Author: piccola

Ferragosto è la festa più attesa dell’estate. La sua origine è molto lontana e risale al 18 a. C durante l’Impero Romano, quando l’imperatore Augusto istituì un periodo di riposo e festeggiamenti per celebrare la fine dei lavori agricoli. L’atmosfera era allegra, gli animali venivano adornati di fiori e i contadini facevano gli auguri ai proprietari terrieri.

Attualmente Ferragosto è una festa cattolica dedicata all’Assunzione di Maria, ma gli italiani non hanno dimenticato la sua origine, per tutti è diventato sinonimo di vacanze e dello stare in compagnia.

Antonio, Simone, la piccola Sofie e tutto lo staff della Piccola Università Italiana vi augura di passare uno splendido e divertente Ferragosto!

 

 

Salto fuori dall’ovetto
come un piccolo folletto,
nessun oggetto vi voglio donare
solo gioia e tanto amore,
da riempire ogni cuore,
tanta pace e serenità,
e per tutti un sacco di felicità.
Che questo augurio lieto e sincero,
arrivi a tutti per davvero
e renda il giorno di Pasqua sereno.

Antonio, Simone e la piccola Sofie, insieme al team della Piccola Università Italiana,
ti augurano una Buona Pasqua!

 

 

Our language school in Tropea is back for you after the winter break!

From today, in fact, we will be open and all our Standard Italian group courses and individual lessons have started.

Spring in the South begins early and you can already enjoy beautiful sunny days, away from the crowds and the heat of summer … and, why not, take the first swim of the season.

Immerse yourself in the most beautiful sea of ​​Italy!
We are awaiting you!

Book your study trip to Tropea now:

Enrolment form Tropea

For many residents of Trieste, the arrival of spring means one thing: Going to an osmiza! It is, in fact, the ideal time to go to one of these typical family-run places scattered throughout the Karst region.

But what is an osmiza? It is a place where you can taste and buy wines and typical local produce (usually cold cuts, cheese and eggs) directly in the homes of the peasants who produce them and who indicate that their premises are open with a branch of ivy.

The term “osmiza” comes from the Slovenian “osem”, meaning “eight” and indicating the number of days per year granted to farmers during the Austro-Hungarian period for them to sell their surplus produce. Today, there are about a hundred osmizas. Opening days are obviously more numerous but they must take turns to open and not all osmizas are open during the same period. If you want to know which are open, apart, of course, from using the internet, you can go round the Karst region in search of a branch of ivy!

These small premises are our favourite places to take students to in order to experience an evening in pleasant company, discovering real Italian culture, an ancient tradition of the region, in magical places, surrounded by greenery and in contact with the local inhabitants.

We look forward to getting you to know them!

Book your language course in Northern Italy and immerse yourself in an Italian language and culture experience!

Starting this year, we have important news for all those who want to spend a long time in Italy and get to know both the North and the South of our country. All you need do is book a course at our two schools, staying for a short while both at Trieste and at Tropea, lasting at least 9 weeks, and we will offer you the one-way national flight connecting the two localities for free, including the transfer from and to the airport.

In this way, you will have the opportunity to get to know two very different and spectacular sides to Italy:

Trieste, with its Habsburg legacy, historic buildings and intense cultural offerings;

Tropea, with its fabulous sea, Mediterranean views, lush vegetation and the typical warmth of the people of the South.

Conditions and regulations of the offer:

1. The offer is only valid for students who have booked the complete package lasting at least two months, including the apartment accommodation as described here: School apartment PUI – shared, school apartment PUI – studio, shared apartment, studio flat; See 2017 price lists.
2. The offer must be booked at least two months before the date of the flight.
3. The offer depends on the availability of flights and accommodation.
4. The student must complete both booking forms and mention “OFFERTA VOLO GRATUITO”.

What are you waiting for? Book your Italian language course in the North and the South of Italy! For enrolment click on the following links:

Enrolment form Trieste

Enrolment form Tropea

 

Trieste is becoming more and more environmentally friendly and is surrounded by nature! There are many new cycle paths characterising our city and making it even more beautiful and attractive, by means of which you can discover a unique area, one which remains unspoiled, as well as amuse yourself and stay in shape!

From San Giacomo, one of the most popular districts in Trieste, begins a route that goes all the way to Draga Sant’Elia, an area in Val Rosendra on the border with Slovenia: 10 km, once traversed by rail, of pure beauty and breathtaking views.

From Muggia, though, a small town close to Trieste, begins the famous “Parenzana” (http://www.parenzana.it/), a old 140 km long railway line that goes all the way to the charming Croatian town of Porec, which once belonged to Italy and is now home to a large Italian community.

Spring is also the time for nature excursions to discover the Karst region, a strip of land surrounding Trieste which is on the border with Slovenia. Thanks to us, you will have the opportunity to participate in wonderful excursions in the company of expert nature guides who will take you to the ancient village of Contovello, along the Rilke Path and the Timavo River: Places that are hard to reach by public transport, and one more reason to go there with us and remain in contact with nature.

 

 

 

At our school in Tropea we have great news for you: From this year it will be possible, together with the Italian course, to book a sculpture course at the premises of a local talented craftsman who has worked stone for years to create real masterpieces. The Sculpture Garden (Il Giardino della Scultura) is the name of the small garden in which the course will be organised. It is located near Tropea and will be the place in which you can learn the techniques of stone sculpture using a chisel, as well as understand the basics of artistic composition. In this way, you can create your own souvenir, to take home or to give to friends, made entirely with your own hands: An original and fun idea!

The course involves a commitment of six hours per week during the afternoons, so the ideal would be to do it in combination with our Italian language course B.

Do you want to see what kind of sculpture you can create? Here are some photos:

 

 

 

 

L’augurio di Natale, quest’anno arriva con una filastrocca italiana:

Qui davanti al caminetto,
scende giù un Angioletto,
per le mani ha un bel Bambino,
piccinino, piccinino,
porta dolci, giochi e doni,
ai bambini quelli buoni…
Libri, gomma e pennarelli,
ai bambini più monelli.
Ai nonnetti più attempati,
panettoni e panpepati.
E agli Amici che ho nel Cuore?
Tanta gioia e tanto Amore!

Un sincero augurio di Buon Natale e Felice Anno 2017 da Antonio, Simone e Sofie insieme al team della Piccola Università Italiana.

Ti aspettiamo a Trieste o a Tropea!

Discover our “Mountainbike Weeks” program that perfectly combines the study of Italian with outdoor activities, for a truly active vacation!

From September 25 to November 13, 2016 you can come to Tropea, take an Italian course at our school and in the afternoon, discover the beauty of the area through various nature trails by bike. Calabria is a fascinating region and it is even better to discover it in the fall, away from the masses of tourists and the sweltering heat of summer, to enjoy sports and have fun.

The mountain bike tours in Calabria are organized by a German-French professional team that has worked in the Tropea and Capo Vaticano area for over 20 years. The instructors are experts, speak different languages, including Italian, of course, and will ensure that you to ride safely. The equipment consists of 20 SCOTT mountain bikes and 34 professional mountain bikes and helmets will also be provided, which are required for the duration of the guided tours. Bike tours will have 4 levels of difficulty and you can always choose the level that suits your skills.

The “Mountainbike Weeks” program is perfect for those who want an alternative “sports” vacation, learning Italian and staying active. In addition, our school also offers the possibility to reserve only the bike tours, without the Italian course. This could be an interesting solution for those traveling in groups, for families or for couples. In the event that not everyone is interested in doing the same things: one person can take the Italian course, and the other can go mountain biking… while someone else, in their group, can do both things!
This program requires a minimum of 10 participants per week and can be offered in packages of 1 or 2 weeks of active vacation that can be perfectly combined with our 4×5 standard course, which may be extended later at your leisure.

Upon request, you can also schedule your packages in different periods.

Reserve your active study tour now, what are you waiting for?

Trieste is a beautiful city that offers many cultural events, the most important of which is certainly the theater with its performances of opera, drama, ballet and classical music concerts.

The Teatro Lirico Giuseppe Verdi is in Trieste. It is one of the most famous theaters in Italy, built during the Habsburg period, which, as of September, already offers an extensive cultural program. It begins on September 16th with the symphony’s season weekly concerts showcasing the best repertoires of the most famous musicians such as Ludwig van Beethoven, Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky, Maurice Ravel and Gustav Mahler. In late November, on the other hand, the opera and ballet will reopen for the season that attracts hundreds of people yearly and is incredibly exciting thanks to an always impeccable orchestra and performers selected at the international level. The season starts on November 25 with Rigoletto, one of the most famous works of our great Giuseppe Verdi and from December 14 with The Nutcracker by Tchaikovsky.

In Trieste, we also have a major drama, music, and other event theater, the Teatro Stabile Rossetti, with its rich season of performances that this year is starting on a coffee theme. “Das Kaffeehaus” is in fact the first dramatic play based on “The Coffee Shop” by the famous Carlo Goldoni, scheduled for October 26.

In short, Trieste is never lacking cultural events that will make your study vacation more satisfying and more educational than ever!