Allo svincolo vicino al mercato prendo l’autostrada per la città.

allo is the contraction of the preposition a (“to/at”) + the definite article lo. In Italian, masculine singular nouns that begin with s + consonant (like svincolo) or with z, gn, ps etc. take lo instead of il. So:

• a
  • lo = allo
    You couldn’t use al (which is a
    • il) because svincolo doesn’t accept il.

In this sentence vicino functions as a simple preposition meaning “near.” Prepositions like vicino require a + definite article when they refer to a noun:

• vicino
  • a
    • il = vicino al
      You cannot say vicino il or vicino di for “near the market” in standard Italian.

In Italian prendere means “to take,” and you use it with modes of transport or routes. So:

• prendere il treno = “take the train”
• prendere l’autobus = “take the bus”
• prendere l’autostrada = “take the highway” (i.e., get onto the highway)

Italian normally requires a definite article before singular and plural nouns in prepositional phrases, especially when you specify a location. So even though English often drops the article, Italian keeps it:

• English: near (the) market
• Italian: vicino al mercato

Yes. Italian allows you to move adverbial/prepositional phrases around for emphasis or style. All of these are correct:

1. Allo svincolo vicino al mercato prendo l’autostrada per la città.
2. Prendo l’autostrada allo svincolo vicino al mercato per la città.
3. Prendo per la città l’autostrada allo svincolo vicino al mercato.
   The core meaning stays the same; you’re just shifting what sounds most natural or what you want to highlight.