Breakdown of Torino, capitale del nord, ha molti palazzi antichi.
il palazzo
the building
avere
to have
molto
a lot of / much
di
of, from
Questions & Answers about Torino, capitale del nord, ha molti palazzi antichi.
Why is it just capitale del nord and not la capitale del nord?
In Italian, when you place a descriptive noun phrase right after a proper noun to define or introduce it (known as an apposition), you must drop the definite article. While English says "Turin, the capital", Italian simply says Torino, capitale.
Since we dropped the article before capitale, why do we still use del (di + il) instead of just di before nord?
Compass directions like nord require the definite article when they refer to a specific geographical region. Because it refers to "the north", it takes the article il, which combines with di to form the articulated preposition del.
Does palazzi always mean "palaces" in the royal sense?
Not necessarily! While it translates to "palaces" here to describe historic mansions, palazzo is a famous false friend. In modern Italian, it usually just means a multi-story building, an apartment block, or an office building. A true royal residence is more often called a reggia.