Italian Phrase
Cerca l'edificio di mattoni rossi.
Meaning
The sentence tells someone to look for, or to search for, the building that is made of red bricks. It can be a simple direction while walking around a city or a request in a scavenger‑hunt style activity.
When to use
Use this phrase when you need to point out a specific structure in a city, during a tour, a treasure‑hunt game, or when giving directions to a friend who is trying to locate a particular building.
✦Grammar Breakdown
Cercal'edificiodimattonirossi
Cerca (imperative/3rd person)
Cerca is the second‑person singular imperative of cercare (to look for) or the third‑person singular present indicative; context decides which meaning applies.
l' (elision)
The definite article il elides before a vowel, becoming l'.
edificio (masculine noun)
Edificio is a masculine singular noun meaning ‘building’; it takes the article l' after elision.
di + noun (material)
The preposition di introduces the material a thing is made of, here ‘mattoni’ (bricks).
mattoni rossi (agreement)
Both the noun mattoni (plural) and the adjective rossi agree in gender (masculine) and number (plural).
🗨In Conversation
Cerca l'edificio di mattoni rossi, è vicino alla piazza.
Look for the red‑brick building, it's near the square.
L'ho trovato! È quello con la porta verde.
I found it! It's the one with the green door.
✕Common Mistakes
Cerca il edificio di mattoni rossi.
The article il must elide before a vowel; use l' instead of il.
Cerca l'edificio di mattoni rosso.
Adjectives must agree in number; use rossi for plural mattoni.
Cerca di l'edificio di mattoni rossi.
Do not insert the preposition di before the article; the correct structure is di + noun.
↔Alternatives
Trova l'edificio di mattoni rossi.
Find the red‑brick building.
Cerca l'edificio rosso di mattoni.
Search for the red building made of bricks.
Individua l'edificio costruito con mattoni rossi.
Identify the building constructed with red bricks.
Cultural Tip
Red‑brick architecture is typical in many northern Italian towns, especially in Lombardy and Veneto, where historic warehouses and factories were built with locally fired clay bricks. When speaking to locals, using the imperative (Cerca!) is friendly but can sound commanding; adding "per favore" softens the request: "Cerca per favore l'edificio di mattoni rossi."