"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 piede in Italian means "the foot" in English.
Il placet in Italian means "the permit" in English.
Il Cenacolo in Italian is "The Last Supper" in English.
Il pescecane in Italian means "the dogfish" 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 devil" in English is il diavolo in Italian.
"The white" in English is il bianco in Italian.
"The cheese" in English is il formaggio in Italian.