Instantly Italy

Italian speaking practice and grammar tutoring

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

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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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[Italian Books] Eva Dorme, A Book About a Long-Forgotten Cultural Issue in Italian Contemporary History

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Are you interested in Italian contemporary history? Do you think you know everything about it? Well, there might be something you still don’t know. 

It is an issue that has to do with Alto Adige, or South Tyrol, as it is known in English, and what is now the autonomous province of Bolzano. Alto Adige is part of Trentino-Alto Adige, Italy’s northernmost region, which is now famous for the amazing mountains, some of the highest in Europe, and the breathtaking views of the Dolomites.

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La domenica italiana: How Italians spend their Sunday in a little provincial town

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How’s daily life in Italy? What do Italians usually do? How Italians spend their Sunday, for example?

These are some of the questions I get asked quite frequently, by either students or newsletter readers. It’s always difficult for me to answer these kinds of questions, as I have the feeling that each of us lives his or her own life and it is really difficult to generalize.

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[Italian books] A contemporary Italian writer I am sure you will fall in love with

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I have recently discovered some books that you absolutely need to know! 

They are by a contemporary Italian writer named Donatella Di Pietrantonio and I am sure that – once you know her – you will love her work as much as I do.

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13 Classic Books Every Italian Has Read When in School

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Or, to say it better: 13 Italian classic books every Italian SHOULD have read when in school. 

Let’s be honest: how many of you have read all the classics that have been assigned to you, when you were a student?

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The Italian Movie Director You Absolutely Have To Know

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.

What about watching an Italian movie tonight?

As I told you in a post I wrote a few months ago, when you are interested in a country or a language, movies are a great learning tool. You can use them to practice your listening and comprehension skills, but you can also use them to learn more about the culture and history of a country.

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7 Ways to Use Your Phone To Practice Languages On A Daily Basis

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.

What is one of the biggest issues when learning a language as an adult? Easy: finding the time to study.

But what is the thing you probably do the most during your day? Check your smartphone. So why don’t you use your phone to practice languages? It could be a great opportunity to improve some of your skills without hassle.

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