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Intimate Italy
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Like many Mediterranean destinations, Italy is associated with quintessential holiday ingredients: good food, ice cream, beaches, sunshine and interesting cities and villages oozing cultural appeal. All this is on offer for students interested in studying Italian in a friendly, personalised environment, as Amy Baker finds out.
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CThe pristine sea sparkles, the sun is ever-present and the atmosphere is vibrant and international,” says Alessandro Adorno, Director of Babilonia language school located on the southern Italian island of Sicily. This language school, located in Taormina at the summit of Mount Tauro, with views of the Ionian Sea and Mount Etna, offers a friendly and intimate setting with no more than 10 students per class, and finds its combination of small-scale learning and stunning scenery is a draw for many students looking for an authentic summertime experience. Adorno quotes a former student who said of the school: “The professionalism, direct teaching methods and incredibly fun teaching staff present to each student a unique environment for speaking, understanding and writing Italian”.
Sicily is a slightly alternative destination for studying Italian, compared with the popular city choices of Rome, Florence and Milan, but it certainly has its fans, and a choice of language schools. Another school on the island is Laboratorio Linguistico Scuola di Lingue in Milazzo. Francesco Di Santi at the school relates, “With the beautiful weather here, students like to go to the beach or to walk to Capo Milazzo; they like to spend time outside.” He says that a programme of extra-curricular excursions is offered to allow students to get to know Sicily and that students enjoy discovering the history, beaches, and visiting the Eolian Islands to the north. “Students like to be in a small school where you are not anonymous,” he underlines, “and sample the nightlife in the old town where you can meet a lot of Italians.”
Another language learning location that offers sunshine and an alternative to Italy’s most famous cities is San Remo, which is so close to the French border that students can make a trip into France if they are interested in a really multilingual experience. “The city of San Remo enjoys an average of 300 days of bright sunshine each year, offering beautiful sea, beaches, and blue skies in the Liguria region,” relates Atsuko Fukuda of Omnilingua. Renowned within Italy for being a city of flowers, San Remo also offers marine sports such as sailing as well as whale watching, relates Fukuda. “Our students enjoy relaxing in the resort air while being immersed in local Italian life,” she says. Being part of the Tandem network, Omnilingua follows the principle of enabling all its students to pair with an Italian student at least once a week and enjoy free time speaking in Italian. “Students can choose to visit local attractions, meet for coffee or meet at the school and use the facilities,” states Fukuda.
Also in northern Italy are the “big name” destinations of Milan and Venice, both of which are popular choices with students. Milan is known for its fashion industries and is one of the world capitals for design and fashion – indeed, the English word milliner (hat maker) comes from Milan’s name. Istituto di Moda Burgo is, according to Stefano Burgo at the school, the only fashion school that accepts international students in the “golden triangle of fashion” – the area in which all the well-known design houses are situated. “We organise fashion shows with creations featured by our students,” he says, “and visits to textile companies, arts and fashion fairs and all kinds of events in the fashion field.”
Milan is not just attractive to those students interested in fashion, however. Giorgia Bicelli of language school chain Linguaviva points out that it is the vibrancy of the city and reputation for culture and economic importance, as well as style, that draws students. “In Milan, there is a great range of music events, theatre options and trendy places to go out,” she says. “Our students enjoy a lot the aperitivo, which is a very Milanese ritual. After work, everybody in Milan meets for extended happy hours with a very good buffet and music in the trendiest cafés.”
Venice is also a bustling city, but one which relies on tourism a great deal. It is a truly unique city in the world, with the oldest part built on the water in a lagoon. This part actually consists of 117 bodies of land connected by more than 400 bridges over its 150 canals. Water bus is a common way to get around, although many tourists travel by gondola, a narrow rowing boat typical to the region, manned by a gondolier. Water-based life is well established in the city, with rubbish collection, for example, occuring by boat. Venice has many churches and palaces, lively squares, and meandering streets in which it is easy to get lost. Matteo Savini at Istituto Venezia says “daily walking tours” are organised to help students get to know the area, and students also enjoy renting a boat and discovering the islands in the lagoon as well as playing sports and attending music, dance, art or theatre events.
Savini points out that the wider Veneto region, in which Venice is situated, is the most popular region of Italy. Encompassing Verona and Padua as well as Lake Garda and Belluno – gateway to the Dolomites mountain range – the area has a lot to offer and, according to Savini, it welcomed 46 million visitors in 2006. Venice itself is the jewel in the crown, while Savini also recommends a trip to nearby Bassano, to test the famous home-made grappa (grape-based alcohol). He boasts, “Our students discover Venice is much more fascinating than they could ever have imagined through films and pictures.” With a lively cultural scene, Venice is home to a regular international arts festival, as well as the world renowned Venice film festival.
A location that is a far cry from the glitz and fame of Venice is Frontino, which is a hilltop medieval village in the region of Marche, below Veneto. Here, the school Rocca dei Malatesta offers courses in Italian language and culture, cookery, painting and ceramics as well as nature excursions. “We think students choose our school because the place is relaxing and we offer a good service to learn Italian,” says Nicoletta Amicizia at the school. She points out that because of the varied nature of the courses available, students can also “learn our culture and our real style of life”.
All Italian schools seem to have this aim as a goal for their students, as well as teaching the language. Bicelli at Linguaviva says, “Every month, Linguaviva schools organise a daily programme of activities for our students, so that they have the possibility to broaden their knowledge of Italian culture.” Watching Italian films, visiting museums, other cities and beauty spots, taking cooking classes or dining out all feature on the activity schedule. Linguaviva’s junior school in Lignano, between Venice and Trieste, also offers many sporting and entertainment options and ensures students make friends from around the world.
Another popular region of Italy is Tuscany, a rural region of rolling hills and charming villages which also has the glorious cities of Florence, Siena and Pisa in its midst. Linguaviva has a school in Florence, or for students wanting a more intimate urban environment, there is the option of OrbitLingua in Orbetello, located on the coast in a “sparkling lagoon”, says Marco Di Agostino at the school, and just two hours from Florence and Rome. “We accept a maximum of 40 students at one time and no more than eight per class,” says Di Agostino. “We provide the ideal atmosphere for learning Italian and are surrounded by enchanting beaches, rocky coastlines, protected nature reserves and beautiful islands.” He continues, “In relation to big cities, Orbetello offers a higher standard of living and students find a friendly atmosphere from their arrival onwards.”
Orbetello seems an idyllic location for relaxing in, but the school organises many activities nonetheless, including a visit to the medieval village of Manciano followed by an exciting night-time swim at the waterfalls in Saturnia and a boat trip around the lagoon. Di Agostino says this “ideal study-holiday” location sees students enjoying the beaches or medieval villages in the week while travelling further afield at weekends or staying in Orbetello to visit the Saturday morning market, walk in the countryside or practise sports.
Yet another small and friendly school is Accademia Leonardo in Salerno, located just south of the Amalfi Coast, below Naples. “Students [here] will never feel like a tourist among thousands of other tourists in cities such as Florence or Rome. They will soon become one of us,” suggests Milena Petraglia at the school, who says that Salerno has a small town feel. Like Adorno, Petraglia cites the feedback of one of her students when summing up the appeal of the school, which offers many activities and puts an emphasis on fun. The client said, “Instead of just learning to say the words in Italian, I learned to live Italian. The staff all care whether or not the students are learning. The personal care and involvement of the staff [ensured] the wonderful experience I had during my stay.”
Agent viewpoint
 “Salerno has proved to be an important destination for LanGo in Italy after the big three – Rome, Florence and Milan. Most of all our clients like the proximity to the sea. It is a seaside location just like Viareggio, Rimini or Ravenna. Salerno is also a very traditional Italian city with a friendly atmosphere and lovely Italian restaurants and trattorias. The countryside surrounding the area is also ideal for weekend excursions and visits. Watersports and other outdoor activities are very popular with our students and there is an abundant variety to choose from.”
Marcus Pettersson, LanGo, Sweden
 “We offer more than 20 schools all over Italy. There has been a slowdown in bookings for Tuscany, while the south and northern regions like Veneto and Emilia Romagna are attracting more students. Sicily is one of the more exotic destinations for learning Italian. And Goethe mentioned that without seeing and travelling in Sicily you don`t know anything about Italy! In Sicily there are beautiful beaches, gorgeous islands and amazing wines.”
Martin Martschnig, Travelplus Group, Austria
 “Our clients go to Sicily, Florence and Salerno. They choose Florence because of the good shops like Miu Miu and the wide range of shoe shops. They go there as the city is beautiful and rich in culture and they love our school which is in the city centre. They go to Salerno as this is the starting point for the island of Capri and Pompeii and because of the sun, the beach, the food and the southern Italian style [of people]. They choose Sicily because of the rich culture, history, good food, sun and friendly people. They get in touch with locals, go out at night, go to the beach and so on.”
Erik Schulze, Lisa! Reisen, Germany
 “Our clients love Florence, Milan and Rome. These three cities have unique attractions and historic sites plus entertainment options for all tastes. Our clients like to explore the cities, visit galleries and museums and of course being Brazilian, do some shopping! At weekends they enjoy participating on the schools’ excursions. Usually it´s quite easy to ‘sell’ Italy as it´s a country with great appeal among Brazilians combining beautiful sites, plenty of history and options for tourism everywhere in the country.”
Tereza Fulfaro, CI Central de Intercambio, Brazil
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