1.5.1. Passato remoto versus passato prossimo

As we said above, the passato remoto is generally used to indicate a completed action in a distant past—an action that no longer has any influence on the present—or to indicate a completed action in a recent past for which the speaker feels subjectively distant.

-On the contrary, the passato prossimo indicates an action that is somehow still felt tied (psychologically or otherwise) to the person speaking. E.g.,

Ieri sono andata a scuola. = Yesterday I went to school.

Mio nonno è nato nel 1917. = My grandfather was born in 1917. (And he’s still alive.)

This brief explanation should help you understand that the passato prossimo is the past tense most commonly used in spoken Italian.

Regional preferences

In Northern Italy, in spoken Italian, you will almost always hear the passato prossimo (and not the passato remoto). In Central Italy, especially in Tuscany, both tenses are used. In Southern Italy, the passato remoto is used a great deal—especially in Sicily where it is used to recount even very recent events.