What’s the difference between “benvenuto” and “bentornato” in Italian?

Thanking his audience, Jovanotti repeats bentornati — “welcome back” — over and over. It looks like benvenuto (“welcome”), but it isn’t interchangeable: Italian keeps the two apart. Benvenuto greets someone arriving somewhere new or for the first time; bentornato greets someone who has returned — from a trip, an absence, or, here, a long wait between concerts.

Both words agree in gender and number with the person addressed — bentornata for one woman, bentornati for a mixed or male group, bentornate for a group of women. Mixing them up is a small but noticeable slip: telling a returning friend benvenuto implies they’re arriving for the very first time.