Italy
“The best trip of my life.” -2022 participant
Italian Immersion Experience
Umbria & Tuscany
NEW DATES:
June 14-21, 2023 or
June 16-23, 2023
$6400 per participant
Bring your family!
$1995 for partners, friends, children who are not studying
Includes all instruction, lodging, meals, shuttle to/from airport
Ten (10) participants per week, maximum.
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 a small Italian city, Città della Pieve. You will be guided to communicate in Italian and challenged to complete an ‘errand’ in town every day, with your private teacher.
The $1995 fee for friends and family who are not studying includes all lodging and meals. It also includes the family-friendly activities listed below.
For those who are studying, immersion and guided interaction with locals will help you improve your Italian. You will enjoy our excursions, activities in town, and private Italian class every day. We dine together every night.
Our expert team will make using Italian fun and rewarding. For intermediate-level, 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 by speaking, listening, reading, writing.
The accommodations and meals are carefully selected for our clientele. All lodging, instruction, and meals are included in the experience, and wine is also included. Un po’ di vino will help enhance your knowledge of Italian culture.
Testimonials
Examples of our excursions/afternoon activities for those in the program:
- 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.
Examples of activities for family members who are not studying:
- Pottery and Painting studio: In a beautiful setting, learn or improve your pottery and painting skills, Ceramica Kamars.
- Treetop adventure park: Pirate ladders, zip lines, and (age-appropriate) challenging trails, Saltalbero.
- Chocolate-making class: Class at Baci’s headquarters. Picture an Italian Willy Wonka and the Cioccolato Fabbrica!
- Kayak, SUP, Wakeboarding: From Città della Pieve, we are only 20 minutes away from one of Italy’s largest lakes, Lago di Trasimeno. This water activity school is beloved and trusted by our local staff.
- Other options include: Pizza-making class, Waterslide park, Petting zoo, and more!
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/Family departs for activity
Private lessons and task-based assignment in town. After you complete your task, you review/improve the language you used to transact it.
Friends/family members not studying Italian will depart for their excursion, or just relax in the splendor of Umbria in June.
1:00-3:00pm: Lunch in town
For all lunches and dinners, you decide if you would like to sit at the Italian-only table or the “English allowed” table.
4:00-6:00pm: Excursion or Special Guest; Afternoon Lesson
On the days we don’t take an excursion, we invite a special guest to our hotel for a presentation and discussion.
Private afternoon lesson: This also functions as a wrap-up for all questions from the day’s excursion and/or special guest.
Friends/family return from their excursion. In Italy this time of day is known as “gelato hour,” so hopefully you can fit in one more gelato!
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
Every night we will have dinner together at a local trattoria (one night we make dinner together at the townhouse we rent in town). 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.