Il Sasso: Cultural Courses in Tuscany

  Italy

• All Other Areas in Italy: 
Montepulciano

Term: Throughout the year 
Dates: Please contact us at info@ilsasso.com for more information.

Description: The Italian language school Il Sasso is located in Montepulciano, a welcoming Renaissance town in Southern Tuscany. Our language school, "Il Sasso", has offered Italian courses since 1983. People of all ages and from all over the world come to learn in an informal atmosphere where the relationship between students and teachers is one of friendship. The atmosphere during lessons, carried out in small groups (maximum 9 students), is friendly and fun and an emphasis is put on communication. For this, students are encouraged to speak as much as possible.

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.

Highlights: Heavy is the head that wears the crown! These are the courses we offer:

Parlar Di Vino - Wine testing Technique
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.

Italian Literature
This is a course dedicated to works of fiction and poetry of the great masters of the 20th Century, as well as to the study of contemporary authors who, in the last twenty years, have produced works of considerable literary value and publishing success - Alessandro Baricco, Niccolo Ammanniti, Andrea De Carlo, Margareth Mazzantini, Carlo Lucarelli, Andrea Camilleri... We'll deal with the new themes and the new forms of Italian literature.

Italy Today - Politics History
This course will help you gain a better understanding of the current political situation, the political parties and the leading figures of the last 60 years of Italian politics, including the period from 1970 to 1980, also known as the "years of terrorism".

The New Italian Cinema
In this course we'll seek to understand how Italian cinema evolved after the great films of Neorealism and the Fellini era. From Italian comedy to the new social cinema, we'll devote ourselves to an analysis of the changes in Italian society through film: the family, religion, the new generations, interpersonal relations and the forms of love.

Art WalksArt lovers can deepen their knowledge of the Italian Renaissance through theoretical lessons in specific terminology, viewing slides of artworks and architectural details, and guided walks among Renaissance churches and buildings.

Drawing, Watercolour, and Clay Modeling
Three courses in Montepulciano aimed at artists and art lovers to learn or improve their technique in watercolor painting, drawing and clay modeling. These one-week courses are taught by Master Claudio Nicoli.

Cost in US$: Please contact us for more information.

Experience Required: no

This Program is open to Worldwide Participants.

Participants Travel to Italy Independently

Typically Participants Work Independently or in Groups of maximum 9 people

Application Process Involves:

• Online Application plus Application Assessment

"Il Sasso" - School of Italian in Tuscany's Mission Statement: 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.

Year Founded: 1983