ItalianPod101.com Blog

Dear ItalianPod101 listeners, ItalianPod101.com is currently undergoing some personnel adjustments. This requires ItalianPod101 to be on hold for a short period of time. We are currently and actively looking for talent to add to the ItalianPod101 team to further increase quality, and also resume production. We would love to deliver only the best Italian lessons for all of our serious students. As we will be on a short break to shuffle some personnel, please take time to study the existing lessons. There are over 250 lessons to be explored here at ItalianPod101.com. So as we look to build, and increase our ItalianPod101 team, there are a plethora of lessons for you to study from. As we look to improve, build, and enhance our... Show more

Are you committed to studying Italian? Do you study on the train? At home after a long day of work? While at the gym? Any moment of free time you can find? We know how serious our students are. Studying a language takes time and commitment. We know you have the commitment to study. Now we're providing you with the time to study Italian for 2 full years, hassle free! You can now study with ItalianPod101.com with our new 24 Month Subscriptions! After studying Italian with ItalianPod101.com for 24-months you can take the leap from Beginner to Advanced, have flowing and fluent conversations with native-Italian speakers, and rread books, novels, magazines, and newspapers. We want you to be able to reach those goals. That's why we've... Show more

Congratulations to Paddy Cunningham on winning the GRAND PRIZE of Mail Bag Contest II! Paddy loves Italian, Italy and most of all, Ferrari! He even got to tour the Ferrari factory! This only spurred on his love for all things Italian and motivated him further to learning Italian. Have a look at the mail he sent us: "My love for Italy and all things Italian started many years ago and it all began where many dreams begin. A dream of some day owning a Ferrari. I had been to Italy many times to watch Grand Prix and then in 2005 I won a trip to vist the Ferrari factory. On that trip I met a very nice Italian Lady. Life does not always turn out the way we plan it and I never managed to get the Ferrari, but I did get the... Show more

Welcome to the new section of our blog, The Mail Bag. This is where we'll share stories from our listeners in the endeavors with Italian. We hope stories from fellow students can help motivate and inspire you to begin learning Italian or give you that extra needed push and renewed sense of strength when you think it's impossible to get become more proficient! This week we'd like to introduce you to Jack Eitelgeorge from Santa Rosa, CA. Jack had this to say about his studies: "My wife and I studied her family history and we found relatives in Italy. The next year we visited them and found them very please to meet and welcome us. The problem was, neither side could speak the others' language. Do you know what it's like to... Show more

Happy Holidays and Happy New Year from everyone here at ItalianPod101.com! We're grateful to have listeners just like you, and we're eagerly waiting for the upcoming year to learn Italian together! And when the New Year comes around, be sure to make a resolution to study Italian with ItalianPod101.com! Have a healthy and happy holiday season. From the ItalianPod101.com team!

Picture this. You’re out holiday shopping. You see a sign for 10% OFF. You feel like you’re getting a really good deal, so you rush into the store and make your purchase. You’re a happy customer. 2 days later… You’re out holiday shopping again. You pass by the same store, and the sale sign doesn’t just catch your eye, it punches you in the face! 20% OFF! You're not such a happy customer. Sound familiar? We’ve all experienced it. You buy something at a low price just to see it selling at a lower one the next day. Now the good deal we got suddenly doesn’t seem so good anymore. And you know what? It didn’t seem fair. In fact, we think responsible people who act early should be rewarded. So…we came up with the Reverse... Show more

What they really want for the Holidays. Looking for the perfect gift for your friend or loved one who is interested in Italy, Italian culture, or living in Italy? Give them the perfect present—the Gift of Gab in Italian. 
Your friend or loved one will thank you repeatedly throughout the year as they rapidly learn to speak Italian. Why ItalianPod101.com? A subscription to ItalianPod101.com is the fastest, easiest, and most fun way to learn Italian. This gift is so good that it just might be the present that lasts a lifetime. The quick progress they make will motivate them to learn more. Before you know it, your friend or loved one will be immersed in Italian and they'll have one person to thank. This perfect gift could be a first step... Show more

Once a year between August 24th and August 26th, the city of Lecce celebrates la festa di Sant’Oronzo, the feast of the city’s founding Saint. This celebration literally shuts the city down, and allows its members, and any tourists that get caught up in the mix, to enjoy the festivities, including music, food and dozens of booths set up in the historic center. During the months prior to the festa, strapping local men can be seen assembling huge light sculptures throughout the streets, stringing them down the main drags where everyone takes their passeggiata, or stroll, in the early evening hours. These lights are then used to illuminate the city and create a whimsical atmosphere, especially in Piazza Sant’Oronzo where most of the concerts... Show more

Starting Monday, November 10th all lessons three weeks or older will be moved to the Basic subscription section of the site. The first three lessons of every season and every level will remain free forever on the site. What does this mean for you? If you’re an active Basic or Premium member, you will be unaffected. Absolutely nothing will change. Furthermore, long-time listeners enjoying the most recent episodes, you are also unaffected. Lessons less than three weeks old will remain absolutely free on the site and on the feed. In addition, the first three lessons of all levels and all season will still be free on the site for you to study from, so continue to enjoy ItalianPod101.com lessons. Listeners and users focusing on older... Show more

Marco hated the beach near his family’s summer home. He claimed that Torre Chianca, the beaches name, was schifo, loosely translated as “gross”, so when he took me there as one of our first outings as a couple, I didn’t know what to expect. Growing up in California I had seen my share of beautiful beaches, but I had also experienced those riddled with cigarette butts and covered in seaweed and sand flies, so I readied myself for the worst. When we arrived we stepped from his tiny green Fiat, which he parked for free only feet from the sand, onto a pristine white sand beach, with calm and clear water, a far cry from the freezing and choppy waves I was used to in Santa Cruz. Marco had grown up on this beach, running around all summer with... Show more