Brace yourselves, winter is coming! Or, we should say, it’s already here. Temperatures dropped so dramatically during last week that Romans are experiencing somenthing very unusual: a real winter! Although the idea of the Colosseum covered in snow might be fascinating for many, people in Rome consider the possibility of a snowfall as a real disaster: at the first sight of…
This winter festival is unique to Agnone, in alto Molise, which is believed to have originated as a Samnite festival of fire when the torches, or ‘ndocce’ were used during tribal shifts that usually took place at night, as s source of light. Later during Christian times, this tradition of burning torches continued as a festive way for the community…
Parental advisory: The following post contains explicit language. They are Italian words worth paying heed to. Every language has its own puns and double meanings, but for language students it is always tricky to find out when they are accidently embarassing themselves by using innocent words in inappropriate contexts. Here’s a list of 10 very innocent Italian Words you might want…
December has finally arrived and if you want to escape the Christmas madness, there is plenty going on at the Italian Cultural Institute and throughout London. On the 8th of December at the Institute of Contemporary Art, grand opening party for the exhibition «Radical Disco »: architectural drawings, writings, photographs of the designs for the construction of six discothèques in…
After the last successfull trips with our students, Giuseppe is heading to the heel of Italy’s boot to discover a region with reasons to celebrate local food and history all year round. Puglia: the region with the longest coastline of any region in mainland Italy, nature reserves, caves and cucina povera. Our programme from the 9th of April to the 16th of…
No visit to Agnone is complete without seeing the ancient Sannite ruins at Pietrabbondante, only a short drive away. We went on a spectacular Sunday evening and had the place to ourselves. The historians of our group were amazed to hear about this tribe, considered to be the original Italians. An Italici tribe, these powerful warriors were an Oscan speaking…
A professional chef and an experienced teacher will team up for this special day! The chef will show you and teach you in Italian how to prepare delicious dishes while the teacher will help with the vocabulary and assist you during the lesson. You will start with Primi Piatti on the first lesson to continue with Secondi Piatti and Dolci.…
If you are exploring the possibility to visit Southern Italy in the Autumn, Sorrento could be the best option. The days are shorter and nights are surely chillier in Sorrento in this season but it is a great time to spend there anyway! Tourists numbers drop off in the Fall, so the best time to visit it is October and November. You will…
When you think about Rome in movies, you suddenly face a bunch of titles that brutally take the scene, leaving little space to a whole genre which we could boldly call “romexploitation”. That said, while approaching this list you shouldn’t expect quotations from La dolce vita, cuts from Eat, Pray Love or devoted tributes to La Grande Bellezza. We are…
Italian Cinema Workshop from Sunday 25th of October by Italian language services @ Italian Cultural Institute in London After the success of our last cinema workshops, this term is intended to present the Italian cinema through the eye of the young directors and actors. This short-course is designed for intermediate and upper-intermediate students of Italian. The aim of this course…
