La marmellata fatta in casa è più saporita di quella comprata.

Because they all refer to la marmellata, which is a feminine singular noun.

In Italian, adjectives and past participles used like adjectives must agree with the noun they describe:

• marmellata → feminine singular
• so: fatta, saporita, comprata

If the noun were masculine singular, you would get forms like fatto, saporito, comprato.

Fatta in casa is a past participle phrase used adjectivally. It describes marmellata.

Literally, it is something like:

• la marmellata fatta in casa
• = the jam made at home
• = the homemade jam

You can think of it as a shortened version of a longer clause such as:

• la marmellata che è stata fatta in casa

In everyday Italian, this shorter structure is very common.

In Italian, phrases like fatta in casa, comprata ieri, scritta a mano, and so on normally come after the noun they modify.

So:

• la marmellata fatta in casa
• il pane comprato ieri
• una lettera scritta a mano

This is very natural in Italian. English often allows a pre-noun adjective like homemade jam, but Italian usually prefers the noun first and the descriptive phrase after it.

Because fatto in casa is a very common idiomatic expression meaning homemade.

Here, in casa does not mean a specific physical house in the sense of inside the house. It means at home / home-made in a general sense.

So:

• fatto in casa = homemade
• cucina fatta in casa = home cooking
• pane fatto in casa = homemade bread

If you said nella casa, it would sound much more literal and would usually refer to a specific house.

Quella is a demonstrative pronoun meaning that one. It replaces marmellata so you do not have to repeat the noun.

So:

• La marmellata fatta in casa è più saporita di quella comprata.

literally works like:

• The homemade jam is more flavorful than that bought one.

Here quella stands for quella marmellata.

It is feminine singular because it refers back to marmellata.

Because Italian normally uses più ... di ... for this kind of comparison.

Structure:

• più + adjective + di + noun/pronoun
• più saporita di quella comprata

So this means more flavorful than the bought one.

This di is the normal comparative word here, just like than in English.

This is a very common question.

In a sentence like this one, Italian uses di because the comparison is with a noun or pronoun:

• più saporita di quella comprata

Italian often uses che when comparing:

• two adjectives
  
  • più saporita che dolce
• two adverbs
  
  • più lentamente che bene
• two verbs
  
  • è meglio leggere che guardare la TV
• two items with the same grammatical role in some contexts

A simple rule that helps beginners is:

• use di before nouns, pronouns, numbers, infinitives
• use che when comparing two qualities, actions, or parallel elements

Yes, in context it can.

Literally, comprata just means bought. But because the sentence contrasts it with fatta in casa, the natural English meaning is often store-bought.

Italian does not explicitly say where it was bought. If you wanted to be more specific, you could say:

• quella comprata al supermercato
• quella comprata in negozio

But in this sentence, the contrast already makes the intended meaning clear.

Italian usually forms the comparative with:

• più + adjective

So:

• saporita = flavorful / tasty
• più saporita = more flavorful / tastier

This is the normal pattern in Italian, just like:

• più grande = bigger
• più interessante = more interesting
• più dolce = sweeter

Italian does have a few irregular comparatives, but saporita is not one of them.

Saporita means something like flavorful, full of taste, or tasty.

Depending on context, English might translate it as:

• more flavorful
• tastier
• richer in flavor

It is related to sapore, which means flavor or taste.

So più saporita suggests that the homemade jam has a stronger, better, or more noticeable flavor.

Yes, absolutely.

That version is grammatically correct:

• La marmellata fatta in casa è più saporita della marmellata comprata.

Here della is just di + la.

However, Italian often avoids repeating a noun when it is already obvious, so di quella comprata sounds smoother and more natural.

So:

• ... di quella comprata = more natural, less repetitive
• ... della marmellata comprata = correct, but more repetitive

Because è is the verb is, from essere.

The accent distinguishes it from e, which means and.

So:

• è = is
• e = and

This is a very important spelling difference in Italian.

In everyday use, learners can usually treat marmellata as jam.

However, in more technical or traditional Italian usage, there is a distinction:

• marmellata is properly used for preserves made from citrus fruits
• confettura is used for most other fruit preserves

So strictly speaking, strawberry or apricot jam is often confettura.

But in everyday conversation, many Italians use marmellata more loosely, and learners will hear it often.