Learn Italian: Abbiamo passato un periodo difficile con la nuova gestione. - We went through a difficult period with the new management.

Passare is a verb that can take either avere or essere depending on how it is used. When it has a direct object—meaning you are passing or spending something (in this case, un periodo difficile)—it must take avere. If there were no direct object, such as when saying "The period has passed" (Il periodo è passato), you would use essere.

Does passare mean "to go through" here?

Yes! While you might usually translate passare as "to pass" or "to spend" (like spending time), when you are talking about a challenging experience, translating it as "going through" or "experiencing" sounds much more natural in English.

Why does the adjective nuova come before gestione, but difficile comes after periodo?

In Italian, most descriptive adjectives (like difficile) go after the noun they describe to provide specific, distinguishing information. However, a small group of very common adjectives relating to age, size, or quality—such as nuovo, vecchio, bello, and buono—typically go before the noun.