Italy
“I can’t imagine a more thorough and entertaining experience in Italy.” -2018 & 2019 participant
Italian Immersion Experience
Umbria & Tuscany
June 9-16, 2023
$6400 per person
$995 for non-participating friends/partners
$6400 per person
Includes all instruction, lodging, most meals, shuttle to/from airport
$1000 discount for participants who share a room.
Ten (10) participants per week, maximum.
Private lessons available before the trip
Click here to reserve your 2023 trip
Trip Details
Join us for a week of experiential learning in Italy. You will stay in an elegant hotel (Hotel Vannucci) in an off-the-beaten-path small Italian city. You will be guided to communicate in Italian with locals and challenged to complete an ‘errand’ in town every day, with your private teacher.
Immersion will allow you to quickly improve your Italian, we have orchestrated interactive experiences for the entire week with locals. You will enjoy our excursions, guided activities in town, and private Italian class every day. We dine together on four of the nights.
Beginners will be encouraged to use some Italian on our excursions. For Intermediate-level participants, we personalize your instruction and work toward your specific goals. Our expert team will make using Italian fun and rewarding. For intermediate-level only, we challenge you to speak only Italian all week.
Every week has a maximum of ten students. You will accumulate over fifty hours of high-quality interaction in Italian throughout the week; you will do this across all modalities: speaking, listening, reading, writing.
The accommodations and meals are carefully selected for our clientele. All lodging, instruction, breakfast and lunch are included in the experience, and wine is also included. Un po’ di vino will help enhance your knowledge of Italian culture.
The $995 fee for non-participating friends/partners includes all lodging and breakfast. It also includes the four group dinners and the group excursions. Options for private tours are available every day.
Testimonials
Examples of our excursions/afternoon activities:
- Private tour of Giovanni Bulgari’s winery: Our friend Giovanni Bulgari welcomes us to his winery, Podernuovo, and we enjoy a wine tasting and unforgettable meal in his private dining room.
- Private tour of organic farm: Our friends Alessandro & Nicola guide us on a tour of their organic farm, just like they did with Stanley Tucci on CNN’s “Searching for Italy.”
- Talk with prominent professor. One of Italy’s best-known Italian professors from the nearby university in Perugia will visit us to discuss his research and promotion of the Italian language, worldwide.
- Italian cinema. Italian cinema viewings/discussions with a renowned film critic. In the comfort of his home, the film critic will describe and show some scenes from Fellini’s masterpieces. We will discuss your reactions to the clip before moving on the the next classic.
- Truffle experience. Our friend, Michele, is a truffle hunter and chef. We will visit his truffle-hunting cabin and discuss/handle the tools of his trade. We then enjoy a meal together at his restaurant.
- Food-market shopping and cooking. A day with our personal chef. Our friend, Sabrina, invites us to her family’s country house to prep our lunch together. We will then savor our creations together on her family’s terrazza, overlooking the hills of Umbria and Tuscany.
- Talk with chef and sommelier. Our friend, Christian Palazzi, takes us through his centuries-old wine cellar for a wine tasting before a meal at his charming bistro.
Typical Day
07:30am-9:30am: Breakfast
Breakfast served in hotel; hotel staff will only speak with you in Italian unless you request English.
10:00-12:00: Morning lesson/task-based errand
Private lessons and task-based assignment in town. After you complete your task, you review/improve the language you used to transact it.
Friends/spouses not studying Italian will have the option to engage a private tour guide, or just relax in the splendor of Umbria in June.
1:00-3:00pm: Lunch in town
You and your private teacher decide if you’d like a proper lunch with the group, or a simple panino at a local cafe. All lunches are included.
4:00pm-6:00pm: Afternoon lesson/special guest
On the days we don’t take an excursion, we invite a special guest to our hotel for a presentation and discussion.
We also offer you an (optional) private Italian lesson. The afternoon lesson also functions as a wrap-up for all questions from the day’s excursion and/or special guest.
7:00pm: Group aperitivo
Every evening, we meet for un aperitivo before dinner at some of the lovely cafes in Città della Pieve. You have the option to chat in Italian or English.
8:00pm-10:00pm: Dinner
On four of the seven nights, we will have dinner together at a local trattoria. There will be one table that is strictly Italian only, and one table where English is allowed.
Requirements
- 21 years old minimum, unless taking the program with an adult
- If you are interested in the language program, we welcome all levels from complete beginner to advanced.
- Private Crash Courses at our schools in NJ, NYC and online.