I read "gravy" is a Jersey thing. Here in NY, I was swamped in Italians (was engaged to girl from restaurant family) and Italian restaurants and nobody said "gravy." But, Italian language has more false cognates (looks like an English word but with different meaning) than any other language. French is just the opposite - it has most cognates - its English with "e' and "l" at the end. I'm sure some kind of American "sauce/gravy" translation made for regional differences.
Curiously, when I was in Rome, the pasta was mostly green. The pizza I had in Italy was terrible (small round pizzas I had in Sienna smelled like dead fish from the anchovies - I threw them out and the birds wouldn't eat them).
Best Chinese restaurant I ever ate in was in Florence - right on the banks of the Arno near the Ponte Vecchio. I recognized nothing from US menus but everything was great. Food is funny. General Tso's chicken is from NYC lol
"Gravy" = NJ: "Although the term “Gravy” doesn’t exist in Italy..."