PARLO ITALIANO? COME DICE - SUN, SEA AND CULTURE
Learn
Italian in Italy's Puglia Region
Where
else best to learn Italian than in Italy. And while learning the language
why not soak in culture,
art, history and some serious Adriatic
sun. The School of Italian Language and Culture in South Italy, “Otranto
nel Mondo” (Ortanto in the World) is located in the city of Ortanto,
the eastern most city in Italy on the Salento Peninsula in the Puglia
(Apulia) region. Associated with the Perugia University for
Foreign Students the school offers a variety of Italian language courses
from short tourist trip refreshers to full CELI and CILS certificate
courses.
With a history dating back to the times of the Trojan War and Hannibal the coastal town of Otranto is situated on the heel of Italy’s “boot” in the province of Lecce about 50 km from the city known as The Florence of the South. While conveniently on the narrowest passage of water between the Adriatic and Ionian Sea, the Straight of Otranto, where Greece and Corfu are a short ferry ride away, the city’s harbor was not large enough to be a major port so has remained a quant and beautiful village “The City of Art”.
The
region has been controlled by a succession of rulers from the Greeks,
the Romans, Turks, Germans,
Spanish and
French and offers a rich mix
of it’s cultural past. Citzens here still pray in the Basilica
on the tombs of 800 killed by the Turks in the sack
of the city in 1480 and the castle which dominates the town,
primarily built by Emperor Frederick II and later by the King Alfonso
of Aragon was the inspiration for literature's
first acknowledged gothic novel, the haunting “The Castle of Otranto” by
England’s Horace Walpole.
The region around Otranto is ripe for exploring. Puglia is a well
known wine region. Lecce is known for its unique pink shade
of sandstone which
has fostered a distinct style of Baroque architecture with many important
monuments, churches and palaces in that style along with its Roman
Amphitheater and the Column marking the end of the Appian Way.
To the south of Ortantro
lie the white sea cliffs which mark southeastern extreme of Italy at
Santa Maria di Leuca. © Bargain
Travel Europe
Italian School of Language and Culture in South Italy
Otranto
nel Mondo
Compare best hotel and travel deals in Puglia on TripAdvisor
Web
Info
Lecce
Tourism
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SEE ALSO:
FORTIFIED
PORTO ERCOLE
ROME
IN RUINS - A Walking Tour
STONE AND GRAPES: THE CASTLES OF TRENTINO
THE ROUTE DES GRAND CRUS - DIJON, FRANCE
