Written by Norma Bozzini
I had the good fortune to realize a long time wish of studying the Italian language at a language school in Italy by booking a language immersion trip with Vero Viaggio for a week in Torino, Italy. Vero Viaggio is a travel provider specialising in small group trips to various cities in Italy for tourism but also for the purpose of studying the Italian language.
Our hotel in Torino was a lovely, small boutique hotel that provided a sumptuous and delicious breakfast buffet to fortify us for our busy days. Our days started with a morning of language learning at a local Italian language school. The group was divided by current language ability into appropriate classes of 8 or 9 students (not necessarily from our travel group.) The teachers were warm and friendly and skilled at encouraging us to speak Italian while providing informative and entertaining lessons. In fact, the entire week was an exercise in speaking Italian both in and out of class!
Our group leaders, Heather Broster (of Daily Italian Words) and Ashley d’Aristotile, the travel planner and trip organizer for Vero Viaggio, both used Italian in speaking and in group communications except when there were important messages that couldn’t tolerate possible misunderstanding. For a group whose language skills were not necessarily at a high level, It was amazing how well we managed to communicate (in addition to sometimes being hilarious.)
The days were filled with interesting activities, and, of course, food!
We started our week with a group welcome brindisi followed by dinner at a local restaurant, a great opportunity to get acquainted with our fellow travelers!
The next morning, we began our Italian language classes at L’Italia Porticando language school with our level determined by some testing online before the trip. The classes were fun in addition to being great learning experiences and giving us plenty of opportunity to practice speaking Italian.
Torino is an interesting, lovely, large and historic city located in the Piemonte region of Italy on the banks of the Po River. It’s the home of the Fiat corporation and Lavazza coffee and was the seat of the House of Savoy. The city is characterized by many beautiful porticos. We spent an afternoon with an Italian speaking guide touring the main historic area.
In the late afternoon, there was a Vermut (Vermouth) tasting with a local Vermouth producer that makes 3 different Vermouths: a white and two different ambers. Another educational experience as none of us were familiar with the vermouths produced here. Delicious and hearty accompaniments of cheeses and meats made dinner unnecessary!
After our classes the next day, we were treated to lunch at the historic Baratti e Milano cafe, established in 1858 and famous for their chocolates and for bicerin, a delicious coffee and chocolate drink.
And the day had still more to come! Late afternoon had us walking in Parco Valentino, a gigantic park along the banks of the Po river where we could watch the rowers and scullers practicing their skills, see the beautiful Castello Valentino, a 16th century residence that is now part of the Polytechnic University of Torino and see a 15th century medieval village actually built in the 19th century as a museum. Then to a restaurant in the park right on the river bank where we had aperitivi along with many appetizers.
The next day we had a free afternoon after class for independent exploration or, in my case, a well deserved nap! But in the late afternoon we traveled to the home of someone who taught us to make ravioli filled with ricotta and spinach, fettuccini and for dessert, tiramisu. This was perhaps my favorite experience of the trip. Our teacher was a woman, helped by her mother and her 9 year old daughter. We all had the opportunity to make the dough and use a pasta roller to make fettuccini and broad pieces of pasta for making the ravioli, then filling the ravioli. We also each participated in making tiramisu. They treated us all as though we were family. Dinner was delicious and we had a really wonderful evening!
The next day after a hearty sandwich lunch, we visited the National Museum of Cinema which is housed in the Mole Antonelliani, a symbol of Torino. The museum documents the history of film, beginning in the silent film era and progressing to the modern films of today. A big attraction in this building is the glass elevator that travels up through the building to a panoramic viewing platform from which you can see all of Torino and view the Alps in the distance.
The next morning, we checked out of our hotel and headed to school for our last day of class and the presentation of our certificates. Afterward we headed to the countryside of Asti for a weekend of relaxation. On the way we stopped for lunch at Ristorante Al Monte Dei Cappuccini located on the outskirts of Torino at the top of a hill which had magnificent views of Torino and the Mole Antonelliana. A delicious lunch and wine in the outdoor area followed our photo ops of the spectacular view.
We arrived late afternoon at our lovely agriturismo which was surrounded by vineyards and had beautiful outdoor areas including a swimming pool. (Only one of us was brave enough to take a chilly swim!) We enjoyed wine and some hearty appetizers that had many of us declining dinner.
Saturday was market day in Asti and we went to explore the market and the city. Many made their last minute souvenir purchases, and some visited the cathedral and other interesting aspects of the city with a number of us ending our visit with gelato. DInner was an excellent 4 course meal at our agriturismo with a first course of Fassone beef served raw, a new experience for many of us, and it was delicious!
Sunday we sadly bid each other goodbye and embarked on our own journeys home or to further adventures in Italy. It was a remarkable experience that I would love to repeat!
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Heather Broster is a graduate with honours in linguistics from the University of Western Ontario. She is an aspiring polyglot, proficient in English and Italian, as well as Japanese, Welsh, and French to varying degrees of fluency. Originally from Toronto, Heather has resided in various countries, notably Italy for a period of six years. Her primary focus lies in the fields of language acquisition, education, and bilingual instruction.
