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 Ciao!
Absolute Beginner? Almost fluent? Somewhere in between? If you want to learn Italian as it's spoken in Italy, then there's a learning experience waiting for you at Italia 500 (cin-que-cèn-to), Italian Centre for Language and Cultural Studies.
At Italia 500, which is located in Castlereagh Street in the City, we offer Italian language courses and private tuition for adults, ranging from Italian for beginners to advanced Italian throughout the year, both in the morning and the evening, and on Saturdays.
At Italia 500 we also offer Italian conversation groups, Italian courses at your workplace or at your home, Italian for travellers, and Italian cultural courses for those who want to explore wonderful corners of Italy, together with aspects of its music, cuisine, and art, and are not necessarily Italian language students.
Our courses are ideal both for those who would like to reach a high degree of fluency, and those who are planning to visit Italy soon and would simply like to learn some Italian  before they go.
Our Italian classes are fast and pacy, so there's never a dull moment and you maximise the amount you learn in each lesson. The grammar is explained clearly and concisely and thanks to our small class sizes there's loads of speaking practice so you learn to speak Italian fluently and confidently.
The atmosphere which permeates Italian lessons at Italia 500 is laid back, conducive to learning, and driven by a real desire and eagerness to expand your knowledge and language skills.
Teachers at at Italia 500, Italian Centre for Language and Cultural Studies speak Italian as their native language. They are experienced, dedicated, friendly, down-to-earth with a great sense of humour and the ability to explain things simply and clearly.
At at the Italia 500, Italian Centre for Language and Cultural Studies, we know that the more you enjoy the learning experience, the more quickly and more easily you will learn the language. There are many ways to study Italian, but only one way to enjoy the experience - and that's by infusing the Italian culture, the exuberance of its people, their passionate lifestyle, the art, cuisine and music of this beautiful country.
"Italia 500 has given me a learning experience of the highest quality, tailored to my interests, aims and the constraints on my time. The school is one of Sydney's treasures." K.Kang.
Un grazie di cuore a Julie Storr, senza il cui preziosissimo aiuto non saremmo mai riusciti a creare questo sito. Grazie Julie!
Head Over Heel by Chris Harrison - The "mega pezzo di figo" (youth slang for "very very very handsome guy") in the photo is certainly not the Director of Italia 500 welcoming prospective students to the Centre, but a former student, Chris Harrison, who has written a book called Head Over Heel, about his experience of falling in love with an Italian woman from Puglia - the heel of the boot. The book, published by Murdoch Books (RRP $29.95), is now out and it is assolutamente fantastico!!! Chris writes beautifully and the book is full of humour and tenderness, and it is wonderfully insightful. Insomma, bravo Chris!!! Here is a synopsis:
 A whitewashed fishing village, a shapely signorina, and an infatuated Aussie – head over heels on the heel of the boot. Head Over Heel is the autobiographical account of the fortunes, comic and shambolic, which befall an unlikely Australian resident in an eccentric Mediterranean outpost, whose love affair with a southern Italian provides a window on her world. Where olive groves slope to the coast and the aromas of cooking wander cobblestone lanes, Sydneysider Chris Harrison encounters a cast of curious characters who show him generosity, friendship, affection, but above all, the real Italy. There’s a policeman who rearranges crimes to suit the necessary forms, a driving instructor who sits exams for his pupils, a Fascist vet whose practice is a shrine to Mussolini, a doctor who prescribes patients his homemade lemon liqueur…
During his whimsical journey from tongue-tied outsider to local villager, Il Canguro – as Chris becomes known – abandons his country, language and culture, his comfortable modern life, to live amongst people of ancient traditions. But perhaps his biggest challenge is his lover’s squat Sicilian mother, determined to convert him to the Catholic faith, to supervise his choice of underwear, and build a second storey on her stucco home where the precarious couple might live happily ever after.
Can their relationship possibly survive or will the sweet life turn sour?
Sounds fantastico, yes? Definitely a must read! If you would like to find out more about the book, and Chris himself, visit Chris' website at www.chris-harrison.info. To read an lovely article, written by Chris prior to the 2006 Italian parliamentary elections, which appeared in the Sydney Morning Herald in July, 2006, click here. Ancora una volta: bravo Chris!!!
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