Florence or Bologna

Old Feb 13th, 2011, 12:31 PM
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Florence or Bologna

I will be traveling to Italy to spend a couple of months learning to speak Italian.
My first 3 or 4 weeks will be in Salerno.
I would also like to stay 3 or 4 weeks in either Florence or Bologna.
I thought Bologna because of it being a mid point between Venice and Florence with easy day or weekend trips to other cities.
I will be doing the cultural immersion trip staying with host families on half board.
Study 9-1 then free. Weekends to travel and explore.
I am open to suggestions.
Thank you,
Bruce
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Old Feb 13th, 2011, 12:34 PM
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I've visited both places only briefly. You'll eat better in Bologna in my opinion and see far fewer tourists there than in Florence, which you can easily visit on weekends by train.
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Old Feb 13th, 2011, 01:55 PM
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you lucky thing, Bruce.

do you mean that you are attending language school in Salerno, and then are wanting to do the same in Florence or Bologna? i think that I might be influenced by the quality of the schools there, though this can be difficult to judge on the net.

Although I've stayed in florence and not in Bologna, the latter would be my choice for a language course as it is far less touristy than florence, which will attract a large no of students just because it's Florence, which may reduce competition, and therefore standards. also bologna looks like a very good hub for taking 1/2 day trips to other cities like Ravenna, Padua, or indeed Florence.
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Old Feb 13th, 2011, 04:56 PM
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While I, too, think you should choose according to the available language schools, all things being equal, I would choose Florence. It is my favorite city in Italy and after 7 trips, I never run out of things to see and do. And, IMHO, I think the food in Florence is the best in Italy.
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Old Feb 13th, 2011, 05:32 PM
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Thank you for your input. I want to experience both coastal and inland Italy and be in locations where I can explore in my free time. So many choices, so little money. You are correct, it is impossible to determine which schools from the net. I am planning to do the same thing in France beginning in Antibes for 4 weeks then on to Paris to finish out the language part of my journey.
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Old Feb 14th, 2011, 12:17 PM
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Been in Bologna since mid-August and have been able to travel to tons of places for day trips and even the occasional overnight has been easy. I had avoided Florence because of all the tourists and all the English but did go a week ago and enjoyed since it wasn't packed as usual. I think Bologna is a great base---and a really good place to be in and of itself.
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Old Feb 14th, 2011, 01:40 PM
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Antica Casa Zucchini in Bologna offers deals for language students at a neighboring language school, but it still might not be as cheap as you are looking for.

But I would still pick Bologna because fewer people will automatically speak English to you there. In busy, tourist-oriented Florence, many shop owners and restaurant staff will automatically switch to speaking English, just to move things along. Many people in Bologna speak English, but many don't, so you'll get more of an immersion. And if you want to socialize, you won't have the easy out of talking to other English-speaking tourists. Bologna gets far, far fewer of them.
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Old Feb 14th, 2011, 02:20 PM
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mamcalice,

Have you ever been to Bologna? What is your basis for comparison -- especially when it comes to food? You are perhaps the first person I have ever heard praise restaurants is Florence. Most people agree they are inferior to what is available in Bologna -- and most of Italy for that matter. Liguria, Naples, Piemonte, Sicily, Umbria -- and you pick Florence as an eating destination?
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Old Feb 14th, 2011, 03:06 PM
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good points, zeppole. bologna is high on my list of places to go to a language school at/in.

[perhaps i should study english too!].

sigh - one day.
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Old Feb 14th, 2011, 03:55 PM
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My answer would depend somewhat on the time of year. If June through September, probably Bologna. But any other time of year, I'd pick Florence. If budget is paramount, probably Bologna any time. We're not foodies but haven't starved for good food in either city.
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Old Feb 14th, 2011, 05:27 PM
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When I researching just coming as a tourist, I was planning to spend $150 us per day. Most of that was going to lodging and food. Staying in one area, with a host family on half board, and learning the language M-F 9.00-13.00 ends up costing closer to $100 per day. Since this is my first trip to Italy, I do not want to be constantly on a train in another city with tourists trying to find a restaurant and a hotel.
I think Bologna with side trips sounds perfect.
Thank you.
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Old Feb 15th, 2011, 01:52 AM
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We have eaten well in both cities, as well as poorly. It seems easier to find mediocre food in Florence for higher prices as there are so many places that cater to the many tourists there. But over the course of many visits, we have found a few places that are consistently good and we return year after year.

We did not find Bologna to be cheaper than Florence for food or lodging. We did find the city to be delightful, friendly and a nice chance of pace from the tourist packed center of Florence. In some ways, Bologna reminded me of Florence 25-30 years ago before the masses descended and graffiti was everywhere. While I will always love Florence, we only go in the off, off season and we do not stay in the very center but about a 20 minute walk from there as we prefer the more residential feel of the neighborhoods not so close to the action.

In Bologna, we really enjoyed the locals who were friendly without hawking their goods from the open shop doorways which now happens too much for my liking in Florence. We adopted a small wine bar as our nightly hang out and got to know the owner a bit, who always made the time to stop by our table and visit.

We stayed 4 nights that trip and have also made a couple of day trips to Bologna from Florence and it is on our radar for our 2012 visit to Italy.
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Old Feb 15th, 2011, 03:29 PM
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Much as I adore Bologna (actually, I prefer it much over Florence), I have to disagree with all pro-Bologna posts if it comes to learning Italian. No, I, too, don't know anything about the language schools, and it should certainly be the main concern to choose the right school. But if this seems impossible, I'd certainly choose Florence if I were to study Italian - because the local dialect is far more manageable for a beginner. In Bologna, even experienced Italian speakers will face certain difficulties when it comes to understanding the locals in quick every-day communication. Not in Florence! So Bologna may be very frustrating in this respect, or - even worse - it might teach you a strange accent. The Tuscan dialect is far more "classic" Italian. And if they switch to English, it's easy enough to ask them politely to speak Italian since you are there to learn the language.
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Old Feb 16th, 2011, 07:23 AM
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good point, Franco.

it had not occurred to me that the accent/dialect could be so different.

Presumably Siena would also be a good place to learn?
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Old Feb 16th, 2011, 08:13 AM
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Still better than Bologna IMO, but less than Florence. Siena is taking the Tuscan dialect to an extreme, making every k (spoken k, of course, since there is no written k in Italian) an h, and - even worse - many a t a th (yes actually, the sound of a voiceless English th!). Every other place in Tuscany is far less extreme in this respect than Siena.
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Old Feb 16th, 2011, 12:24 PM
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ok, that's siena off the list!
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Old Feb 17th, 2011, 05:37 PM
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Dialect and accent had not occurred to me either.
I presume that we will be learning a more classic Italian in the school, but then I still have to practice. Thank you for the heads up. I will contact the school with that question.
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Old Feb 17th, 2011, 06:03 PM
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Of course the school will teach you standard Italian; I was just talking about practicing it with the locals!
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Old Feb 17th, 2011, 06:34 PM
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zeppole, I have been to Bologna. And I like it very much and the food is wonderful. But, I love Florence and I love Tuscan food (and Umbrian food and Sicilian food, etc., etc., etc.) As I clearly stated in my post, I was expressing an opinion, not a fact.
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Old Mar 7th, 2011, 12:10 PM
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Hi all,
I beg to differ that the difference in accents between Florence and Bologna is going to make communication difficult.

How do I know? I have learned Italian as my 4th language and can assure you that in both cities, the people in the city and immediate outlying area speak Italian with a slightly different accent but perfectly understandable even to beginner students. Regular people in both places don't speak dialect that often, its mostly some phrases among the young whereas the older crowd will tend to speak more dialect. TEND to speak it but speak Italian on a regular basis. This is not always so in other parts of Italy where accents can be heavy and the use of dialect more frequent among the residents.

One last thing, you are more likely to run into not so professional language schools in Florence, whereas in Bologna there are 2 main places and there is a fierce competition between the two so you can almost guarantee that you will learn well.

The other thing is that there are many apartments to be rented and so you can save money this way, prepare some meals on your own and spend a little more when you go out.

I agree that it will be more fruitful to stay in a city where you have to practice your language skills.

I vote for Bologna!
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