Folk Festivals and Local Traditions

I had a wonderful experience at Il Sasso! The teachers are skilled and very patient. They were able to present the information in a format that made it stick for me. In just one week, I was able to walk away with important conversation.

The lessons were well pitched for the level I was at. The teachers I had made the lessons fun and interesting so that the time flew by. Class numbers were small which helped the level of engagement. The School was perfectly located in the beautiful town of Montepulciano.

Die Schule liegt in der Mitte der antiken Stadt.
Die Klassenzimmmer sind sehr gut ausgestattet.
Der Unterricht ist didaktisch sehr ansprechend ausgelegt.
Die Unternehmungen am Nachmittag haben den Unterricht wunderbar unterstützt.

My class was quite small with five participants, everyone ambitious. Our two teachers Tatiana and Francelsca had been very engaged, lively, and feeled responsible for our development and also for everyone's feeling in the course.

The location in the old town is wonderful, the facilities of the school very good and the offered activities satisfying, very friendly managed bei Giulia. My apartment, organized by the school, was ok.

With Sara and Gaia, we had two great teachers who were from the region and taught us the language optimally. Encourage by demanding!

Teachers, pace, ambience and facilities were excellent. Focus was on student experience, and classes were professionally tailored to this. Housing was basic but good. With the exception of missing air conditioning.

Class was well adapted to my skills. The teachers very nice and good educators. The location was good with easy access. The facilities clean, bright and nice. There were many activities offered beside the school work - however I had no opportunity to take part. I arranged my housing privately.

The classes were small and relaxed, and learnt a lot with the very caring teachers. I loved that no English was spoken, so it was a total immersion. The location was perfect, with other small towns close by so it was easy to visit in the afternoons or weekends. They had great facilities and there was always an activity to do, like cooking classes, films, and wine tasting in the afternoons after class. I was there for two weeks and had private lessons in the afternoon of my first week. I can't wait to go back and hopefully for a longer period. I met some wonderful people from all parts of the world.

I had an amazing experience at Il Sasso! I came in with very little background knowledge of Italian, and I could hardly remember any vocabulary or grammar rules. After three months, I could hold conversations with native speakers, understand fluent Italian conversation for the most part, and could write well in Italian. Most importantly, I felt extremely comfortable with the language and was not nervous about talking to strangers after all the speaking practice I had at Il Sasso. I learned so much.

The teachers were simply amazing! They know exactly what they are doing and provide meaningful (and helpful) lessons, interesting conversation topics, and supplement excellent practice work (in the book or they provide hard copies). The classes are kept small and are well-managed. I met the most interesting people from all over the world and that was an enjoyable added bonus.

The school is small, but every single staff member is friendly, knowledgeable, and caring. It's located in a great part of town- close to cafes and shops.

You will love every minute here! It was definitely money well spent! I plan to return on my next trip to Italy!

I returned to il Sasso during October 2013 for my second visit. The quality of the teaching, the friendliness and helpfulness of the staff, and the charm of Montepulciano pulled me back for another top-notch week. My class was small, just three of us, and the teaching as always excellent. One thing I especially like is that the instructors gear their own language use and pace to that of the students, and take you just to the edge of the next level of understanding. I also really appreciated the conversations about everyday life, what we did after class, dialogues about our homes, discussions of food, shopping, etc.

One of the highlights for me was the cooking class at Gattavecchi with Lillian. I participated in this class on my first visit and was hoping that it would be offered again. Sure enough, it was, and I participated with other students in a memorable night of cooking, eating, and drinking Gattavecchi wine. I highly recommend this extra activity.

If you are seeking a peak Italian language experience, set in one of the quintessential Tuscan hill towns, look no further. Register at il Sasso today!

I am incredibly impressed with the sensitivity of the staff and instructors, namely their ability to assess what each student needs and to structure the lessons accordingly. Apart from being excellent teachers, they are downright nice, genuine people who take a personal interest in their work and seem to enjoy it. I also appreciated the small class sizes, and found the other students to be generally on par with the school, that is to say, a wonderful set of folks across the age spectrum. The school is extremely well run. Montepulciano is a charming town with just the right amount of interesting sights and things to occupy your free time without becoming overly distracting from the learning experience. The town feels intimate and real (not overly touristy) and it certainly has excellent food and wine. Overall, I would recommend this school without reservation for anyone interested in serious learning as well as a marvelously engaging experience of Tuscany.

My experience at Il Sasso was truly incredible. I stayed in Montepulciano for a total of 3 months for a study abroad program, and I know that it would not have been the same without the kind and nurturing spirits of the Il Sasso staff. Everyone there is truly concerned for your well-being and happiness, and they go out of their way to make you feel like family. My Italian improved tenfold, and I can now confidently say that I could do absolutely everything in Italian if I had to (and I did!). It was so nice to be able to walk down the street to go to class, especially in such a beautiful location. I recently read somewhere that, "If you live in a beautiful place, its beauty will be reflected back in the people." I can't help but think of Montepulciano when I read this quote. Not only is the city and its accompanying panoramas absolutely breathtaking, but the hearts of every person you meet are more beautiful than I can describe. Everyone is eager to meet you and happy to let you practice your Italian with them, no matter how broken it may be. They are a patient, understanding, and loving group of people whom I hope to run into again one day in the future. We were absolutely blessed with the incredibly beautiful townhouse we stayed in for our three months with all modern appliances and beautiful architecture. We always had countless amazing opportunities: olive picking, vineyard tours, a cooking class, and so much more! Though the town is quite small and there aren't many young people to interact with, it is the perfect place to learn such a beautiful language as the Tuscan dialect is the closest to "standard Italian". I would recommend going in the summer when the city is full of life and there are lots of celebrations. If you do go in the late fall or winter, be advised that the city is on a mountain and it gets quite cold! I know for a fact that I will be back to visit Montepulciano again sometime in my lifetime, and I eagerly look forward to that day. Tanti baci a tutti alla scuola! Mi mancate troppo!

I've been to Il Sasso several times and surely will return
next year.

The beautiful town of Montepulciano, I already knew from last year. However, I did not yet know the charming apartments and the language school Il Sasso, and I am delighted by both. I lived for three weeks in a spacious, clean, beautiful, and also low-priced apartment in the middle of the old town and less than two minutes from the school. I spent the mornings in a pleasant classroom environment with a fantastic panoramic view together with very competent and friendly teachers and nice fellow students from around the world. The atmosphere was always cordial. I've learned a lot, and during and after classes, enjoyed the exchange.
In the classroom, there is nothing to complain about the materials and the methods; also the grammar topics and contents were treated that I had wanted. Only the composition of the group was partly too heterogeneous, more differentiated levels would have been good in my case for another course for the two weeks that I was there, but it has adapted perfectly. I organized my activities privately, which was also cheaper than the groups, but I think that the price for the organization was reasonable, and beautiful destinations were offered in any case. Common lunch and smaller meetings with the other students have enriched my stay. In and around Montepulciano, there is still something to discover beautiful and special.