Learn Italian: Il quartiere è rumoroso e, per di più, c'è muffa nel bagno. - The neighborhood is noisy and, what's more, there is mold in the bathroom.

Il quartiere è rumoroso e, per di più, c'è muffa nel bagno.

The neighborhood is noisy and, what's more, there is mold in the bathroom.

Breakdown of Il quartiere è rumoroso e, per di più, c'è muffa nel bagno.

the bath / the bathroom

Questions & Answers about Il quartiere è rumoroso e, per di più, c'è muffa nel bagno.

How does per di più differ from a simple connector like inoltre here?

While both add information, per di più (what's more) carries a strong sense of escalation or piling on. In this sentence, it emphasizes that the mold makes an already bad situation (the noisy neighborhood) even worse. Inoltre is generally a more neutral way to add a point.

Why are there commas around per di più?

Just like with 'what's more' in English, per di più acts as an emphatic aside here. It interrupts the natural flow of the sentence to draw attention to the escalation, so it is set off by commas. You will frequently see it paired directly after the conjunction e (and).

Does per di più always pile on negative things?

Not at all! While it perfectly fits this list of complaints, it can also pile on positive features. For example, you could say an apartment is spacious e, per di più, cheap. It simply means the extra information strengthens the argument you are building.

Why isn't there an article before muffa (like c'è la muffa)?

Muffa (mold) is being used as a general, uncountable substance here. Just like in English, you can often drop the article in Italian when simply stating the existence of an uncountable noun with c'è. However, using the partitive article (c'è della muffa) is also very common and would be perfectly correct.