About.com Italian Language

The Società Canadese per gli Studi d'Italianistica (Canadian Society for Italian Studies in English, and Société canadienne pour les études italiennes in French) is an international organization composed mainly of academics or those who have a scholarly or professional interest in Italian Studies. Established in 1972, the society:

"Aims to foster and advance Italian Studies in Canada by providing venues for the presentation and discussion of research dealing with Italian language, literature, film, politics and culture, and related fields, such as Italian-Canadian studies, and matters pertaining to the teaching of Italian as a second and third language."

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If historic weather patterns hold true to form, Italy will experience la burrasca di Ferragosto over the next few days. The storm typically occurs in the last week of August, after the Ferragosto holiday, during which an intense rainstorm that lasts a few days is followed by lower temperatures and fresh air, breaking the hot, humid days of summer. According to the Italian news agency ANSA, in: Caldo: la 'rottura' dell'estate, tra domenica e lunedì...

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If you're looking for a Big Mac in Sardinia and order a culurgiones, don't be surprised if there's no special sauce. For that matter, there won't be any beef patties either, because the dish is a Sardinian form of stuffed pasta filled with pecorino sardo (Sardinian cheese made from sheep's milk), potato, and mint.

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Robert De Niro might soon be dusting off his Italian language skills. According to Variety, the actor is in final negotiations to star in the film Manuale d'Amore 3 (Manual of Love 3). In the film, the third in a series of Italian romantic comedies by the same name, De Niro would play a divorced American professor living in Rome. Some of his dialogue would be spoken in Italian.

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Looking for a historical setting to study Italian? Register for the fall semester of Italian language classes at the Garibaldi-Meucci Museum, in Staten Island, New York. There are classes for both beginner and advanced students as well as classes taught primarily in Italian. The museum is a memorial to inventor Antonio Meucci and Italian revolutionary Giuseppe Garibaldi.

Italian language meetups are fairly common nowadays and oftentimes have a specific theme, such as the extreme language exchange held in Rome or the Cineforum Italiano in Washington, DC. One in particular, though, deserves mention if only for its name. I Chiacchieroni is an Italian-language conversation group in Illinois that meets for dinner every month for a casual evening of conversation in Italian. With a name like that, the group is sure to be talkative!

Francesco Cossiga, former interior minister, prime minister, and president of the Italian Republic, died in Rome on Tuesday, August 17. He was 82. According to The New York Times, "In later years, he developed a reputation for his outspoken criticism of the Italian political system and its players, gaining the nickname Il Picconatore, or the pickax."

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According to Corriere della Sera in Nuova Vita per il Caffè, the latest coffee craze in Italy is crema ghiacciata. Halfway between a gelato and sorbet, the delicious summer concoction is a mix of milk, cream, and coffee combined in a slush machine (granitore).

Inflation is ever-present nowadays, regardless of what economists would have you believe. Case in point: While there might be ten top reasons to learn Italian, there seem to be 50 reasons you should learn a foreign language.

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The title is not a misspelling. illy, the renowned purveyor of espresso coffee, has launched a new marketing campaign in New York City for their illy issimo line of coffee-flavored energy drinks. The tongue-in-cheek advertising, which appears in subway stations and other heavily traveled locations, also includes the tag lines: "Travel New York in the espresso lane" and "Ciao New York! Try Illy coffee to go." illy issimo is available in three flavors: Caffè, Cappuccino, and Latte Macchiato.