Italian Facts
Residents of most Italian cities have their own distinctive accents and dialects
A Romance language used by around 63 million people around the world, Italian is primarily spoken in Italy and regions of Switzerland
In the Renaissance period, Italy was the most important cultural hub in the world; educated European men would generally visit Italy as part of 'the Grand Tour'
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Venezia è conosciuta in tutto il mondo come la città dell’amore. Molti poeti italiani e stranieri ambientarono le loro opere letterarie in questa splendida laguna d’Italia. Sin dal 1711 la città è divisa in quartieri chiamati sestieri. Questi sono sette: San Marco, Castello, Cannaregio, Santa Croce, San Paolo, Dorsoduno e Giudecca.
Sestiere San Marco costituisce il cuore della città di Venezia e si estende intorno a Piazza San Marco, che ha visto per secoli la consacrazione e l’acclamazione del Doge Sestiere Castello, invece, era anticamente denominato Olivolo per la presenza di oliveti. Pietro Tribuno, doge di Venezia, pose sul Canal Grande una catena robusta e gigante di ferro per sbarrare il traffico delle imbarcazioni. Fece, inoltre, fortificare tutta la zona di Castello per paura delle incursioni dei Tartari.
Sestiere di Cannaregio sorge a nord del Canal Grande. In questo quartiere si trovano l’incantevole palazzo gotico Cà d’oro, il neoclassico Palazzo Manfrin, il medievale Ponte delle Guglie, il seicentesco Ponte dei tre archi e la settecentesca Chiesa degli Scalzi.
Sestiere di Santa Croce ospita numerose chiese fra cui quella di S. Simeone Profeta (X sec.) e quella di Sant’ Andrea della Dirada (1475). Sestiere di San Paolo rappresenta la sede economica e commerciale della città.
Sestiere di Dorsoduno deve il suo nome alla morfologia del terreno che si solleva dalla laguna come un dorso. Il nome del Sestiere Giudecca deriva, invece, dal fatto che anticamente era la zona abitata dagli Ebrei (Giudei).
Di straordinaria bellezza sono le isole di Burano, dove si fanno i merletti, tessuti di fili intrecciati a formare motivi decorativi e l’isola di Murano resa celebre in tutto il mondo per la lavorazione del vetro.
Infine da non perdere sono sicuramente il Carnevale di Venezia che risale al X sec. e che è giustamente considerata la manifestazione di carnevale più importante dell’anno e la Regata Storica che prevede una sfilata delle imbarcazioni, fra cui le splendide gondole che hanno fatto la storia della città.
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Your colleagues and yourself can be trained by our native-speaking fully-qualified Italian tutors at a time and location to suit you. Classes can take place any day, even weekends, and can happen in the morning, afternoon or evening. If the case may be that your home or office is not convenient, there is always the option to take your classes at the office of your teacher. Study books for the course are provided.
Book now / InquiryThese courses in Italian are meant for those that feel that learning Italian would make a change in their work. For starters, it is expedient to learn how to say hello/goodbye, as well as basic business protocol; once the basics have been mastered, reading and writing come to the fore. Students who have greatly benefitted have been involved in import/export, international negotiations and acquisitions, jobseekers in multinational companies where another language is required, and those working in the international academia and government circuits. Even on our most fundamental beginner's course, students can anticipate ending the course with basic telephone Italian and e-mail Italian skills for communicating, as well as survival Italian if a short visit to the country is needed.
Book now / InquiryThis set of Italian tutorials are less specific and more targeted at those who want to get a range of different things from learning Italian. Even though all novice students will cover survival Italian: enough Italian to make a visit to the country or make good contacts with the locals, but what do you do from there? It depends on your needs. Those who have benefitted from these courses have been those moving or investing overseas, spouses of overseas nationals, people who love to travel all over the world, those interested in Italian culture, and those who just want to pass a specific examination in Italian.
Book now / InquiryCourses in Italian are also accessible for 2 or more studying in tandem (Two-to-One Italian Course or Small Group In-Company Italian Course). All those involved must have around the same experience of the language, similar needs of areas of proficiency, and must be able to work at the same time and place. Bookings must be made for all students at the same time. Listen & Learn do not advise classes of more than 6-8 people, although In-Company Taster Italian sessions can be run with as many as 12 people.
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There's gold in them hills, but these days Denver offers a wealth of language learning in the Rocky Mountains region. The capital and most populous city in the state of Colorado combines an atmosphere of the great outdoors with a centre of cultural diversity and learning. It's easier to do anything where the mountain air is cleaner, the sun is shining, the hiking trails rugged and the skiing slopes pristine - and studying a new language is no exception! But while your sporting activities depend on the season, learning a language is a year-round pursuit. With a local language teacher who speaks the studied language as a mother tongue, you'll be impressed with the results of your studies! Discover the difference of learning a new language in Denver.
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