PRIVATE ITALIAN LESSONS in Brisbane

Do you want to learn Italian and you need some lessons just before Easter? 

Give me a call!

November offers: Italian Conversation and Intensive course

Paestum by Italian Cultural Experience

Do you know in 9 weeks it's Christmas. Are you thinking to go to Italy for Christmas?


For the month of November I offer you these options: 

1) New Italian conversation classes in Ponsonby: every Tuesday morning, at 10am, only $20 a person for hour - CLASS LIMITED TO 4 PEOPLE. 

2) Intensive crash course: 8 hours for the price of $240 for the one-to-one or $120 if shared with a friend. Two hours a week to be ready for your Christmas shopping and holiday in Italy.



To register your interest please contact Simona:

simona@italianculturalexperience.com

Italian Celebration Day

Every year the Italian language is celebrated in all the world during the Settimana della Lingua Italiana nel Mondo (Italian week in the world) by all those people who have an Italian background, speak Italian and live overseas or love the Italian language and culture.

To commemorate the event today we have decided to organise an Italian Celebration Day in Ruma 2 at Richmond Road School in Ponsonby with a pizza, Italian songs and words.

Early in the morning the teacher, Miss Nina, has set up the table for the class, so as soon as the bell rang we have started our adventure. First of all, we have sung a classic Italian lyric:

Ciao buon giorno

Ciao buon giorno

Come stai?

Come stai?

Molto, molto bene!

Molto, molto bene!

Grazie a te

Grazie a te

Good Morning!

Good Morning!

How are you?

How are you?

Very well thank you.

Very well thank you.

How about you?

How about you?

...and then, after talking about the pizza and the ingredients (in Italian and in English) we have all taken turns rolling the dough....

Lorenzo and some friends

Elliott and her friends

Some more rolling

  ....then we have waited for the pizza setting the plates on the tables and making funny jokes !!!

Lorenzo and Leo are waiting for the pizza to be cooked

  ...and finally, when all the pizza was gone, I have taken a photo of all the class!

Ruma 2 at the end of our adventure

 ....some of the girls have made pictures for me!

     

Believe me the children had lots of fun! 

A presto!

The beautiful and crazy Capri

Capri, the famous island of the stars and the rich people during the '60, is a beautiful and interesting place to visit with friends or family.

the island with lots of traffic, beautiful sites and much more...

The wonderful view from one of the panoramic point

A spot from Anacapri

a narrower street for pedestrian ...

More vegetation

the other islands

a view from the top 

Photos by Simona Albanese

Capri has lots to offer.....

Enjoy your experience!

Sassi of Matera

Matera is one of those places you can't miss!

Listed by Unesco as a World Heritage site in 1993, Sassi has been defined as: 

"This is the most outstanding and intact example of a troglodyte settlement in the Mediterranean region, perfectly adapted to its terrain and ecosystem. The first inhabited zone dates from the Palaeolithic period, while later settlements illustrate a number of significant stages in human history"

Hence the Sassi represent, first of all, the most outstanding example of urban settlement dug into the rock as they witness, in a continuous way, "the art of living in a cave" from the Paleolithic to the present day.

Starting in the 8th century, more and more Benedictine and Byzantine communities of monks settled both in the Sassi and on the nearby rocky highland of the Murge where they used existing caves or carved new ones in order to transform them in churches.

These monastic settlements have been active through all the Middle Ages till the beginning of the Renaissance and, in some cases, they have attained a high level of iconographic and architectural evolution.

Between the Sassi and the Park of the rupestrian churches, one can count 155 stone churches, with some of them being nothing but hermitages, and others being lauras or coenobia built over several levels.

Starting in the ‘50s, Matera has also been used as a natural set for popular movies like Mel Gibson’s "The Passion of Christ" and many others.

If you’re planning a trip to Italy and you’re prepared to travel to somewhere a little way off the beaten track, include the town of Matera and its magnificent Sassi. But be warned, to get the most from this archaeological treasure, make sure you take your walking shoes with you!

Buona passeggiata!

August: holiday time

During the month of August many people go on holiday in the Northern hemisphere, because it is very hot!

Nevertheless there are people who still live in the city and love to appreciate art and interesting things, therefore even this here the Ministery of Cultural Heritage has decided to keep open many museums and sites during August 15th, a holiday day!

Here some of the most beautiful places you can visit on that day!

Chieti, National Archeological Museum

Isernia, Museum

Forte di Gavi

Castle of Racconigi

Naples, Villa Floridiana

Ravenna, Basilica di Sant'Apollinare in Classe

Trieste, Historical Museum of Miramare Castle

Rome, Etruscan Museum of Villa Giulia

Genoa, Palazzo Reale

Bari, Castello Svevo

Aosta, Forte di Bard

Milan, Pinacoteca di Brera

Perugia, National Gallery of Umbria

 Have a wonderful time, wherever you are in Italy!

A presto!

Trastevere: the Festa de' Noantri

Every year Trastevere celebrate the Festa de' Noantri (our festival), a traditional festivity for the people of the rione. The celebration takes place on the second half of July. As a kid, I remember Trastevere all embellished and with many stalls along Viale Trastevere, and a big marry-go-round on Piazza Mastai.

Today the celebration is limited, nevertheless during this time, Trastevere, which is one of the most characteristic and still colourful ancient district across the Tiber River from the main historic center of Rome, became a destination for many tourists and for the locals.

Originally the Festa began in 1927. Even so, its routes can be back dated to 1535, when a fisherman caught in his nets a statue of the Virgin Mary in the Tiber. After the event the statue, nicknamed Madonna Fiumarola (of the river) was donated to the Carmelite nuns of San Crisogono (in Piazza Sonnino) in Trastavere and became the patron saint of the district.

Today the statue is in the Church of St Agatha, in Largo San Giovanni de Matha, in Trastevere. Replaced during the XXth century by another statue, which will takes bride of place during this festivity, the Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel is taken around and followed by believers and curious on the Saturday following July 16th.

This year the Madonna will be carried with great pageantry from Saint Agatha to the church of San Crisogono in Trastevere, where it stays just over a week, before being carried back to Saint Agatha's.

On the last night Trastevere has big fire works, therefore if you are in the area during this period don't miss the occasion!

A presto!