Learn Italian: La data della festa è il tre ottobre. - The date of the party is October 3rd.

In Italian, you use regular numbers (like due, tre, quattro) for all dates except the very first day of the month. So for October 3rd, you literally say 'the three October'. The only exception is the first of the month, which uses the word primo (first).

Does Italian always put the number before the month?

Yes! To give a date, the pattern is always il + number + month. You will never put the month first. You can also say il tre di ottobre (the three of October), but leaving out di is very common and completely correct.

Why is it della festa instead of just di la festa?

In English we say 'the date OF THE party'. In Italian, 'of' is di and 'the' (for the feminine word festa) is la. Italian requires you to merge these small words together: di + la always combines into della.

Is festa only used for a 'party'?

festa is a very flexible word. It often means 'party', but it is also the standard word for 'holiday' or 'festival'. Depending on what the speakers are talking about, this sentence could also mean 'The date of the festival is October 3rd'.