Centro Italiano in Florence The school is run by Anja Schultz and Andrea Moradei who, having gained almost 30 years’ experience in the field, decided to create this new center, with the aim of offering a variety of programs better suited to the demands and interests of language learners from abroad. Note in particular the customized Italian language programs directly linked to students’ reasons for learning Italian. Special attention is now devoted to the afternoon individual and group programs.
The Institute
The classrooms in Centro Italiano are located in a historic building in the nineteenth-century tree-lined Piazza D’Azeglio. Just a couple of minutes’ walk away is the S. Ambrogio district with its antique food stalls and flea market. It’s an area which has maintained its identity with mainly Florentine residents, off the track of mass tourism. Little shops, artisan’s workshops, coffee shops, restaurants and theatres make this part of Florence particularly pleasant and lively. Not far away are Piazza Santa Croce, the Duomo, the University and some of the most important museums in the city.The area is on most bus routes making it easy to reach other parts of the city quickly and easily.
The school premises include spacious airy, classrooms, an internet point, a free Internet connection and a peaceful garden. Learn more..
Programmes
Italian language –
It is our belief that people interested in learning Italian are generally moved by the desire to know more about the culture and history of this country. So for our main courses, we’ve decided to offer a number of cultural activities in the afternoons in addition to the group lessons in Italian language in the mornings. These are included in the price. You’ll also have the chance to focus on particular subjects in more depth by choosing from a number of afternoon seminars on specific topics. These may be held either as part of a program for groups or as private sessions.
Personal language trainer –
This course enables you to spend a week with your own private tutor
- in your own home (apartment or country house)
- at your tutor’s home (with your tutor’s family)
- sightseeing in Florence with visits to museums, monuments, urban districts (quartieri),parks and gardens and places of cultural interest, or just browsing around the shops and botteghe of Florence.
Your teacher will cater for your cultural interests as well as your language needs and will introduce you to Florentine city life. He or she will also be your personal tutor, and will teach you the ins and outs of Italian language and culture.
Italian and olive harvesting –
It's full autumn with the olives still showing their characteristic shade of green and the trees turning fantastic, variegated hues. The first mists begin to appear and a chill can be felt in the air. It's time for the rite of the “brucatura” of the olives, which has remained essentially unaltered since Etruscan times in its simplicity of technique and tools. You'll see how the olives are pressed and then gather around a blazing fire to learn Italian.
Italian and wine harvesting –
At the time of the wine-harvest, Tuscany is at its most picturesque, with people working among the vines, colours turning towards autumn and the scent of fermenting grapes. A wonderful moment for a farm-stay in the hills of the Chianti, with the aim of learning Italian.
Learn Italian travelling from Florence to Naples –
This course enables you to learn Italian while travelling through Italy. Our two centres in Florence and Naples are at your disposal: compare two cities with a common language, but with totally different customs and history, two different cultures in fact. At the end of the first week, you will spend a couple of days in Rome, as if on a 19thcentury-style Grand Tour.
Intensive –
We want to give our students the opportunity to look at some aspects of Italian in more detail by adding a few hours of individual tuition in the afternoon to the group session in the mornings.
Private tuition –
This course is intended for those who wish to develop personal or professional interests in specific linguistic aspects of Italian and have little time at their disposal. You can opt to work for a specific goal, concentrating on the language of economics, medicine, business, history or fashion.
Certificates and Diplomas
Certificates and diplomas recognized by the Education Ministry, Tuscan Regional Government, Association Italian Language Second Schools - A.S.I.L.S.
Teaching Materials
Texts, CD, DVD produced by the school
Methodology
The teaching methodology adopted by our Italian language school favours an integrated approach based on the direct method, with only Italian being spoken during lessons. Students are stimulated to use the language immediately, gradually working towards an understanding of the basic structures and grammar of Italian. This enables you to apply language patterns learnt, independently, in many different situations. During the language lessons, attention is focussed on students' individual needs and their different learning-styles. For this reason, there is a wide range of didactic activity used in class, e.g. individual -, pair- and group-work as well as diverse channels of communication.
LEVELS
Beginners (A1)
This course is for students who have never been in contact with the Italian language. Teachers will offer them simple communication instruments to get in touch with other people (introducing, speaking about themselves, ordering at a bar, going shopping, asking for information).
Elementary (A2)
This course gives students the essential grammatical and lexical instruments for everyday social situations, to narrate past experiences and speak about future expectations.
Intermediate (B1)
The aim of this course is to give the students the ability to speak correctly about past happenings or to express wishes and suppositions. At the same time, the students will be put into contact with simple Italian texts and passages for discussion.
Upper intermediate (B2)
At the end of this course, students will have the ability to formulate suppositions in a complete way and to express ideas about every situation. The teaching method is enriched by reading news- papers and magazines and producing written texts.
Advanced 1 (C1)
The two objectives of this course are a good, analytical knowledge of Italian grammar and the development of speaking abilities through the use of difficult texts and audio-visual media.
Advanced 2 (C2)
The objectives are the same as those above, but with greater attention to learning different linguistic styles and written production.
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Social and Cultural Activities
Mamma’s recipes –
Live in a private Italian house and cook typical Tuscan dishes with “la mamma”. In these sessions you not only learn the recipes and tricks of Tuscan home-cooking, but also communicate in Italian, improving your spoken Italian in a family environment. The seminar fees include your stay at la mamma’s home in a single bedroom, with or without breakfast. The four cookery seminars take place from Monday to Thursday in the late afternoons, culminating in the communal evening meal.
Artists and Artisans in the Renaissance –
The Renaissance in Florence marks the height of the development of the artisan as an artist. Their workshops were open to the world, becoming meeting-places where ideas were exchanged and the master artisans consolidated their reputations and their particular creative skills. The artisan effectively became an artist, the man who created new techniques and new styles. This set of seminars illustrates the link between art and craft from the Renaissance up to the present day, through guided visits to museums and craft workshops. Five 2-3 hour activities per week.
Walks in the Florentine hills –
Experience the countryside surrounding Florence on foot, walking amidst vineyards and olive groves, through small villages steeped in history. Your guide speaks Italian and English and will lead you through areas of extraordinary beauty, providing you with details of the history, traditions and monuments of each place. These are afternoon excursions and last about 3-4 hours each.
Photography workshop –
In cooperation with a photography school in Florence, we can offer you the chance to take several afternoon courses in photography lasting from one to eight weeks: from “traditional” photography focusing on exposure, developing and printing-techniques in black and white and color to digital photography, learning how to operate the camera, photographic techniques and computer processing. There are also special courses on various subjects (landscape, architecture, photo-reporting and fashion from beginner through to advanced levels.
Tuscan wine and cuisine –
Spend a week immersed in Tuscan culinary culture and learn about the most important aspects of growing and producing wine. The sessions take the form of guided tours, excursions, cookery classes and tastings over 5 afternoons and evenings.
Drawing and painting in a Florentine artist’ studio –
Learn or improve your drawing or painting skills in an artist’s studio in the centre of Florence. The course is intended both for beginners and people with some experience and will present a variety of techniques. The artist will pay individual attention to the work of each participant and you will build up a small portfolio during the course. Seminars will be held on two or three afternoons a week.
Accommodation
The Centro Italiano offers various accommodation options in Florence.
Prices are calculated from the arrival day Sunday to the departure day Saturday:
1 week 6 nights, 2 weeks 13 nights, 3 weeks 20 nights and 4 weeks 27 nights.
Accommodation details for private rooms will be forwarded at least 7 days prior to the course starting date.
Rooms in private houses
Single and double rooms with use of bathroom with Florentine families, single households or Italian students, kitchen facilities, breakfast or half-board available. ... 2 star Hotel
Situated in the centre of town not far from school, rooms with television and fridge. Average price for single room with bathroom and breakfast Euro 70 per day, for double room Euro 103 per day. ...
3 star hotel
Comfortable and centrally located hotel, rooms with TV, fridge and air conditioning Average price for single room with bathroom and breakfast Euro 90 per day, for double room Euro 120 per day ... Bed and Breakfast
Rooms in pleasant apartments in the old centre or on the outskirts - carefully looked after with personal service ...
Independent apartments
Flats may be rented weekly or monthly in various districts of the town. The apartments vary in size and quality. ... Ingrid affittacamere – room rental
Not far away from the center of Florence a nice independent apartment offers three double rooms in a refined and personal ambiance. It is situated on the first floor of a family house with a history that goes back to the 12th Century. ...
Excursions and Visits
Guided visit to the Renaissance town center.
Guided visit to the Uffizi.
Excursion to Pisa and Lucca.
Excursion to Cortona and Arezzo.
Excursion to Siena and San Gimignano.
Excursion to Chianti classico area with guided visits to wine cellars and wine tasting.
Cooking lesson with dinner.