Riferito

Riferito is the past participle of the Italian verb riferire, used as an adjective or participle meaning “referred to,” “reported,” or “as stated.” In formal and journalistic Italian it often introduces attributed information, indicating that something has come from a source or has been reported by others.

Usage and phrases commonly encountered include phrases such as secondo quanto riferito (according to what has been reported), come riferito dalle autorità, or il documento riferito dal ministero. As an attributive adjective, riferito can modify a noun directly: documenti riferiti (reported documents), notizia riferita (reported news). The form agrees in gender and number with the noun it modifies, so phrases like le notizie riferite or il documento riferito are correct.

Grammatical notes: when used as a participle in compound tenses with avere, the participle can reflect the preceding direct object in gender and number if it functions as a dependent attribute (for example, le notizie riferite). When used predicatively or in simple past constructions, the form remains invariable with the tense of riferire, but agreement is common in attributive use. In many contexts, riferito functions similarly to English “reported” or “as stated,” and writers may prefer one or the other depending on formality and clarity.

Origin and related terms: riferire means “to report” or “to refer,” and riferito is the corresponding participle/adjective. Related expressions include riferito a, which means “referred to” or “in reference to.”

See also: riferire, riferimenti, riferimento.