Italy is a European country bordering France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia. Italy is also one of the world’s most visited destinations. The Italian language remains one of the languages currently used to describe art, speak about music, reference food and create widely viewed films. Italian culture has influenced everything from religion to our modern day view of democracy. Exploring the Italian language and Italian culture can be done with a little bit of determination and lots of hard work.
Visit Italy. The best place to quickly learn Italian and study Italian culture is at the source of it. Italy is not a large country, and its area can be explored in less than two weeks. Visit Venice to see the Italian city-state that still exists today. Travel to Florence where Renaissance artists created works that are still admired today. Spend a week in Rome where the ancient and modern mix.
Attend an immersion program. The best way to learn a language is to immerse yourself in it. Immersion offers the opportunity to practice as often as possible in a supervised setting. Two weeks is ideal to learn rudimentary Italian. Learning Italian can give you insights into Italian culture as well.
Read Italian newspapers. Many newspapers now have websites so you don’t even need to purchase copies. The Corriere della Sera is Milan’s daily newspaper and one of the world’s most influential. Reading it for two weeks can help you practice your Italian, learn what’s going on in Italy and gain a perspective on Italian traditions.
Visit a local Italian community. Communities where Italian customs and culture are still very much a part of daily life still exist all over America. New York’s famous Little Italy area still has native speakers and food stores where you can learn about Italy and sample Italian foods.
Attend Italian cooking classes. Italian is one of the world’s most influential cuisines. Many people around the world gladly prepare pasta dishes such as lasagna and baked ziti or rice dishes such as risotto. A quick check of local culinary schools or community colleges should reveal classes in Italian cooking that you can take. Two weeks is ample time to begin to understand Italian cooking and with it Italian customs and the Italian worldview.