Simon and Louise Read are both doctors. Escaping the NHS in a Mini for a sabbatical in Italy they learned Italian from scratch at the Universita per Stranieri in Perugia. They spent weekends and holidays hunting out the best language schools in Italy - to find that the quality of the brochure and Internet site bore no relation to the quality of the school. In all they drove 18,000 miles and had the best year of their lives. And here is the result - a comprehensive guide to all aspects of learning Italian in Italy. This impartial guide is packed with practical information on planning and organizing your own trip. It contains detailed information on budgeting, enrolling and the practicalities of life in Italy.
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We had the idea to go to Italy when working as junior doctors in London. We were spending long nights on-call in dimly lit wards and eating hospital food in airless canteens. It was enough to drive anyone pazzo (mad). We started to scheme our escape. We spoke to our Italian friends and patients about Italy, we cooked Italian food, we dreamt of olive trees, we saved and we tweaked our jobs. An Italian friend recommended Perugia and seemingly quite suddenly, we left.
While many were wondering where we were, we were speeding off in our Mini, first through France to Liguria and then to live in Perugia, Umbria. We rented a tiny monolocale (flat) in the heart of the old town (in the base of a 14th century tower) and signed up at the Universita per Stranieri. In the mornings we learnt Italian with views of the Umbrian hills and Assisi. In the afternoons we sipped espressi on the Corso Vanucci, pondered over our compiti (homework) and went home to cook.
It was the best year of our lives. Learning Italian in Italy was fun, easy, inspiring and exciting. We spent the year travelling around the country, meeting interesting people, eating fabulous food and learning how to speak Italian (neither of us spoke a word of it before our trip).
Good, independent information about language courses was difficult to find. The language course websites all looked the same. The booking agencies were overpriced and biased. During the year we set out to compile the ultimate, independent guidebook to the best places in Italy to study Italian. We drove 18,000 miles in our car and visited hundreds of language schools and universities in every region of the country (we visited 24 schools in Florence alone!). We found that the quality of the brochures and internet sites bore no relation to the quality of the schools. We only included the best courses for the book: schools that were offering something special. Many of these would have been impossible to find out about in the UK without a very good grasp of Italian.
We have also included chapters on how to choose a course, how to plan the trip and budgeting . It is the book we would have liked to have had before our trip.
We would love to hear your feedback: please email info@learningitalianinitaly.org.
About the Author
Simon and Louise Read are London based doctors. Last year they escaped the NHS in a Mini for a years sabbatical in Italy where they learned Italian from scratch at the University for Foreigners in Perugia. During the year they travelled 18,000 miles in their Mini in search of the best language schools and universities for foreigners in the country. They fell in love with the country, people, food and language. The result is this comprehensive, fun, independent guide to the ultimate places to study Italian in Italy.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By "tamar3219"
Format:Paperback
i used this book for a short trip to rome and found it easy to use, informative and full of tips one usually aqcuires by staying with or knowing a local. from the best place to have gelato to specialist kitchenware shops, this guide served me well even though its details on language schools were not what i needed on this occasion.
the most fantastic part for me was the guided walking tour of the trastavere district - a lesser known area with so much to offer - this walk takes you through cobblestoned courtyards with vegetation-covered villas, narrow steets with lovely boutiques, a few churches with awesome frescos, and leads you up a hill to gorgeous vistas of the city. not only was the walk diverse and rich, the route was so accurately described (often using local landmarks like water fountains or neon 'santa maria' signs!), i would almost defy you to get lost following them! what a treasure of a walk - what a discovery of a book!
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By "tamar3219"
Format:Paperback
i found this book immensely useful and easy to use, even for a short trip to rome. i thought the general tips on places to eat/get ice cream etc were original, and the specialist knowledge (like fine kitchenware shops) invaluable.
it really stood out when i used it for the walking tour of the trastavere district and surrounds - the route was fantastic - full of the tucked away cobble-stoned court yards one yearns to see but may not find, and plenty of good vistas too. the descriptions were excellent and the use of quirky sights to look out for to mark the way made it lots of fun too! i defy anyone to get lost whilst following this tour!
thanks to the authors - well done!
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