Spanish/Italian/French commonality
Sorry, this is slightly off-topic, but having studied linguistics, I feel the need to correct some misconceptions about commonality among the romance languages.
It is clear that all of the romance languages are derived from Latin. The degree of difference depended a great deal on distance from Rome. The Gauls were the closest to modern-day Italy, and although French pronunciation sounds different from Italian, the proximity of the Gauls is indicated in the level of commonality (vocabulary and grammar) between Italian and French.
Spain, being much further away, and somewhat isolated on the Iberian peninsula, developed differently. The Spanish connection with the Moors is evident in Spanish language, architecture, and in other ways. Note how many common Spanish words begin with "al"; a very large number of these words are of Arabic, not Latin, origin.
Consider (Italian, French, Spanish)
parlare, parler, hablar
tavola, table, mesa
mangiare, manger, comer
testa, tête, cabeza
fratello, frère, hermano
figlio, fils, hijo
cane, chien, perro
volere, vouloir, querir
fare, faire, hacer
trovare, trouver, encontrar
cercare, chercher, buscar
Italian and French may use avere/avoir or essere/être in compound tenses
Spanish uses only haber.
So...while it is true that Spanish and Italian SOUND a lot alike, linguistically, French is a brother to Italian, while Spanish is a more like a cousin.
vive la difference!