"The (piece of) chalk" is an English equivalent of the Italian phrase il gesso. The masculine singular phrase also translates literally as "the gypsum," "the plaster," "the plaster cast" or "the plaster model" according to English contexts. The pronunciation will be "eel DEJS-so" in Pisan Italian.
Il in Italian means "the" in English.
Il messaggio in Italian is "the message" in English.
Il placet in Italian means "the permit" in English.
Il pescecane in Italian means "the dogfish" in English.
Il Cenacolo in Italian is "The Last Supper" in English.
Il piede in Italian means "the foot" in English.
Il genio in Italian is "the genius" in English.
Il fortunato in Italian means "the lucky one" in English.
"The best!" in English is Il migliore! in Italian.
"The mentalist" in English is il mentalista in Italian.
"The garage" in English is il garage in Italian.
"The white" in English is il bianco in Italian.