Learn Italian: L'appartamento arredato è piccolo; oltretutto, non è centrale. - The furnished apartment is small; besides, it is not central.

While inoltre simply means "furthermore" or "in addition" in a neutral way, oltretutto literally means "beyond everything". It carries a stronger sense of escalation, often translated as "on top of that" or "to make matters worse", making it perfect for piling on another complaint about the apartment.

Does oltretutto always introduce a negative point, like the apartment not being central?

Not always! While it is very commonly used to compound a negative situation, it can also escalate positive traits. For example, you could say: L'appartamento è grande e, oltretutto, economico (The apartment is big and, on top of that, cheap).

Why is there a semicolon before oltretutto instead of a comma?

Connectors like oltretutto, per di più, and inoltre are transitional adverbs, not true conjunctions (like e or ma). If you use a simple comma to join two full independent clauses, you create a run-on sentence. A semicolon or a full stop is the grammatically correct choice in formal writing.

Is arredato related to the Italian word for "furniture"?

Yes, arredato is the past participle of the verb arredare (to furnish), used here as an adjective. If you want to talk about the furniture itself, you would use the noun l'arredamento (the overall furnishing or decor) or i mobili (the physical pieces of furniture).