Ad agosto la città è più tranquilla del solito.

Ad agosto means in August.

The basic preposition here is a, but before a word beginning with a vowel, Italian sometimes adds a d for smoother pronunciation:

• a agosto → ad agosto

This extra d is called a euphonic d. In modern Italian, it is common in a few fixed expressions, and ad agosto sounds very natural.

Usually, no. For months, Italian normally uses a:

• a gennaio
• a maggio
• ad agosto

So ad agosto is the standard choice here.

English uses in August, but Italian does not match English prepositions word for word.

La città means the city.

Italian often uses the definite article more regularly than English does. In this sentence, the speaker is referring to a specific city already understood from context, so la is completely normal.

Without context, la città can also sound like the city we’re talking about or the city here.

Because tranquilla agrees with la città, and città is a feminine singular noun.

In Italian, adjectives usually agree in gender and number with the noun they describe:

• il posto tranquillo = the quiet place
• la città tranquilla = the quiet city
• le città tranquille = the quiet cities

So:

• la città è più tranquilla = the city is quieter

It is the comparative form: more quiet / quieter.

Italian often forms comparatives with:

• più
  • adjective + di/del/etc.

So:

• tranquilla = quiet
• più tranquilla = quieter / more quiet

In this sentence, the comparison is completed by del solito:

• più tranquilla del solito = quieter than usual

These two expressions mean different things.

• del solito = than usual
• di solito = usually

So:

• La città è più tranquilla del solito = The city is quieter than usual.
• Di solito la città è tranquilla = The city is usually quiet.

Here, del comes from di + il and is part of the comparison pattern più ... del solito.

Here solito means usual or normal.

The expression del solito is very common and means:

• than usual
• than normal
• than it usually is

So the sentence is not comparing the city to another city. It is comparing the city now with its normal state.

Because the subject is la città, which is singular.

• la città è = the city is
• le città sono = the cities are

So if the sentence were plural, it would be:

• Ad agosto le città sono più tranquille del solito.

Yes. Italian word order is fairly flexible.

These are all natural, though they may have slightly different emphasis:

• Ad agosto la città è più tranquilla del solito.
• La città ad agosto è più tranquilla del solito.

Starting with Ad agosto gives emphasis to the time frame: In August...

These accents are important in Italian.

• è = is
  This distinguishes it from e = and
• più = more
• città = city

In città, the accent also shows that the stress falls on the last syllable: cit-TÀ.

So the accents are not optional here; they are part of the correct spelling.

Often yes, but the exact English choice depends on context.

For a city, tranquilla can mean:

• quiet
• calm
• peaceful
• less busy

So in context, più tranquilla del solito could suggest:

• quieter than usual
• calmer than usual
• less hectic than usual

If many people leave the city in August, the idea is often that the city feels calmer and less crowded.