i've been searching for a multi week immersion course in Italian. Roads Scholars has a 6 week course in Firenze but at $10-12k (with air) seems high. BTW I will pay premium for single bedroom, 70 year-olds like undisturbed sleep. another I've seen is in Viareggio with Language Vacations. Cheaper and near the sea which I love--or any body of water truth to tell. Lucca is a possibility especially as I have a friend who lives full time in Montecatini alto, though I wouldn't impose for 3 weeks or more. Seems considerably cheaper than others.
I'd just like a feeling from those who have done this, where and cost effectiveness. prefer northern half of Italy: Sienna, Lake District, Venice, Bologna, etc.

Hi alienor,

I've been to 4 different language schools in Italy, though only for a week each time,unfortunately and I have to say that the best one was in Venice. if you click on my screen name you'll be able to find the trip reports I did from each week, and also look at the planning threads too, as other people came up with some other places as well which look good, specifically the school in Montepulciano in Tuscany which always gets good feedback.

http://www.ilsasso.com/eng/index.php

for Lucca and Florence, this one has looked quite god too:

http://www.koinecenter.com/en

IMO you want to be looking for somewhere that isn't too big so you get some individual attention, but also [and for a long stay this is VERY important] you need a school that has classes at every level so that as you progress you can move up to the next one.

I would also think twice about somewhere that is popular with young foreign students - they may not be as devoted as you are to their language learning and it can be very frustrating if other class members mess about when you are trying to learn.

you could also try to look at some reviews for schools on TA and elsewhere.

As for accommodation, it's probably going to be cheaper in some places than other, and depends what you choose - living with a family is generally going to be cheaper than a hotel. The room in an apartment that I stayed in Venice was very cheap - but it was at the top of 7 flights of stairs so possibly not suitable for everyone. if mobility is a problem for you you'd need to look at that carefully.

Good luck in your search - in 6 weeks you should be able to learn great deal; I'm very envious!

Are you wanting a 6 week course?

If you enter language school in the search function, you will turn up quite a few trip reports and reviews. I know there is a couple of reviews of Il Sasso along with some for this school in Siena.

http://www.saenaiulia.it/

You will also find reviews for a school in Orvieto and in Cefalu Sicily. I've seen some for Florence and Rome also.

I and at least one other poster here have studied at http://www.scuolaleonardo.com/

I did this in Rome and didn't do an immersion; I simply rented an apartment, took classes in the mornings and did my own thing in the afternoons, although you can certainly sign up for more classes/activities.

I took classes at the Lucca Italian School and can really recommend them.

http://www.luccaitalianschool.com/

They offer homestay options. (I stayed one week with a woman who offers rooms and one week in my own apartment.)

I liked the size of Lucca and the fact that there were opportunities to practice Italian. If you moved away from the two main thoroughfares (which do attract tourists), there were many small shops where I could visit and practice. There were students from all over in the classes and, for some of us, the only common language was Italian. I went in early May, so just about all of the students were older than college age.

I have a friend who attended Il Sasso in Montepulciano, who likewise raves about her experience (she keeps returning). The one thing that I would give an edge to Lucca for would be the great rail options: I visited Montecatini, Pistoia, Florence, and Cinque Terre, all without a car.

i agree with all the points made by the other posters above. Another related one is whether you will want to spend a whole 6 weeks in the place you choose, or split it into, say, 3 + 3. Great cities like Rome, Venice and Florence could offer enough to fill 6 weeks [and what an opportunity to live in one of those places for all that time] whereas smaller places would probably feel limiting after a while.

I would consider staying in a large town or small city where there is enough going on to be of interest during your stay. Rome is just too big/busy, not to mention expensive. Florence is ideal in terms of size and it doesn't take too long to stray from the tourist parts where you will have more opportunity to practice your Italian.

I can highly recommend the "Italian Me" School http://www.italianme.it/ which has experienced teachers and small class sizes

Naples has a great Italian school where you can stay for a week, month or six months.

http://www.centroitaliano.it/

Naples is cheap and has more culture than Florence in terms of ancient history as well as Renaissance/Baroque/

I was in Naples (as a tourist) a couple of weeks ago. People really let me yammer on in my slow and atrocious, sub-toddler-level Italian. So that's a bonus for a language-learner, I suppose.

Rome is just too big/busy, not to mention expensive. >>

IME if you get out of the touristy centre, Rome can be cheaper than Florence and is certainly cheaper than Venice. We attended a language school round the back of the Vatican and there were plenty of cheap cafes and shops around there as well as a very good market. in that area we found few people who spoke english which was a bonus.