def count_syllables(verse, syllable_separator="|"):
    """
    Example input:
    |Nel |mez|zo |del |cam|min |di |no|stra |vi|ta

    Example output:
    11
    """
    syll = verse.split(syllable_separator)
    syll = list(filter(lambda x: x.strip() != "", syll))
    return len(syll)