Fra_Diavolo

Well it wasn't last winter, but I've taken off my jacket and sat in my shirtsleeves at an outdoor table in Rome during Christmas week. Of course, it is impossible to predict the weather so far in advance.

bilboburgler

propane and methane heating is looked down upon because of the environmental problems, but up market places will continue to have them

studenttobe

Thanks Fra_Diavolo and understood

studenttobe

Good to know-thanks for the info bilboburgler.

annhig

oh I see that you are considering Sorrento! I have been to a language school there too [I too like to combine travel and learning] but looking at it it probably isn't for you as it's aimed at university students. I went there with a group organised by the further education college where I study italian at home and the majority of our group were A level students so aged 17-18, with just a few anziani like me. Anyway this is it. Probably not for you but if you choose Sorrento worth a wander down there on a nice day for a look at the lemon groves and the views.

https://www.santannainstitute.com

studenttobe

Hi Annhig, Thanks for sharing your experience of the school in Sorrento-marvelous to combine travel and study. It certainly looks like an interesting school with great programs, and your sense that it is probably not the right fit for me is correct. But definitely a good resource to keep in mind and I will save the information for future reference (not least for the university students that I teach). I am indeed looking at a few language study options in Sorrento, along with continuing the search for a great study option in Rome. I am getting more and more excited about the prospect of Rome, which does seem a great option for us.

I have never been to Sorrento. But I have been in the neighborhood, broadly speaking, eg Amalfi—where my DH’s ancestors are from—and visited a few other towns near Amalfi, and have also spent some time in Naples). I added Sorrento to my research list bec.—even though it looks to be smaller than I originally suggested is optimal (but then as you and others have suggested I need to compromise in some respects!)—there seem to be some interesting looking schools there, and it looks lovely, interesting, reasonably lively, not heavily touristed in Nov/Dec, and seems to have weather of the sort I am looking for at this time (allowing walks, outdoor dining, at least some of the time). I am hoping that there is not too much English spoken (in the non heavy tourist season) and that the Italian is “standard-ish” enough that I can improve my listening skills. I am mindful of the great point that Traveler_Nick made about the risks of a rental in summer resort destinations in re heating/insulation. So that does give me some pause about Sorrento unless I were convinced that a particular apt was fitted out in a way that made this less of a concern. Feel free to correct me if I am wrong on any of these counts, though in asking you that I fear that I will try what seems to be your (and others’) infinite (and much appreciated) patience.

annhig

My stay in Sorrento was in February in a private residential apartment with a local host so I don't have experience of holiday type accommodation there, though a couple of our number stayed in a holiday apartment above the harbour and I don't remember them complaining about it being cold! And there is quite a lot to do in the area with an extensive system of trains and buses, and ferries in the summer - not sure what ferries are available that time of year. I have a fellow student in my class who has spent extensive time in Sorrento for many years so I will ask him if he knows anywhere, and I'm sure that the italian that would be spoken to you would be pretty standard; I don't have a memory of many people speaking english but perhaps we didn't go to those sorts of places!

My weekly Italian lesson is in the morning [thankfully in person now rather on Zoom or Teams] so I will report back tomorrow.

studenttobe

PS to above-have done some more research on Sorrento weather in Nov/Dec—on average, a bit warmer but not appreciably drier than Rome (and w/caveat that averages don’t predict the future). With this in mind, and keeping in mind Traveler_Nick’s observation about rentals in beach areas, will drop Sorrento as a home base option for Nov/Dec in favor of Rome’s charm and great number of options. I am feeling set on the idea of Rome and will start reaching out to university language departments, combing the earlier language school threads on this forum, and then start conversations with school directors.

I am toying only with one other possible home base-Lecce. But I think that the issue of dialect and perhaps the sound/word choice of the spoken Italian in Lecce means I should not consider it as a base for this particular trip. Have long wanted to go there (and to Puglia broadly), have read many great TRs on the region and in publications, it seems the weather would be on average could be a bit warmer and drier than Rome, and there are a few well regarded language schools in Lecce. I wonder whether I should just save Lecce for a future trip when my goal is not 6-7 weeks of intensive language study-any thoughts? I really do think this is the end of the big “where do I roost” debate for us. Thanks for your patience.

studenttobe

Thanks very much Annhig. It seems my post below “pulling the plug” on Sorrento was quite premature. Many thanks for what you have shared, and for you generous offer to chat with your classmate on my behalf. your generosity knows no bounds, truly.

And wonderful that your weekly lesson is in person now. It makes such a difference to students and teachers (and to all of our mental health). I spent the last 18 months teaching (univ level economics) on zoom and have been so tremendously relieved to be experiencing people in, as my students say, IRL@

Traveler_Nick

I said to be careful of rentals. Plenty of year round residents with modern homes. Plenty of summer only places.

studenttobe

Thanks for the clarification.

annhig

<<And wonderful that your weekly lesson is in person now. It makes such a difference to students and teachers (and to all of our mental health). I spent the last 18 months teaching (univ level economics) on zoom and have been so tremendously relieved to be experiencing people in, as my students say, IRL@>>

You were lucky, studenttobe. We had Teams inflicted on us by the FE college that runs our courses and there was barely a week that went past when someone couldn't join the lesson or who dropped out of it unexpectedly. It even happened to our teacher once or twice. OTOH the Zoom course I did with the Istituto di Venezia for about a year worked fine but IRL@ is certainly much better than any virtual lesson.

Anyway, back to Sorrento. During the pause in the lesson I had a long chat with my friend J today who said that although the latest in the year he's been to Sorrento is October, he would expect November particularly to be quite warm as they have had temps of 25-26C in October. As for your other questions, he hasn't experienced many problems speaking italian with people there and mostly it's been "Italiano Standard" though you do sometimes get strong accents and dialect as you do everywhere. And as he reminded me italians like to be warm in the winter so it's highly unlikely that the heating system would not be up to scratch. But we both agreed that it would take a lot to beat the opportunity to spend 6-7 weeks in Rome.

​​​​​​​Hope that helps!

studenttobe

Annhig, Thanks so much for talking with your colleague and for sharing your and his perspectives on Sorrento-it’s all very helpful. And thanks as well for the point about Rome. I very much appreciate all that you and others have generously shared. Lots to think about now (in our household it has come down to Rome vs. Sorrento, with a late addition of Lecce to the list). Feeling very considerably narrowed from an overwhelming ALL of the country on Monday to a tidy list of 2/3 candidates on Thursday. Am developing a short list of language schools in each location (earlier threads in this forum are very helpful in this regards), in add’n to the usual web research. Will try to arrange to zoom meet or at least correspond with school directors in the coming days. Many thanks for all!

On another note, fully agreed that IRL learning (and well, just about anything) beats life on Teams or even (I agree) the better experience with Zoom.

Many thanks again for taking me on-tremendously grateful!

studenttobe

Hi again, Continuing my research and am finding some language study opportunities. Wondering if anyone has a quick opinion on whether it makes sense to keep Lecce in the mix as a possible home base for a 6-7 week language study stay during Nov and Dec? My two other candidates: Rome and Sorrento. I have found a teacher connected to a school that seems a good fit in Lecce. At the same time I am considering teachers/schools in Rome and Sorrento, where there are also excellent options.

I have never been to Puglia—have wanted to visit for a while and have read many great threads/TRs on Lecce and the region. The weather in Lecce in Nov/Dec seems likely to be conducive to long walks and eating outdoors, both of which are important to us. (Lecce is on average drier and slightly warmer than Rome in that period, and also on average drier than Sorrento which I see is, on average, wetter than Rome in the same period). Lecce appears lively and a good population size at 95K w/o being overwhelming (and as everyone has noted is beautiful and has an excellent food culture, which is important to me). I see that with a weekend car rental I could visit wonderful places in the region. However, and I am not even sure how to phrase this so please pardon the awkwardness and imprecision, but I am concerned as to whether for a 6-7 week stay in Nov/Dec Lecce would feel too removed (as I am not keen to fly to more central areas for weekend trips on more than 1 or max 2 occasions during this trip), too frozen in time (a ridiculous thing to say since after all it is a baroque city), and even whether it would be hard to improve my Italian bec perhaps accents are more distinctive (I am guessing that the issue of Salentine dialect is not a concern given the prevalence of tourists in the region speaking more standardize Italian)? But I’m curious if folks here think I should drop Lecce from my home base candidate list (instead keeping it on the travel for a more typical 7-14 day holiday trip list) as I move toward locking in arrangements in the coming days for this long stay that is focused on language study.

Rome vs. Sorrento vs. Lecce represent very different worlds, I know. Sorrento and Lecce remain the alternate candidates if we end up choosing not to go for the bustle/dynamism/beauty of Rome (still pondering that matter). If not Rome or Lecce, Sorrento has the advantage of also being beautiful, but on the scale of a large town/very small city (population around 16.5K—have visited towns in Italy w/that population size for short trips, not long stays) that is well connected via trains to major cities. I welcome any thoughts on the Lecce issue, though am mindful that I have circled the wagon a good deal here. Thank you.

TDudette

I love a vibrant big city so would choose Rome. We never made it to Lecce but a "what to do in" google looks lovely and historical. OTOH, what if you base in Sorrento as a midway? Easy train to Naples, Herculaneum, Pompeii. Ferry to Capri. Drive to Caserta royal palace. 4+ hour drive to Lecce for a long weekend, 3+ hour train to Rome for same. Come home to a town with a beautiful view to nest!

Here's the Sorrento part of our trip (turn your device sideways for best view):

2002 - More Miracles - Sorrento, Pompeii, Amalfi, Capri

studenttobe

TDudette-many thanks for sharing your perspective and for the information you provided. And thank you for the link to you TR-it's so informative and so beautiful. You are a true artist - I love the artful scrapbook style of presentation. Thanks again-this is so helpful.

Leely2

I also would choose Rome (or Siracusa or Palermo given that you're trying for not-too-cold) because I get bored in small towns.

In Rome, I studied at Scuola Leonardo da Vinci, although this was six or seven years ago and I was a beginner then. They offer private lessons.

https://www.scuolaleonardo.com/Itali...e-tuition.html

studenttobe

Thanks os much for sharing your perspective Leely2 and thanks as well for the info on the school at which you studied-v. helpful

TDudette

Thanks for your very kind words, studenttobe. I actually scanned my trip diary pages....hence the lack of resolution. The non-acid-free back boards weren't much help either. Again, happy searching.

studenttobe

Great to know TDudette--making a lot of progress and getting clarity, thanks to this forum. I may circle back w/follow up questions, but in the meantime am finding email correspondence with various school directors helpful and have some zoom chats with others set for the coming week. Feel like I'll have all sorted by mid next week, which will be a relief.