In an Italian restaurant the coperto is the cover charge added per person to the bill. In the language of the dining room, though, the coperto is the place laid for one guest: plate or charger, cutlery, glasses, napkin, sometimes a side plate for bread. By extension it means each seated guest: a dinner of a hundred covers is a dinner for a hundred people.
The classic layout puts forks on the left, knives and spoon on the right, dessert cutlery above the plate and glasses top right, in the order they are used. Space matters too: furniture guides suggest at least 60 cm per person along the table edge, and at a banquet it is better to be generous.
What to ask
Ask the caterer how many places it sets per table, which glasses it plans for each cover and whether plates and cutlery are included. Fewer pieces also mean less hire and fewer breakages. The full layout is in the guide to mise en place in banqueting; for tables see table layout.
