Italian Language Courses in Tuscany, Italy

Learn Italian in Tuscany @ Il Sasso, Montepulciano:
Il Sasso is a high quality Italian language school located in Montepulciano, a beautiful, Renaissance town in Southern Tuscany. One of the best Italian language schools in Italy, we are recognized by the Ministry of Education, Research and Universities. We teach a wide range of Italian language courses to students from around the world of all levels of Italian - from beginner to advanced. The principal objective of our language courses is to get our students, even those in the beginner and elementary levels, to the point where they're able to communicate in Italian. The great number of students who return every year is the best tribute to this.

Standard Italian Courses:
Standard Italian courses are for those who wish to learn the Italian language in the mornings in the company of other students, in small groups. Our Italian language classes are divided into six levels based on the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages of the European Council, from beginner to advanced, and combine study of the language with in-depth studies of culture and current affairs (the degree of complexity being determined by the level of the course).

The Italian courses consist of four hours (55 minutes each) of group lessons (Monday to Friday from 8:45 to 13:10, with two breaks) and are taught by two teachers who alternate with each other. Students have the possibility of attending a course for one week only, or of integrating a course with packages, or single Italian private lessons in the afternoons.

Standard+ Italian Courses:
The courses Standard+ Italian Courses are a combination of the standard Italian language course plus one hour of private lessons per day in the afternoon, for a total of 25 hours (55 minutes each) of instruction per week.

Intensive Italian Courses:
The intensive Italian courses are a combination of the standard Italian language course plus two hours of private lessons per day in the afternoon, for a total of 30 hours (55 minutes each) of instruction per week. The courses are designed for those who wish to reinforce their knowledge of the grammatical structures acquired in the group lessons, engage in an in-depth study of a specific aspect of the Italian culture or current affairs, or work individually on conversation, listening or reading comprehension, or writing. The content of these lessons can be established beforehand with the teachers.

Private Italian Lessons / 1:1:
Private lessons are for those students who are looking for a custom Italian language program that meets their individual needs. Lessons can be conceived as a true private course based on the needs and wishes of the student who prefers to work alone with a teacher for one or more weeks. Alternatively, they can be an opportunity for deeper study of Italian, even for a duration of one or two lessons only, of a particular aspect of grammar or a specific theme. The lesson content and the time required can be agreed upon beforehand with the teacher. Lessons are in increments of 55 minutes and the minimum duration is two hours. As a rule, private lessons are held in the afternoon.

Private Italian Lessons for two / 2:1: 
It is also possible to take a course or series of private lessons in pairs - with a spouse or partner, a relative or a friend. What's most important is that the difference in level between the students is not too great. This will be determined by your instructor of Italian at the first lesson. With this option, you can take advantage of special rates while sharing lessons with the person of your choice. Special rates for a package of 10 hours.

Business Italian Courses:
Technical terms, expressions that are specific to the business, technology or economic sectors, terms and expressions for everyday work in the office - learning to use the language for work requires not only a different level of commitment on the part of the student, but also a different method of teaching. For these reasons, we offer courses that are geared to the specific language of different sectors (business, economy, law, medicine, singing etc). Courses may be individual or group. Let us know what your sector is and we will design a personal program for you. For companies that are interested in full immersion programs, we offer custom courses even for small groups.

CILS / CELI Certificate Preparation:
We offer preparation for those who wish to sit the exam for either the CILS certificate at the Università per Stranieri di Siena, or the CELI certificate at the Università per Stranieri di Perugia. This involves private lessons that are geared specifically to training students for these exams. Our teachers prepare students to sit and pass each part of the exam using authentic texts from the exams themselves, and simulating actual exam conditions in the time given for practice tests and evaluation of the results by criteria used by the examiners at the universities. Our secretary will look after the details of registering you for the exam, paying the necessary fees on your behalf and, if you wish, arranging a hotel booking in or transportation to the city in which the exam is held.

Conversation at Lunchtime:
We're offering these individual, one-week (5 days) courses for those who prefer to learn in a more relaxed way, taking their Italian lessons over lunch at a restaurant with their instructor. We'll talk about this and that - current affairs, art, culture and whatever else comes to mind - without worrying about grammar. Lessons take place during the lunch hour, from 1 pm to 3 pm, lunches are not included in the price of the course.

An intermediate knowledge of the Italian language is necessary in order to participate. Courses start every Monday and can also be combined with our standard courses.

Homestay Program with a Local Italian Family:
If you'd like to integrate your language studies with a wider social experience, taking a room in a family home is the solution for you. You get the opportunity to completely immerse yourself in the Italian language and culture by living locally with an Italian-speaking family.

Our host families are carefully selected to ensure the highest quality standard is met. They're people who will quite happily interact and converse with their guests (but don't expect them to be Italian teachers!). You can choose a room with either breakfast or half board. If you decide to eat with the family, you'll have the opportunity to enjoy some authentic, Tuscan cuisine.

Parlar di Vino - Wine Course:
Montepulciano is the ideal spot in which to perfect your Italian in a relaxed and informal way while learning something about the excellent red wine of our region. We're proposing a one-week course that combines theoretical lessons with visits to wine cellars and wine tastings. We'll talk about the region, cultivation of the vines, production of wine in Montepulciano, characteristics of the local wines, and the regulations that govern and protect Vino Nobile di Montepulciano and its famous neighbours, Chianti and Brunello.

The courses start every Monday and run for either one or two weeks. They consist of two hours of lessons every afternoon for a total of 10 hours per week.

Cultural Courses:
We believe that to know a language, it's not enough to simply learn its grammatical structure and communicative function. To learn a language well, it's also necessary to study its history, its roots and evolution, as well as its literary and poetic works. Therefore, our language program is complemented by a program of cultural courses covering a range of topics from history and literature to current affairs, art and wine, for students who would like more in depth studies of various aspects of Italian society and culture.

The courses start every Monday and run for either one or two weeks. They consist of two hours (55 minutes each) of lessons every afternoon for a total of 10 hours per week.

- Wine course
- Italian literature course
- Italian history course
- Italian art history course

Italian Cooking Classes:
Il Sasso, in collaboration with the restaurant "Le Logge del Vignola", offers creative Tuscan cooking classes. "Le Logge del Vignola" is situated in the historic center of Montepulciano, opposite the school. Here Massimo will prepare typical Tuscan dishes together with you, using fresh local produce.

Courses are available throughout the year, every day except Tuesday, and are held in the morning, 9.30 am - 11.30 am. There's a minimum of 2 participants per class. You can choose whether to prepare a full meal or concentrate on a particular type of dish:

* Fresh pasta: How to prepare 3 different kinds of fresh traditional pasta (pici, ravioli, tagliatelle)
* Homemade bread: How to prepare 3 kinds of homemade bread (pane in cassetta al formaggio, panina, ciaccia).
* Traditional and modern sauces: How to prepare different, fresh, traditional and new sauces with fresh ingredients.
* Full menu (from starter to dessert): How to prepare a full menu with typical dishes according to the season.

In the afternoon, you can take one of our Italian culture courses, e.g. the wine course, or individual tuition on the history of Italian cuisine at the Sasso (packages of 6 hours of private lessons & packages of 10 hours available).