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'Davanti a', 'prima di' and friends: prepositions with a built-in 'a' or 'di'

Many Italian prepositions of place and time are really small phrases, and before a noun they end in a linking a or di. You say davanti a (in front of), vicino a (near), in mezzo a (among) and prima di (before). The linking word is not optional decoration: leave it out and the sentence sounds broken.

English speakers trip over this for two reasons. First, English is not consistent: near, before, among and until need nothing, so the Italian link is easy to forget. Second, when English does have a small word, it does not always match: in front of has of, but Italian uses a. Learn each one as a single block, link included.

Word list
assiemeA1 together assieme ai suoi amici = together with his friends fino aA1 until fino alle sei = until six insiemeA1 together insieme a Luca = together with Luca prima diA1 before prima di cena = before dinner accantoA2 beside accanto a me = next to me al posto diA2 instead of al posto del burro = instead of butter davanti aA2 in front of davanti alla scuola = in front of the school di fronte aA2 in front of di fronte al museo = opposite the museum invece diA2 instead of invece del caffè = instead of coffee lontanoA2 far lontano dal centro = far from the center vicinoA2 beside vicino alla stazione = near the station vicinoA2 near vicino a Roma = near Rome a causa diB1 because of a causa della pioggia = because of the rain al di làmB1 beyond al di là delle montagne = beyond the mountains all'esternoB1 outdoors all'esterno del locale = outside the premises all'internoB1 indoors all'interno del ristorante = inside the restaurant di fiancoB1 beside di fianco al letto = beside the bed grazie aB1 because of grazie a te = thanks to you in mezzo aB1 among in mezzo alla folla = in the crowd nel corso diB1 during nel corso della riunione = during the meeting per via diB1 because of per via del traffico = because of the traffic
How it works

The pattern is always the same: preposition phrase + a or di + noun. Because the next word is usually a noun with an article, the link merges with the article, just as it does everywhere else in Italian: a + il = al, a + la = alla, di + le = delle, and so on. That is why you see davanti al cinema and prima delle otto, not davanti a il or prima di le.

Ci vediamo davanti al cinema prima delle otto.
(See you in front of the cinema before eight.)

Rule of thumb: the English word gives you no clue which link to use, so store the phrase with its link. Most take a. A smaller group, including prima di, invece di, a causa di and al di là di, takes di.

The words
Position with a

davanti a and di fronte a both mean in front of, and di fronte a often suggests facing, across the street. accanto a and di fianco a mean next to or beside. vicino a means near, and in mezzo a means in the middle of or among.

Il bar è di fronte al museo.
(The bar is opposite the museum.)
Il gatto dorme di fianco al letto, e il cane accanto a me.
(The cat sleeps beside the bed, and the dog next to me.)
Abito vicino a Roma.
(I live near Rome.)
Ho perso mia sorella in mezzo alla folla.
(I lost my sister in the crowd.)
Inside, outside, beyond

all'interno di and all'esterno di are slightly formal versions of inside and outside, common on signs and in announcements. al di là di means beyond or on the other side of.

È vietato fumare all'interno del ristorante, ma si può all'esterno del locale.
(Smoking is not allowed inside the restaurant, but you can smoke outside the venue.)
Al di là delle montagne c'è la Francia.
(Beyond the mountains is France.)
Time

fino a means until or up to, prima di means before, and nel corso di means during or in the course of.

Lavoro fino alle sei e poi vado in palestra.
(I work until six and then I go to the gym.)
Nel corso della riunione abbiamo parlato del nuovo progetto.
(During the meeting we talked about the new project.)
Company, cause and substitution

The same mechanism appears outside space and time. insieme a and assieme a mean together with. grazie a (thanks to) and a causa di (because of) give a reason, positive or negative. invece di means instead of.

Sabato esco insieme a Luca e assieme ai suoi amici.
(On Saturday I'm going out with Luca and his friends.)
Siamo arrivati tardi a causa della pioggia, ma grazie a te abbiamo trovato la strada.
(We arrived late because of the rain, but thanks to you we found the way.)
Stasera prendo un tè invece del caffè.
(Tonight I'll have tea instead of coffee.)
Watch out
No noun, no link

The linking word only appears when something follows. On their own, vicino, accanto, davanti and lontano work as adverbs: la farmacia è qui vicino (the chemist's is nearby).

Lontano takes da

The opposite of vicino a is lontano da, not lontano a. The same goes for fuori da (out of).

Purtroppo abito lontano dal centro.
(Unfortunately I live far from the centre.)
Verbs take di

Before an infinitive, prima and invece use di: prima di uscire (before going out), invece di studiare (instead of studying).

Extra di with pronouns

Some simple prepositions such as dietro, sopra, sotto and dopo need nothing before a noun (dietro la porta), but they add di before a personal pronoun: dietro di me, sopra di te, dopo di lui. This di belongs to the pronoun rule, while the links in this article are always there. So you say davanti a me and vicino a te, never davanti di me.

Siediti dietro di me, così vedi meglio.
(Sit behind me, so you can see better.)

The typical mistake is dropping the link: vicino la stazione or prima cena. You may hear davanti la scuola in casual speech, but stick with davanti alla scuola and you will always be right.

Summary

Treat phrases like davanti a, vicino a, in mezzo a, fino a, prima di and invece di as fixed blocks: whenever a noun or pronoun follows, the a or di must be there, merged with the article (al, della, alle). Most take a, a few take di, lontano takes da, and with no noun after them the link disappears.