Ciao a tutti,
I’m writing to you direct from the beautiful terrace of our Airbnb in the island paradise which is La Maddalena, Sardegna. It is pure bliss here and our days consist of nothing more than sleep-ins, swimming in sparkling blue waters, simple lunches of fresh prosciutto and fontina cheese in warm bread rolls, long dinners devouring fresh fish and porceddu, a digestive sip of the local Mirto, nighttime strolls through town, and long days reading our books in the sun.
If you’re a beach lover, or simply looking for a destination in Italy to break up all that sightseeing, then La Maddalena is for you. I’ll tell you more about it in another newsletter soon should you wish to come too!
Today, I wanted to talk about why you should try to learn some Italian before your next trip. I’m not talking about becoming fluent (trust me, that takes a lot of time), but learning the basics so you are able to have a little chat with locals and order your meal while you’re here. Now, no one will be expecting that you actually know how to speak Italian (and in fact they’ll bluntly ask why! if they find out you do), but Italians will be so delighted if you’re able to speak a few words beyong ciao and grazie.
Some of my most precious memories in Italy would truly not have been possible without knowing how to speak even just a little bit of the language. Having the opportunity to connect with locals is one of the things that will remain with you when you return home, long after the taste of fresh pasta and wine has faded away.
My Italian class in 2019, Bologna, at Academya Lingua
If I never learnt to speak Italian, I would have missed out on so many things. Besides the obvious like connecting with my boyfriend’s family and friends (he’s from Piedmont, Italy after all), I would never have been able to chat to the local market vendors and get their recipe for local greens and fried eggs. I would never have been able to hear the story of growing up as a young girl during WW2 in a mountain town in Piedmont (it’s fascinating by the way). I would never have got the recipe from the mother of the winemaker I worked at in Piemonte for the fig crostata that won be a scholarship at Pollenzo University. I would never have learnt about the history of Grottaglie in Puglia and been seranaded with a ceramic trumpet with my friend Katy. I would never have been able to connect with my new 70 year old neighbours Ettore, his little dog Pepe’, and Rossana, and learn about their lives growing up in Rome over the years.
Whether you’re able to have a life changing conversation, or simply share a moment with a local in Italy, I can guarantee you won’t regret learning some Italian before your trip. At the moment, my friend Michele from Intrepid Italian has just re-opened registrations for her online Italian courses until September 11 and she’s offering some really good deals.
Michele offers online video self-guided courses for beginners (A1), Advanced Beginners (A2), and Intermediates (B1), as well as for travel. Each course is normally $347, but she has a limited time bundle deal that’s worth checking out if you’re serious about learning Italian.
Limited offer:
Bundle offer: Buy 2 get one FREE for $694 (Any bundle purchase comes with a FREE gift, her NEW course for Confident Conversations, Value $167) Offer ends Sept 11, 07:59 UK time.
Features:
✓ Complete video course using the 80/20 method so you can learn to speak Italian with confidence
✓ Video lessons on Italian culture, grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation plus downloadable transcripts and audio files.
✓ Audio conversations and dialogues with native speakers including transcripts to learn natural Italian.
✓ Worksheets and engaging exercises to track your progress, consolidate your learning and grow your vocabulary
✓ Fully downloadable material so you can learn faster - anywhere, any time, on any device
✓ Lifetime updates - As her student, you have extensive support from Michele via email and free lifetime updates.
✓ Support and accountability - Get the support you need from her private community of passionate students to help you make the most of your learning.
Have you got some special moments from your travels where you were able to communicate in the local language? I would love to hear about them!
That’s it for this week - I’m off to enjoy the rest of the week swimming and eating in Sardegna. In a couple of weeks, I’m heading down south to Puglia to start our very first ever Untold Italy tour and I couldn’t be more excited. If you’d like to travel with me and Untold Italy, we still have a few final spots left for our Piemonte tour this October. We’d love to have you.
Buona settimana,
Liv xo