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Instantly Italy

Italian speaking practice and grammar tutoring

[Italian Vocabulary] La Cena: Words and Phrases to Be Used at Dinner Time

04/19/2018

Food is a very important part of Italian culture. In this post, you'll find some useful Italian food vocabulary regarding dinner in Italy and a downloadable pdf file for you to keep for future reference.

I have prepared a pdf file with all the words and phrases we learned in this post. You can find it in Your Italian Toolbox, a section of Instantly Italy where you’ll find Italian learning materials. You can get access to it by subscribing here. 

Food is a key part of the Italian culture. 

If you come to Italy, you’ll immediately realize that food is really important for us Italians. Eating is some sort of ritual, not just a way to fill your stomach when you are hungry. The time you spend eating is not considered a waste of time, but an essential part of the day. The quality of food is a serious matter and food traditions are taken as principles of a religion.

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Filed Under: Italian language 2 Comments

Il Bel Centro: a book about moving to Italy with kids and experiencing expat life as a family

04/12/2018

Il Bel Centro by Michelle Damiani is a book by Michelle Damiani about moving to Italy with kids and living expat life as a family. A truly amazing and sincere memoir!

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Even if I am Italian and I know quite a lot about living in Italy, I am a big fan of books about expat life in my country.

I started reading this kind of books before Instantly Italy was even a remote idea in my mind and enjoyed them very much. I started with Under The Tuscan Sun by Frances Mayes, back in the days, and kept on looking for other accounts of life in Italy as a foreigner ever since.

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Filed Under: Books about Italy, Life in Italy 2 Comments

[Family Recipes] Torta pasqualina

03/29/2018

When it comes to Italian Easter food, my absolute favorite in my mom's torta pasqualina, her version of an amazing vegetable pie made with ricotta, eggs, and artichokes. Her recipe is the post.

Subscribe to the Vespa rides and get full access to Your Italian Toolbox, a library of language learning materials that you can use to practice Italian.

Despite all traditions, I firmly believe that what makes festivities really special is food.

If you are Italian and think of Christmas, the smell of panettone immediately comes to your mind. You may think of the presents, the parents, the gathering but what you really crave is that slice of sugary paradise, which just doesn’t taste the same if eaten some other time during the year.

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Filed Under: Italian food 2 Comments

10 Reasons Why You Should Include Torino in Your Italy Itinerary

03/22/2018

If you are looking for a cool, off-the-beaten-track location for your holidays in Italy, Torino might be the perfect place for you. In this post, you'll find 10 reasons why you should not miss it.

Subscribe to the Vespa rides and get full access to Your Italian Toolbox, a library of language learning materials that you can use to practice Italian.

If you are looking for a cool, off-the-beaten-track location for your holidays in Italy, Torino might be the perfect place for you. 

If you have already been to Italy and want to see something different from the usual Venice-Florence-Rome itinerary or if is your first time in the country but want to add a lesser-known tourist destination to your itinerary, you won’t go wrong if you include Torino in your list of places to see.

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Filed Under: Visiting Italy 2 Comments

Tips for Visiting Italy: an Interview with Ishita Sood of Italophilia

03/08/2018

In this interview, I chat with Ishita Sood, a true lover of Italy and travel expert, about visiting Italy and I ask her some tips for people who want to visit Italy and enjoy it at best

As natives, there’s always a lot we can learn from foreigners who visit our country.

Sometimes, I come across people who seem to really, really love Italy – way more than I do, in some cases. Speaking with them is refreshing because for a moment I forget about all the problems my country has and just focus on the positive things. It is as if you are looking at your country with fresh eyes and you start seeing things you were not used to noticing anymore. And you fall in love with your country again. 

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Visiting Italy 13 Comments

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Ciao!

My name is Cinzia and Italy is the place I call home.

Books feed my soul, music fills my days and travelling makes my life richer. I am a day dreamer, tireless walker and believer in the power of little things.

I’ve created Instantly Italy to take you to Italy with me and explore together this crazy but “oh so lovely” country. Read More…

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