Here's a little expression that is fun to use. It's often used with irony, and among friends. It uses the past tense of the verb essere (to be) and the adverb ora (now) or the noun l'ora (the time, the hour). 

Era ora. If we unpack it, we can see we have the imperfetto (simple past tense) of the verb essere (to be). And then we have ora. It means "hour" or "time" if we put an article in front of it, but it is also an adverb, meaning "now." In the case of the expression, there is no article and so it's not exactly clear which part of speech is meant. It doesn't really matter, because it's an expression that never changes.

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Note that in Italian, it's always in the past tense, the imperfetto to be precise. In English, on the other hand, we can say it in the past or the present, or we can leave the verb out altogether. To form this expression in English, we do add the word "about." "It's about time," or "It was about time," or just, "About time!"  We might also say, "High time." 

Era ora is a great expression and easy to use. There is always an imaginary exclamation point after it. When someone arrives late, it is something to say, but it's a veiled reprimand (meaning, "you're late!"), depending on one's tone and facial expression, so it should be used with care when directed at a person. It can also refer to a situation, such as a delayed train or delivery.

We have hunted through Yabla videos to find some examples you can watch and listen to.

Eccomi qua.

Here I am.

-Ce l'hai fatta. Era ora, Mirò!

-You did it. It was about time, Mirò!

Sono contenta che tu sia tornato giù.

I'm glad you came back down.

Captions 70-73, Gatto Mirò - EP6 Buon compleanno

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Ragazzi, ho portato le birre.

Guys, I've brought the beers.

-Era ora!

-It was about time!

Meno male che qualcuno ha pensato di portare da bere,

Good thing that someone thought of bringing something to drink,

sembrava la festa delle medie! -Ecco qua.

it seemed like a junior high school party. -Here you go.

Captions 9-12, Il Commissario Manara - S1EP12 - Le verità nascoste

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Manara is very late for his dinner at Toscani's house. That's why Toscani says, when he opens the door:

Era ora, eh!

About time, huh!

Che è?

What is it?

Ma che stai a fa' [che fai]?

But what are you doing?

-Con permesso? Permesso?

-Allow me to come in, may I?

Captions 28-31, Il Commissario Manara - S2EP1 - Matrimonio con delitto

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Manara, being Manara, has grabbed the wine off the table, gone back to the door, and come in a second time (saying Permesso), pretending he has brought the bottle. 

Here, the police went through all the bags of the bus passengers and it took a while.

Questo è l'ultimo e l'ispezione dei bagagli è finita.

This is the last one, and the inspection of the luggage is complete.

-I ragazzi hanno avuto le loro borse?

-Do the guys all have their bags?

-Tutti andati pure. Prego.

-They've all gone, too. Please.

-Era ora anche, eh.

-It was about time, too, huh.

Captions 47-50, Il Commissario Manara - S2EP9 - L'amica ritrovata

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Eva goes to see her favorite counterfeiter after a long absence.

La ladra più bella del mondo!

The most beautiful thief in the world!

Era ora che te [ti] facevi rivede [rivedere].

It was high time you reappeared.

Sono passati tanti anni!

Many years have passed!

Captions 48-50, La Ladra - EP. 1 - Le cose cambiano

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A friend chastising another for not going out enough.

Che c'è che non va?

What's wrong?

Niente, una storia con un uomo

Nothing, a relationship with a man

che rischia di diventare importante.

that's in danger of becoming important.

-Be', era ora, no?

-Well, it was about time, wasn't it?

Captions 45-47, La Ladra - EP. 8 - Il momento giusto

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A relationship had been hampered by some psychological problems.

Fine dell'Edipo. -Era ora.

My Oedipus complex is over. -About time.

Caption 9, La Ladra - EP. 12 - Come ai vecchi tempi

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Camilla's car has a hard time starting. When the motor finally turns over, era ora (it was about time)!

Forza, dai, dai, dai, ci siamo, ci siamo.

Come on, come on, come on, come on, we're there, we're there.

-Sì, ci siamo. -Ma quanno 'a cambi qua stufa [romanesco: ma quando lo cambi quel rudere]?

-Yes, we made it. -But when are you going to trade in that jalopy?

-Fatto, ecco.

-Done, there we go.

-Era ora. -Sei stato fortissimo.

-About time. -You were great.

Captions 27-30, Provaci ancora prof! - S2EP1 - La finestra sulla scuola

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Era ora is a way of saying "finally!" And sometimes both expressions can be used together.

Be', hanno fatto la pace.

Well, they made up.

Era ora, finalmente.

It was about time, finally.

Captions 68-69, Provaci ancora prof! - S2EP2 Una mina vagante

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Although Era ora works fine on its own, and that is the scope of this lesson, it can also be part of a sentence and will generally be followed by che, in which case we need the subjunctive.

Era ora che mi telefonassi (it was about time you called me).

There are a few different Italian words used to refer to things happening.

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Capitare (to happen casually):

Capita.
It happens.

Capitare, like “to happen,” is the only verb of the four mentioned in this lesson that can be conjugated in all the persons.

Capito spesso da queste parti.
I happen on this place often.

Nonetheless, even capitare is most frequently used in the third person (both singular and plural).

This week’s episode about Marchesi has a good example of the past participle of capitare. It takes the auxiliary essere rather than avere, and is often used with an indirect object pronoun (not reflexive), as in the following example.

Più tardi mi è capitato di lavorare con lui.

Later on I had a chance to work with him.

Caption 14, L'arte della cucina - L'Epoca delle Piccole Rivoluzioni

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With capitare, the happening is generally by chance, or casual in some way.
 

Succedere (to happen, to occur). When something is really taking place, like an accident, or a discussion, we usually use succedere. This is the most common way to say “to happen.”

Che succede?

What's happening?

-Hanno ritrovato il furgone del pesce di Mussa.

-They found Mussa's fish van.

Captions 47-48, Il Commissario Manara - S1EP5 - Il Raggio Verde

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Like capitare, succedere is often used with an indirect object.
 

Ma se mi succede qualcosa e mi mettono in galera?

But if something happens to me and they put me in jail?

Caption 30, La Ladra - EP. 1 - Le cose cambiano

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Accadere (to happen, to occur) is still another way to say “to happen.” It’s a bit more formal, and might be easier to translate with “to occur,” especially since “occur” is also only used in the third person, has a double “c” near the beginning, and ends with an “r” sound. Another easy translation to remember might be “to befall,” since accadere contains the verb cadere (to fall).
 

Ma ormai non accadrà.

But by now it's not going to happen.

No, non succederà.

No, it's not going to happen.

Captions 16-17, Tiromancino - L'essenziale

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Technically, accadere can be used with an indirect object but it’s not very common. Here is an example:

è ispirata a un fatto realmente accaduto a me.

it was inspired by a real event that happened to me.

Caption 3, Volare - La grande storia di Domenico Modugno Ep. 1

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Avvenire (to come about, to occur, to take place) is used in the third person only, and is somewhat formal. The easiest way to remember it is with the phrase “to come about,” since avvenire contains venire (to come). We cannot use avvenire with an indirect object.
 

La raccolta avviene fra novembre e dicembre.

The harvest takes place between November and December.

Caption 8, L'olio extravergine di oliva - Il frantoio

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In a nutshell:
 

succedere: most common, is used in the third person only (except for when it means “to succeed someone,” as in royalty). Auxiliary verb: essere. May be used with an indirect object (something happens to somebody).

capitare: may be conjugated in all persons followed by a preposition or adverb. Translations for this form: to end up, to turn up.
It also functions like succedere, in the third person. Auxiliary verb: essere. May be used with an indirect object (something happens to somebody).

accadere: is conjugated in the third person only. Auxiliary verb: essere. May be used with an indirect object (something happens to somebody), but is not all that common. Easy translation: to befall. Often used like “to occur.”

avvenire: is conjugated in the third person only. Auxiliary verb: essere. May not be used with an indirect object. Easy translation: to come about. Often used like “to occur.”

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These are very basic “rules,” but keep your eyes and ears open to really get the feel for these verbs. And don’t worry. You can get by in most situations with succedere!