo. The Treccani guidance is clear: as a location word, vicino should keep its a. Without the a, the form is widespread but not considered correct. So when in doubt, say vicino a casa, vicino a Palermo, vicino alla scuola. With personal pronouns the a is always there: vicino a me, vicino a noi, never vicino me.
🎯 Mini-challenge: Add the missing piece (the article or the a) to complete each sentence.
- Il bar è vicino ___ stazione di Palermo.
- Romina abita vicino ___ me, a due isolati di distanza.
- La libreria nuova è vicino ___ teatro Massimo.
- Federica è seduta vicino ___ Saverio in classe.
- L’ufficio postale è vicino ___ mercato.
👉 Show answers
1. vicino alla stazione · 2. vicino a me · 3. vicino al teatro Massimo · 4. vicino a Saverio · 5. vicino al mercato
Accanto a: right next to, next door
If vicino a is a generous “near”, accanto a is a strict “next to”. The two things are side by side, with nothing significant between them. The pharmacy accanto alla chiesa is the one next door, sharing a wall. The bench accanto al lampione is the one immediately beside the streetlamp. A friend sitting accanto a te is literally in the seat next to yours.
- Scusi, c’è una banca qui vicino? Sì, ce n’è una proprio accanto alla farmacia.
Excuse me, is there a bank nearby? Yes, there’s one right next to the pharmacy. - Saverio si è seduto accanto a Romina sull’autobus.
Saverio sat next to Romina on the bus. - La cassa è accanto all’entrata del supermercato.
The cashier is right by the supermarket entrance. - Il vivaio si trova accanto al deposito dei vigili del fuoco.
The garden centre is right next to the firefighters’ depot. - Caterina lavora accanto a una collega di Catania molto simpatica.
Caterina works next to a very nice colleague from Catania.
Two practical notes. First, accanto a does not work for cities or regions. You can say vicino a Palermo, but not accanto a Palermo. Geographical proximity calls for vicino a. Accanto a wants objects that are physically beside each other. Second, in spoken Italian some northern speakers find accanto a casa a little stiff and prefer vicino a casa. With a possessive it sounds fine: accanto a casa mia, accanto a casa sua. These are small idiomatic preferences, not strict rules.
A fianco di: side by side
The third italian vicino accanto presso word is a fianco di. The word fianco means “side” (of a person, of a building), and a fianco di literally means “at the side of”. It is very close to accanto a, often interchangeable with it. In everyday speech you will also hear di fianco a, which is the same idea with the prepositions reshuffled. Both are correct. What is wrong is a fianco a: that form does not exist.
- Il giardinetto è a fianco della biblioteca comunale.
The little garden is alongside the public library. - Romina cammina sempre a fianco di Saverio quando attraversano Via Maqueda.
Romina always walks side by side with Saverio when they cross Via Maqueda. - Mio padre ha lavorato a fianco del dottor Greco per trent’anni.
My father worked alongside Dr. Greco for thirty years. - La pasticceria è di fianco al panificio, è impossibile sbagliare.
The pastry shop is right beside the bakery, you can’t get it wrong. - Federica si è messa di fianco a Pietro per la foto di gruppo.
Federica stood next to Pietro for the group photo.
When does a fianco di add something that accanto a does not? Two situations stand out. The first is when you want to suggest a working or moral partnership: ho lavorato a fianco di lei per dieci anni (“I worked alongside her for ten years”) carries the flavour of teamwork. The second is when two things are literally side by side, touching or nearly so: la sedia a fianco della scrivania (“the chair right beside the desk”). Both senses overlap with accanto a, and the choice often comes down to rhythm rather than meaning.
Presso: at the home or office of
And now the formal cousin of the family: presso. This is the word that surprises learners, because it does several different jobs and none of them are obvious from its appearance. Three main uses cover most of what you need at A2 level.
Presso for “c/o” on an address
If you are mailing a letter to someone who is staying at a friend’s house, you write presso. The line reads Romina Bianchi, presso famiglia Greco, via Maqueda 23, Palermo. In English you would write “c/o Greco family”. Italian uses presso. This is the most fixed meaning of the word and the one you will see on every Italian envelope, every utility bill, every official form.
Presso for “at” a place of work or institution
The second job of presso is to say where someone works or studies, in a formal tone. Caterina lavora presso uno studio legale means “Caterina works at a law office”. Pietro studia presso l’università di Palermo means “Pietro studies at the University of Palermo”. The same idea can be expressed with a or in, and in everyday speech most Italians would say lavora in uno studio legale, studia all’università. But on a CV, in a job description, in a polite introduction, presso is the standard choice.
- Federica fa uno stage presso il museo archeologico di Palermo.
Federica is doing an internship at the archaeological museum of Palermo. - Mio fratello lavora presso una ditta di import-export.
My brother works for an import-export company. - L’appuntamento è fissato presso lo studio del notaio.
The appointment is set at the notary’s office. - Romina abita temporaneamente presso una signora di Catania.
Romina is staying temporarily at a Catanian lady’s house.
Presso meaning “near”, in formal tone
The third use is rarer and more literary: presso can mean “near” the way vicino a does. Una casa presso il fiume means “a house near the river”. You will find this sense in novels, in older travel writing, in formal descriptions. Day to day, an Italian would say una casa vicino al fiume. So unless you are reading literature or writing a formal text, you can park this third meaning to the side and stick with the first two.
One grammatical note. Unlike the other words in this family, presso takes a noun directly, without any preposition in between. You say presso il signor Rossi, not presso al signor Rossi. With pronouns it works the same way: presso di me, presso di te, presso di noi. The di appears only before a pronoun.
🎯 Mini-challenge: Pick between vicino a, accanto a and presso.
- Caterina lavora ___ uno studio di architettura a Palermo.
- La banca è ___ farmacia, condividono lo stesso ingresso.
- La nuova scuola è ___ stadio, a circa cinque minuti a piedi.
- Spedisco la lettera a Romina ___ famiglia Greco.
- Mi siedo ___ te al tavolo, così parliamo.
👉 Show answers
1. presso uno studio (formal workplace) · 2. accanto alla farmacia (immediately beside) · 3. vicino allo stadio (general proximity) · 4. presso famiglia Greco (c/o on address) · 5. vicino a te or accanto a te (both work for sitting beside)
Davanti a, dietro a, di fronte a
Once you have vicino a, accanto a, and presso sorted, three more location words complete the picture: davanti a for “in front of”, dietro a for “behind”, and di fronte a for “opposite, facing”. They follow the same pattern as vicino a: word plus a plus the noun. The little a always carries an article when one is needed: davanti alla scuola, dietro al palazzo, di fronte al museo.
- L’autobus si ferma proprio davanti alla scuola.
The bus stops right in front of the school. - Saverio ha parcheggiato la macchina davanti a casa di Romina.
Saverio parked the car in front of Romina’s house. - Il vicolo continua dietro al palazzo storico.
The alley continues behind the historic building. - Il museo è di fronte al teatro, basta attraversare la piazza.
The museum is across from the theatre, you just cross the square. - La pasticceria nuova è di fronte alla cattedrale.
The new pastry shop is opposite the cathedral.
A small twist with dietro: both dietro al palazzo and dietro il palazzo are correct, and you will hear both. The Treccani note says that with verbs of motion (going, walking, running) the form with a is the safe choice: cammino dietro a Mario, corre dietro al pallone. For a static “behind”, either works. Before personal pronouns, however, the natural form is dietro di me, davanti a me: davanti with a, dietro with di. This little asymmetry is a frequent source of slips for learners.
One word about di fronte a. It means “facing”, “opposite”. Two buildings di fronte face each other across a street or a square. If someone sits di fronte a te, they sit across from you, looking at you. Compare with davanti a te: this only means “in front of you”, which could be facing you or simply ahead of you. So davanti is broader; di fronte insists on the face-to-face axis.
Comparison table
Keep this italian vicino accanto presso table open while you describe places, give directions, or read Italian texts. The tone column tells you whether the word is everyday speech or something you would see in writing.
| Italian word | Meaning | tone | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| vicino a | near, nearby | everyday, all situations | Abitiamo vicino al mercato. |
| accanto a | right next to, next door | everyday, physical objects | Il bar è accanto alla chiesa. |
| a fianco di | alongside, at the side of | everyday, slight teamwork flavour | Ho lavorato a fianco di lui. |
| di fianco a | next to (informal cousin of accanto a) | colloquial, spoken | La pasticceria è di fianco al panificio. |
| presso | at the home / office / institution of; c/o on addresses | formal, written, official | Lavoro presso uno studio legale. |
| davanti a | in front of, ahead of | everyday, all situations | L’autobus si ferma davanti alla scuola. |
| dietro a / dietro | behind | everyday; “a” preferred with motion verbs | Il giardino è dietro al palazzo. |
| di fronte a | opposite, facing, across from | everyday, insists on face-to-face | Il museo è di fronte al teatro. |
One reading of the table: vicino a is the generalist, accanto a is the specialist of “right next door”, presso is the formal envelope, a fianco di is the side-by-side partner, davanti a and dietro a handle front and back, di fronte a handles the face-to-face axis. Once these seven slots are clear, Italian directions click open.
Dialogue: Saverio’s apartment in Palermo
Romina is visiting Saverio’s flat in the Kalsa quarter of Palermo for the first time. She has the address but not the exact directions. Saverio gives her the small details that turn a postcode into a doorstep. Watch how the italian vicino accanto presso words appear in a natural exchange about a real city walk.
👩🏼🦰 Romina: Ciao Saverio! Sono arrivata in Via Alloro. Adesso dove devo andare?
Hi Saverio! I’ve reached Via Alloro. Where do I go now?
👨🏽🦱 Saverio: Perfetto. Cammina ancora un po’ fino alla piazza piccola. Vedi una farmacia con l’insegna verde?
Perfect. Walk a bit more until the little square. Do you see a pharmacy with a green sign?
👩🏼🦰 Romina: Sì, la vedo. È vicino a una chiesa, giusto?
Yes, I see it. It’s near a church, right?
👨🏽🦱 Saverio: Esatto. Il mio palazzo è accanto alla farmacia, condividiamo perfino il muro. L’entrata però è dall’altro lato, in un vicolo dietro al palazzo.
Exactly. My building is right next to the pharmacy, we even share a wall. The entrance, though, is on the other side, in an alley behind the building.
👩🏼🦰 Romina: Ah, quindi devo girare a destra dopo la farmacia?
Ah, so I have to turn right after the pharmacy?
👨🏽🦱 Saverio: Sì, gira a destra e cammina circa venti metri. Vedrai un portone marrone di fronte a un piccolo negozio di fiori.
Yes, turn right and walk about twenty metres. You’ll see a brown door across from a small flower shop.
👩🏼🦰 Romina: Quel fioraio l’ho appena passato! Allora il tuo portone è proprio di fronte a lui?
I just walked past that florist! So your door is right opposite it?
👨🏽🦱 Saverio: Sì. Citofona Greco, secondo piano. Quando arrivi davanti al portone aspettami due minuti, scendo io.
Yes. Buzz Greco, second floor. When you get in front of the door wait two minutes, I’ll come down.
👩🏼🦰 Romina: Perfetto. Senti, una curiosità: sul pacco che mi hai spedito la settimana scorsa avevi scritto “presso Greco”. È perché abiti dalla tua famiglia?
Perfect. Listen, one curiosity: on the package you sent me last week you’d written “c/o Greco”. Is it because you live with your family?
👨🏽🦱 Saverio: No, l’appartamento è dei miei zii. Io abito presso di loro per qualche mese, finché non finisco lo stage presso il museo archeologico.
No, the flat belongs to my aunt and uncle. I’m staying at their place for a few months, until I finish the internship at the archaeological museum.
👩🏼🦰 Romina: Capito. Ti sto arrivando, dammi tre minuti. C’è un bar a fianco del tuo portone?
Got it. I’m almost there, give me three minutes. Is there a bar alongside your door?
👨🏽🦱 Saverio: No, il bar è due portoni più avanti. A fianco del mio portone c’è solo un vecchio negozio di cornici, chiuso da anni.
No, the bar is two doors further on. Beside my door there’s only an old picture-frame shop, closed for years.
👩🏼🦰 Romina: Allora ci vediamo subito. A dopo!
Then I’ll see you in a second. See you soon!
What to notice in the dialogue
- Vicino a una chiesa: general proximity, the pharmacy and the church are in the same area but not touching.
- Accanto alla farmacia: the building and the pharmacy share a wall, immediately beside.
- Dietro al palazzo: the entrance is behind the building, motion verb context (“girare a destra”), so the form with a works well.
- Di fronte a un piccolo negozio di fiori: the door faces the florist across the alley.
- Davanti al portone: the position right in front of the entrance, where Romina will wait.
- Presso Greco: the c/o notation on a package, the most fixed use of presso.
- Presso di loro: with a pronoun, presso takes di.
- Presso il museo archeologico: presso for an institution where someone is interning, the formal-workplace use.
- A fianco del tuo portone: the side-by-side relation between two doorways on the same wall.
Mini-challenge
🎯 Final challenge: Translate into natural Italian. Choose the right italian vicino accanto presso word for each context.
- The bakery is near the central station.
- Federica sat next to me at the cinema.
- Caterina works at a publishing house in Palermo.
- The address is: Romina Bianchi, c/o Greco family.
- The museum is opposite the cathedral.
- The car is parked in front of the building.
- The garden is behind the old library.
👉 Show answers
1. Il panificio è vicino alla stazione centrale. (general proximity)
2. Federica si è seduta accanto a me al cinema. (right next to, person)
3. Caterina lavora presso una casa editrice a Palermo. (formal workplace)
4. Romina Bianchi, presso famiglia Greco, via Maqueda 23. (c/o on address)
5. Il museo è di fronte alla cattedrale. (facing across)
6. La macchina è parcheggiata davanti al palazzo. (in front of)
7. Il giardino è dietro alla vecchia biblioteca. (behind, also “dietro la” works)
Sorting italian vicino accanto presso comes from exposure, not memorisation. Read Italian addresses, listen to friends giving directions, notice which word a shopkeeper uses when she explains where the cash desk is. Each time you hear vicino a, accanto a, presso, davanti a, dietro a, or di fronte a in a real context, the distinction sharpens. Pair this guide with the quiz below, then revisit it after a week. Italian rewards patient learners, and these small location words are exactly the kind of detail that lifts an A2 sentence from textbook to natural.
Test your understanding
Take the quiz below to test what you’ve learned about italian vicino accanto presso.
–
Frequently asked questions
These six questions about italian vicino accanto presso come from real exchanges among Italian learners online. For background on usage and tone, the Treccani vocabolario entry on presso is a useful reference.
What is the difference between vicino a and accanto a?
Vicino a means near in a broad sense: a house can be vicino al mare even if the beach is fifteen minutes away. Accanto a means right next to, immediately beside, usually sharing a wall or sitting in the next seat. La banca e vicino alla farmacia means the bank is in the area of the pharmacy; la banca e accanto alla farmacia means the bank is next door to it, immediately beside. Accanto a does not work for cities or regions, only for objects, people, or buildings that are physically beside each other.
When do I use presso instead of vicino a?
Presso is the formal word and covers three jobs: c/o on an address (Romina Bianchi, presso famiglia Greco, via Maqueda 23), at someone’s workplace or institution (lavoro presso uno studio legale, studio presso l’universita di Palermo), and a literary near (una casa presso il fiume). In everyday speech most Italians use vicino a, a, or in instead. Presso is the right choice when you write a CV, an envelope, a formal letter, or any official document. With a pronoun it takes di: presso di me, presso di loro.
Can I say ‘vicino casa’ without the ‘a’?
You will hear it constantly in casual speech, but the recommended form is vicino a casa, with the a. The Treccani guidance is explicit: as a location word, vicino should keep its a. Vicino casa, vicino Palermo, vicino scuola are widespread and understood, but they are not considered correct, and they sound informal at best. With personal pronouns the a is always there: vicino a me, vicino a noi, never vicino me. When you write or want to sound polished, keep the a.
Is ‘a fianco di’ or ‘di fianco a’ correct?
Both are correct. A fianco di and di fianco a mean the same thing (alongside, at the side of) and are largely interchangeable with accanto a. The form a fianco a, however, is wrong and should be avoided. Di fianco a is more colloquial and very common in spoken Italian; a fianco di sounds a touch more formal and is also used in the sense of working partnership: ho lavorato a fianco di lei per dieci anni means I worked alongside her for ten years.
Why do Italians say ‘dietro di me’ but ‘davanti a me’?
This small asymmetry trips up most learners. Before a personal pronoun, davanti keeps the a (davanti a me, davanti a te, davanti a noi), while dietro switches to di (dietro di me, dietro di te, dietro di noi). With nouns, both follow the pattern with a: davanti alla scuola, dietro al palazzo. With dietro you will also hear the form without a (dietro il palazzo), and that is also correct. With motion verbs (camminare, correre, andare), the form dietro a is the safe choice: cammino dietro a Mario.
What does ‘presso’ mean on an Italian envelope?
On an Italian envelope, presso is the equivalent of English c/o (care of). If you are sending a letter to someone staying at another household’s address, you write the recipient’s name on the first line and presso plus the host family’s name on the second. Example: Romina Bianchi, presso famiglia Greco, via Maqueda 23, Palermo. The same convention applies to bills, official mail, and any document sent to a person staying somewhere temporarily. It is the most fixed and predictable use of presso in modern Italian.
Ready for the next step?
All our classes are live on Zoom with a native Italian teacher, in small groups. If this lesson matches your level, take it further with real practice.
Milano A2-B1
Small group course · live on Zoom · native teacher
Move from the basics to real conversations, step by step, with a native Italian teacher who keeps the group small and the pace right for you.
- Small groups, max 4 students — weekly live Zoom lessons
- Grammar, vocabulary, listening and writing in every cycle
- Materials in Italian + English, beginner-friendly
- Homework after each lesson, corrected by your teacher
Individual classes
One-to-one · any level · live on Zoom
Private lessons with your dedicated native Italian teacher, fully tailored to your goals and schedule, from absolute beginner to advanced.
- 55-minute individual Zoom lessons, your dedicated teacher
- Personalised level assessment included
- Interactive online materials — homework after each lesson
- Flexible weekly schedule or pay-as-you-go package
Related guides
- Italian Prepositions: A Nearly Complete Guide: the full hub on di, a, da, in, su, per, tra, fra.
- Italian Qui Sopra, Lì Sotto: Compound Place Adverbs: pointing to a precise spot in space.
- Italian Ci Camminava Sopra: Ci + Locative: how ci works with sopra, sotto, dietro, davanti.
- Treccani vocabolario: presso: institutional reference on the formal uses of presso.
