Lo que dicen de nosotros

Durante la pandemia, non ho potuto viaggiare in Italia. Così, ho deciso di frequentare un corso online con la insegnante, Sara: Piacere dell'arte. Prima ho studiato con Sara ho saputo che lei era una brava insegnante, ma lei ha anche una vera passione per l'arte. Durante il corso, ho imparato un sacco di cose dell'arte: la storia, le composizioni, i personaggi, le tecniche, e i capolavori. Quando ero una studentessa all'università, molti anni fa, studiavo la storia dell'arte, ma non ho mai sentito un'artista che si chiama Artemisia Gentileschi. Lei era una pittrice molto brava che ha studiato con Caravaggio quasi 400 anni fa. Lei era una donna forte e moderna che ha battuto le forzi di machismo. Il corso funziona bene per gli studenti di molti livelli (tranne i principianti). Sara fa il corso molto interessante e divertente. During the pandemic, I could not travel to Italy, so I signed up for Sara's course: The Pleasure of Art. I knew already that Sara was an excellent Italian teacher, but I discovered she also has a deep knowledge of and passion for Italian art. During the online course, I learned so many things about art: the history, the techniques, the personalities of the great artists, and the masterpieces. Although I studied Art History many years ago as a university student, I had never heard of the artist Artemisia Gentileschi. She was an excellent artist who studied with Caravaggio almost 400 years ago. She was also a very strong and modern woman who fought against the machismo of her time. The course works well for Italian students of all levels (except beginners). Sara makes the course very interesting and fun.

I have tried several different online courses and this one is far above and beyond the others. The instructor (Sara) is great and the materials and technology used in the class are very effective. I have also been so fortunate as to attend in person classes at Il Sasso and can say the online course is just as effective as their in person class. Of course if you can travel to Montepulciano for a class, by all means do it. But when that isn't possible, I highly recommend this online course. Grazie Il Sasso!

Molto piacevole e interessante! Ho imparato molte nuove cose dall'arte italiana.

Un buon corso - ho fatto molti e ho imparato molte cose. Sara e' una brava insegnate e tutti gli studenti sono inclusi. Lei conosce bene i soggetti e ti manda molto informazione prima e dopo ogni classe. Vi consiglio di fare questo corso.

Come una studentessa per qualche anno al Sasso, mi raccomando i corsi online. Durante la pandemia potevo imparare italiano quando non era possibile viaggiare in Italia. Al Sasso, tutti gli insegnanti sono molto bravi e amichevoli. Prima ho frequentato un corso online, studiavo al Sasso ogni estate, ma purtroppo, durante l’anno ho dimenticato molto. Adesso, perché frequento un corso individuale online, posso parlare e capire italiano meglio. I corsi online sono molto divertenti. Mi piace chiacchierare con i miei insegnanti e, con un corso individuale, devo parlare. Non è possibile nascondere dietro gli altri studenti. Devo essere coraggiosa. Sono molto grata per l'opportunità di studiare italiano tutto l’anno. Non vedo l’ora di tornare al Sasso quest’estate dal vivo e vedere di nuovo i miei amici del Sasso.

I am still in Tuscany. It will be very difficult to leave. My fourth of five weeks as a student (yes, mature of age but young of heart) at Il Sasso, Il Scuola di Italiano a Montepulciano. By good fortune, my friend had attended last year (2018) and told me about this jewel in the heart of Tuscany. Heike, one of the very helpful team responded overnight to my enquiry and I was enrolled, after a small deposit, for beginners, June 2019.

After trying to learn Italian on our own for a number of years without much success, my husband and I decided to bite the bullet and signed up for four weeks at Il Sasso in the lovely town of Montepulciano. It was one of the most rewarding and memorable experience of our lives. From the welcoming "meet and greet" session, to the group and private lessons, to the excellent excursions the school offers, all were geared to provide you with a instant, supportive "family" while learning the Italian language and culture.

I've just returned home after my second two-month stay in Montepulciano attending Il Sasso Scuola di Italiano. Yes, my second stay but certainly not my last. Is it habit-forming? Perhaps, but pleasantly so, as I learned from other students who have enjoyed many more years there than I. After trying and dropping other language schools (Italian and others), I finally discovered a real gem at Il Sasso, thanks to the encouragement and support of the extremely talented teachers and staff, all of whom made me feel welcome from the first day. The teachers I had - Sara, Roberta, Francesca, Eleonora, Gaia, Cinzia, Constanza and Alberto - kept classes lively and educational. And special thanks to Heike who kept me well informed and in the right classroom at the right time. Montepulciano also is a gem, perhaps the most-beautiful of Tuscany's hill towns, where the shops and stores are accustomed to seeing many tourists yet welcome Il Sasso students and are saintly patient with our halting yet enthusiastic Italian. This fall I joined with five other students to spend five days with Sara exploring in-depth the rich bounty of regional art and culture, expanding our horizons (literally and figuratively) as we wandered through cathedrals, underground cities, museums, and abbazie, gazing at Italian history come alive through Sara's profound knowledge of her country's heritage. To her a special thanks and to all the staff, I echo an earlier post: non vedo l'ora di ritornare!

I have been studying Italian on and off for 30'yrs and was looking for a different kind of course than a purely grammatic oriented one. I was lucky to find a course in the history of art at Il Sasso with Sara, for intermediate to advanced students. We learned Italian through art and took excursions every day to other towns and sites which was just wonderful. The class was mixed levels but Sara did a great job including everyone. The students were for the most part older retirees but there were 2 young adults. They were all interesting people. And Montepulciano is a lovely town in which to be embedded for a week. Although quite touristy in the center, just a few minutes walk away and you can enjoy the quiet small streets. The panoramas are incredible, people are friendly, lots of lodging choices. I definitely hope to come back!

After trying to learn Italian on our own for a number of years without much success, my husband and I decided to bite the bullet and signed up for four weeks at Il Sasso in the lovely town of Montepulciano. It was one of the most rewarding and memorable experience of our lives. From the welcoming "meet and greet" session, to the group and private lessons, to the excellent excursions the school offers, all were geared to provide you with a instant, supportive "family" while learning the Italian language and culture. While I found week 1 quite overwhelming (my head was spinning from interpreting the instructions in Italian and trying to absorb the content), it got easier as my vocabulary and confidence developed. By week 4, it seemed perfectly normal to be conversing in Italian for hours at a time. We also met some wonderful people from all around the world. Special thanks to Cinzia, Sara, Gaia and Eleanora, our wonderful class teachers, and to Costanza and Alberto our private lesson teachers, and Heike. If you have been waffling about doing this, please take the plunge. You will not regret it. We hope to be back in a couple years, this time for 3 weeks, to continue this adventure.