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PhrasesAt the AirbnbÈ saltata la luce.
B1informal

È saltata la luce.

The electricity has gone off.

Pronunciation

SAL-ta-ta — three syllables, stress on the first.

When to use it

Report to the host immediately if the electricity goes off. It is often just a tripped circuit breaker.

What it means

'Saltare la luce' (literally 'the light jumped') is a typical Italian colloquial expression for when electricity trips out. The 'quadro elettrico' (electrical panel/fuse box) has a 'salvavita' (residual current device) that trips when overloaded.

Variations

Dov'è il quadro elettrico?

Where is the electrical panel?

Ask to find it so you can reset the breaker yourself

Sono saltate le luci in tutto l'appartamento.

The lights have gone out in the entire apartment.

Describe the extent of the outage

Come si resetta il salvavita?

How do I reset the circuit breaker?

Ask for instructions to reset the breaker — it is usually a simple switch flip

Mini Dialogue

— È saltata la luce. Tutto spento all'improvviso. — Tranquillo! Il quadro elettrico è nell'ingresso, nell'armadio a destra. C'è un interruttore in basso. — Eccolo. Lo rialzo? — Sì, tiralo su. Dovrebbe riprendersi.

— The electricity has gone off. Everything went out suddenly. — Do not worry! The electrical panel is in the entrance hall, in the wardrobe on the right. There is a switch at the bottom. — Here it is. Do I flip it back up? — Yes, push it up. It should come back on.

Cultural Note

Italian apartment electrical systems are often older and can trip when too many appliances run simultaneously — hairdryer + kettle + air conditioning is a classic combination that causes a trip. The 'salvavita' (safety switch) is usually easy to reset and found in the 'quadro elettrico' in the entrance hallway.