La moglie del macellaio lavora accanto alla pescheria con una pescivendola molto simpatica.

Because moglie is a feminine noun in Italian, so it takes the feminine singular article la.

• la moglie = the wife
• il marito = the husband

Italian nouns have grammatical gender, and the article must match that gender.

Del is a contraction of di + il.

• di can mean of
• il means the
• di + il = del

So del macellaio literally means of the butcher.

Italian often uses di phrases where English uses ’s.

So:

• la moglie del macellaio = literally the wife of the butcher
• in natural English: the butcher’s wife

This is a very common pattern in Italian.

Because accanto normally uses the preposition a:

• accanto a = next to / beside

Then a + la becomes alla.

So:

• accanto alla pescheria = next to the fish shop

You usually need that a after accanto.

Yes. Vicino a is another very common way to say near or next to.

So both of these work:

• accanto alla pescheria
• vicino alla pescheria

Accanto a often feels a bit more specifically right beside, while vicino a can be slightly broader, but in many everyday contexts they are very similar.

They are not the same kind of word:

• pescheria = fish shop / fish market stall
• pescivendola = female fish seller / fishmonger

So one is a place, and the other is a person.

That is why the sentence can mention both:

• she works next to the fish shop
• with a female fish seller

Pescivendola is feminine, so it takes una.

• una pescivendola = a female fish seller
• un pescivendolo = a male fish seller

Italian job nouns often change ending depending on gender:

• -o often masculine
• -a often feminine

So pescivendolo / pescivendola is a typical pair.

Because here molto is working as an adverb meaning very, not as an adjective.

• molto simpatica = very nice / very friendly

When molto is an adverb, it does not change for gender or number.

Compare:

• una donna molto simpatica = a very nice woman
• molte donne simpatiche = many nice women

So:

• molto = very
• molta = much / a lot of, feminine adjective

Yes, that is the most natural reading.

The phrase con una pescivendola molto simpatica most naturally goes with lavora:

• lavora con... = she works with...

So the sentence suggests that the butcher’s wife works with a very nice female fish seller, and this work happens next to the fish shop.

No. Accanto alla pescheria means next to the fish shop, not in the fish shop.

If you wanted to say in the fish shop, you would normally say:

• lavora nella pescheria

So:

• accanto alla pescheria = beside the fish shop
• nella pescheria = in the fish shop

Because Italian often leaves out subject pronouns when the verb already makes the subject clear.

• lavora = he/she works

In this sentence, the subject is already clearly la moglie del macellaio, so lei is unnecessary.

Italian does this all the time:

• Mario mangia
• La ragazza studia
• La moglie del macellaio lavora

The given order is natural, but Italian word order is more flexible than English.

This sentence is a normal neutral order:

• subject: La moglie del macellaio
• verb: lavora
• place: accanto alla pescheria
• companion: con una pescivendola molto simpatica

You could move some parts for emphasis, for example:

• La moglie del macellaio lavora con una pescivendola molto simpatica accanto alla pescheria.

That is still understandable, but it can slightly change the rhythm or emphasis. The original version is clear and natural.

Because alla comes from a + la, and la stays unchanged before a consonant.

• alla pescheria because pescheria starts with p
• all’edicola because edicola starts with a vowel

So:

• a + la pescheria = alla pescheria
• a + l’edicola = all’edicola