Cortona or Lucca?
 

I have been convinced to change my time at the Italian School to a different location. My 11 year old daughter and I will be attending two weeks. We would like to do one week in Florence and there is an option with the same school (I think that would work best from a learing standpoint) to do another week in either:
Lucca or Cortona (they also have schools in Bolgona and Elba).

Which would you recommend?

Again, it is a 40 year old woman and 11 year old girl traveling.

Hi Dawn, I have never been to Cortona but my former opthamologist (Italian background) spent a week there and she did not like it..she said the people were not the least bit friendly. And she is a very nice and well mannered woman. But hopefully Fodorites can give you some feedback.

Anyway, I like Lucca. Family members spent three weeks in Tuscany two years ago and went to Lucca a lot as they also like Lucca.

Personally I would chose Bologna. I love that city.

Interesting - someone else said they were very unfriendly in Cortona as well on a search here.

Tell me about Bologna :-)

Hi,

Are you going to the Koine school by any chance? I went to Koine in Lucca 2 years ago for 2 weeks. I LOVED Lucca, not so much the school.

I have never been to Cortona, so I can't compare , but for me Lucca was perfect. The historic center is , for the most part, pedestrian. It was a joy to walk around and on the walls that surround the city. many people rents bikes and use them as transport.

Also, there are many good restaurants in Lucca.

People were very friendly (the people in the school seem to be the exception).

If this is the school you are going to and you want more details let me know.

I had only read good feedback on Slowtravel regarding this school, so yes that is the one I selected.

Please do tell.

I am doing 2 hours private a day with my daughter and myself.

I decided to go this route after a lot of brain damage regarding the school outside of Lecce (not regarding the school at all, but the location) for us.

I thought one week in Florence (which I love) and then a second week in another location - thus giving us a different area to explore for the week.

We did not like Cortona.. LOVED Lucaa.. people so friendly and there are things to do.. places to go nearby..

I personally did not like Bologna..a very college town.. We stayed two days..

Someone asked the other day of all the places where we were which was the favorite.. Lucca was the answer..

Lucca "looks" like something I would enjoy and believe dd will as well...

Hi,

Yes, I had read some of the very positive comments about Koine Lucca in Slowtrav as well before I went. I was so excited to go. When I got there the first day, the director and his assistant were very dismissive of me because they couldn't find my paperwork( I had booked online on their website and paid a deposit). Luckily, I had brought my copy/receipt so they had to place me, but you could see they weren't happy . Eventually they found my paperwork but the damage had been done. They really soured the experience. I don't think it was anything personal , as I saw them treating very poorly other students.

I couldn't believe that in a city filled with friendly and warm people, the 2 persons working at the front office of the school were so aloof and cold!

My teacher the first week was not one of their regular teachers. She was very sweet but not a good teacher at all.

The 2nd week the director was our teacher. We had a smaller group and frankly, he was a better teacher than PR person or manager.

Since you are going to take private lessons your situation might be different.

I found that the best "classes" I had were interacting with the owners of the B&b where I stayed, at the resturants, stores, markets, and speaking with the other students.

wow..that is a bummer. Had you emailed/communicated with them prior to the arrival?

Yes,

I had emailed with the school a couple of times. the assistant answered my questions in a very succinct way ( which I thought odd for an italian), but I didn't give it too much weight.

When I met them, I understood. these 2 persons were totally not
suited to receive foreigners that are paying money to learn their language.

Having said that, it didn't spoil my experience. I met very nice people in the classes and , as I
previously said, Lucca was a joy!

Thank you for your feedback. Maybe I will use a different school for our second week. There are many options out there.

We could do Rome for one week, Siena, Venice etc...

Actually, the school I wanted to attend is in Siena. I ran into problems securing accommodations because the Palio was during that time, so I changed to Lucca.

The school is www.saenaiulia.com.

I exchanged many, many e-mails with them and they were delightful. They Gave me a very long list of references , some of whic I contacted.(whereas Koine Lucca only gave me one reference!).
They also get very good recommendations in slowtrav.

I hope to attend that school next time.

Good luck in your search.

Sorry,

That website is saenaiulia.it

cruiseluv thank you very much. I have sent them an email.

Although we only spent one night in Lucca last summer, I wish we could have spent more time there. It was such a lovely city. We didn't go to Cortona, so I can't comment on that city.

We've been to Lucca and Cortona several times and loved them both. Tho our early trips to Cortona were before it was "discovered."

Now, if you could go to school in Siena I think that would be wonderful. Not only is it a much larger place than the others with all the options that entails ...but it
also has one of the most magnificent duomos (sp?) in Italy. You could spend days there!

In any event, good luck! I'm jealous.

Thank you everyone for the feedback.

I have emails out to several schools so I will see what the results are.

I feel better better about this agenda as opposed to the other school outside of Lecce (again nothing wrong with the school - the location was just more remote).

Bologna, yes the location of the earliest university in Europe I believe (or at least in Italy).

Lots and lots of university students.

The shops are fantatic and walking under the portico's while looking in the shop windows or going into the shops is so much fun.

Bands of university students playing on the street corners. Even the elderly bebop down the street in time to the music.

Fantastic food. Not overcrowded with tourist although more and more people have "discovered" Bologna.

Just my thinking, but I love Bologna as do most of my Italian friends in Italy.

Thanks LoveItaly - I bet the food there doesn't hurt either? I have heard it is fantastic!!!

Been to both and the people in Lucca are much nicer than those in Cortona. I think it's because they were so overrun with tourists after Frances Mayes' book came out. Not nice, not friendly- just acted hastled.

I have been to both and actually preferred Cortona for its somewhat gritty, unvarnished personality and its fabulous Etruscan museum and crumbling Etruscan walls just outside the city.

There was a festival occurring and I asked some colourfully robed priests if I could take their photos. They smilingly agreed, and hid their cellphones behind their backs!

We interacted with a number of Cortonese and found them to be polite and helpful.

Hi Dawn,

I haven't been to Cortona YET(may go this October). But I have been to both Lucca and Bologna and loved both.

Since the class is only two hours a day, I would pick Bologna. The food is really amazing!! And the daytrip choices are better. There is Parma (ham and cheeses) and Modena(the birthplace of Basalmic Vinegar =P~ ) This is to name just a few.

Whatever you decied, I am sure you and DD will havea great time

Tom

Here is a photo of a storefront window in Bologna pbase.com/trsw/image/69105339

I have been to Saena Iulia 3 times over the past 2.5 years, and love both the school and Siena. I am not sure they would be able to help your daughter (I base this purely on my experiences of never having seen anyone under 18 at the school).

It is always worth dropping them an email as they have always been exceptionally good with response and information.

She wants to do private lessons with her daughter. I would imagine a teacher could accommodate that.

IME, Cortona is completely different in high season from the rest of the year. I absolutely hated in the last time I was there in July. The streets were absolutely teeming all day long, to the point where you couldn't easily move around. And there was significantly more English being spoken than Italian or other European languages. Really, it was theme-parkish. The shopkeepers were frazzled; everyone was on edge; it was a chore to be there, not a pleasure.

Went back again at the end of October, and it was vastly different. No crowds, more laid-back atmosphere, shopkeepers warm and friendly. Still, there are SO many British expats there you can't escape their influence, which waters down the Italian feel of the place (the same could be said for *my town* in France, by the way, so it's not a total slam - I still love the place).

I would pick Lucca.

Thanks everyone for the feedback.

Yes, I have emailed the schools as a classroom would not be approrpriate for my dd at this point.

I am looking to do the two on one courses many offer.

All thus far have said yes.

I have not been to Cortona but I am so pleased to see others have such high regard for Lucca as do I. We spent a week in Lucca last year and loved the town, the people and the food.

Ditto, spent 28 days in Lucca, loved every minute of it. It's absolutely beautiful there, great food, great shopping, lots of green spaces to relax. Absolutely fabulous. This is the apartment we stayed in, we had the apartment azzuro http://www.tuscany.net/gialloeazzurro/pages/apart.htm

Beautiful location with a view out the window of San Frediano Church. Very close to the main passeggiata where everyone strolls at night, just a great, great location. Very nice owners as well. There is a crazy neighbor lady who is always screaming in her apartment and sometimes in the stairwell, but it kind of added to the whole experience so we didnt mind LOL!

GiuliaPiraino - that is classic! It would just add to it - I completely get that. Thank you for sharing.

I am still deciding between Siena, Lucca and Bologna now (crossed off Cortona).

Oh how horrible, you have to choose one of those????? I love all three of them! Also, they are so apples and oranges, that would be very hard to decide. Tuscany and Emilia Romagna are so different and both beautiful in their own right. I'd have to say, that Emilia Romagna's food is my favorite over Tuscan food, even though I enjoy them both. I could eat my weight in Brutti ma Buoni cookies(that means ugly but yummy isn't that funny?)and Lardo di Collana, both delicacies in Lucca. The lardo is pure fat you can spread on hot bread. It sounds scary but it's heavenly. DH and I joked while we were there "mangia lardo, diventa lardo", meaning "eat lardo, become lardo" LOL

I think with an 11 year old, Lucca is the better choice however. I have a friend who teaches Italian privately in Lucca and she has very good things to say about the school there, it's Koine right?

Hi Giulia,

Loved that story about the screaming neighbor! LOL!

The apt is so cute, and with a view of San Frediano! I loved that church, inside and out. Many times sat in one of the benches or teh caffes in the piazza there just looking at it.
Was the area with the bed a separate bedroom, or was the apt a studio?

Interesting about your friend having a high opinion of Koiné. Maybe I was just unlucky.

The apartment was totally brand new inside. The bedroom was good size, separate room with a queen bed, two night stands, a large armoire and lots of room enough that I could set up a drying rack for our clothes. The bedroom and the living room both had windows out to San Frediano. The living room had a small dining table, small sofa, tv and a great kitchen with dishwasher, microwave, coffee pot, etc. The bathroom had a shower and one window and a washing machine. I thought it was great.

Funny the neighbor I guess was always fighting with her daughter, because we'd hear the daughter or some young woman scream "oh mama!!!" and then the woman would scream "oh Dio!!!", and then non-descript Italian screaming. She also compulsively scrubs the stairwell for hours. I would go running in the morning and she'd be there when I left and then she'd be there when I came back. I thought surely she wont be there when I come back 2 hours later, but yet, there she was! I actually kind of liked her, the idle chit chat helped me improve my Italian, after 28 days, you get to know someone even if they are nuts! Now, even 6 years later, DH will call out from his office "oh mama!" and I return with shouting out "oh Dio!", it still cracks us up years later!

I don't know much about the school. DH and I were going to attend but opted for a private instructor who came to the apartment or met us in the park or at her house. It was 20% of the price. But there is a benefit to being in a group setting that we didn't have. All I knew was that the price was way more than we wanted to spend and we ended up learning a lot privately and made a new friend!

GiuliaPiraino - would you mind sharing your friend's name with me? I am doing private lessons and would love to spend less money!

We are already doing one week in Florence at the school (but in private lessons).

Thank you in advance! I love Fodors!!

Dawn

P.S. - if you would prefer not to share on the board my email is
Dawnnoelm @ aol

Giulia,

Thanks for the description of the apt. It sounds perfect. I would love to go back to Lucca, and someday I will. If I do I rather rent an apt., so I'll keep this one in mind. Now I even "know" a potential future neighbor! LOL!

There is something to be gained by being in a group setting, but it could also be a liability if the people in the group are at different levels(which happened in my case).Trust me, what you gained by living there for 4 weeks, interacting with the locals, and one on one with your teacher is far superior that what you could have gotten at the school.