The Lesser Vowel Shift

Ten years ago this summer I spent a few days in Italy with a high school group.  One night we, and several related groups, were having a banquet/party at a charming little restaurant out in the country.



(Incidentally this event later featured in a dream, in which for some reason I was in charge of the music.  I was nervous, naturally, but then it turned out that my only resource was a KMFDM album, a band which I have never ever listened to.  This greatly relieved my burden of choice.)

One other incidental, more related to the story at hand: in Italian, plural nouns are formed by altering the final vowel in the word.  So for example, the word for "man" is signore, and "men" is signori.  For another equally relevant example, "woman" is signora, and "women" is signore.

So, on with the story.  At some point during the party, I felt the call of nature and went off to find the appropriate room.  Despite the best efforts of whoever designed the lighting, I located the relevant hallway, and proceeded confidently through the door, otherwise unmarked, bearing the legend SIGNORE.