Student Spotlight: FRANCESCO + VITTORIA
Italian students and travelers Victoria and Francesco Corona in Florence
Sharing a Love of Italian Language and Culture:
Italian-born Francesco Corona and his wife, Victoria, embark on learning journey together as a way of enriching their connection to Italian relatives and friends.
Read their story - along with some excellent travel tips!
Francesco and Victoria, Tell us a bit about yourselves:
We both are retired after long careers as professional scientists in the petroleum and environmental industries. Victoria was a geochemist who worked first in petroleum research and later in the environmental field. Late in life, she pursued a Bachelor of Arts degree at the University of the Arts London at Camberwell where she graduated with Honors. Francesco is a geologist who worked in all aspects of the petroleum industry, in research, production, development, and exploration. He also taught Physical Geology for two years at Piedmont Virginia Community College after his career in industry. We lived mostly in Houston, Texas, during our professional careers with stints in London, UK, and Hannover, Germany.
What’s it like learning as a couple?
“The main benefit of us learning Italian together is the ability of practicing with one another between formal lessons with our teacher AnnaMaria. The best way to learn a language is to speak the language. Also, because Francesco is considerably ahead of Victoria, he can help out when Victoria is stuck on a lesson. One drawback of learning Italian together is that Francesco constantly corrects Victoria’s Italian pronunciation even in class with AnnaMaria. This sometimes irritates Victoria.”
What inspired/motivated you to begin Italian lessons with Speak!?
We have different reasons to learn Italian. Francesco is Italian, born in Rome, Italy. He and his American mother and Italian father came to the United States when he was two years old. Although Francesco is an American citizen born abroad by his mother, he always has had a strong affinity for his Italian roots. Francesco, who has some Italian language capabilities, wants to be able to speak more fluent Italian in order to better converse with his Italian relatives who are in Italy. Victoria on the other hand was born in Brunswick, New Jersey, with Lithuanian roots. She would like to learn Italian so she, too, can join in the conversation when visiting Francesco’s family in Italy, and integrate into the Italian culture while staying in Rome. In the past, our visits to Rome have been a brief couple of weeks. Our hope is to extend our future stays to several weeks.
What do you love about the Italian language and culture?
Because of Francesco’s roots, there is no question that he loves the Italian language and culture. It is inherent in his genes! Because of Francesco’s influence, Victoria has readily adapted to everything Italian. Italian is a Romance language, and closest to ancient Roman Latin. It is melodic, poetic, and easy to speak: just say all the letters with the few general rules.
Italian culture for us is all about family, food, and art, and a little bit of calcio (soccer)! Victoria has mastered all of Mamma Corona’s recipes to Francesco’s utmost delight.
What’s it like learning as a couple?
The main benefit of us learning Italian together is the ability of practicing with one another between formal lessons with our teacher AnnaMaria. The best way to learn a language is to speak the language. Also, because Francesco is considerably ahead of Victoria, he can help out when Victoria is stuck on a lesson. One drawback of learning Italian together is that Francesco constantly corrects Victoria’s Italian pronunciation even in class with AnnaMaria. This sometimes irritates Victoria.
What do you love about your teacher, AnnaMaria?
All smiles after an Italian lesson with AnnaMaria (right) at Speak! (notice Rome’s Trastevere in the background!)
AnnaMaria is a wonderful teacher, very patient, always in good spirit, never dull, and never condescending. She methodically advances through our Italian language text book and exercises, and effectively uses the whiteboard to review and summarize the important language and grammar details. She also utilizes pertinent supplemental materials and incorporates fun grammar games to enhance our learning experience. She makes learning Italian a joy!
If you could live six months in Italy, where would you pick and why?
If we could live six months anywhere in Italy, we would split it in two localities: Rome and Tuscany. Rome is the birthplace of Francesco and the home of several Francesco’s cousins and a favorite aunt, Zia Guglielmina. We would stay in a nice apartment in Roma Vecchia that is in walking distance to most of the famous landmarks and sights, and very close to fantastic trattorie, osterie, pizzerie, and caffé, our favorite being Caffe Tazza D’Oro near the Pantheon.
Vicky enjoys a caffè at Tazza d’Oro near the Pantheon in Rome, their favorite bar.
It is also not far away from Ponte Sisto that leads to Trastevere known for its narrow cobblestone streets, colorful ivy-clad buildings, young people hanging about, and traditional and innovative trattorie. A must-see place for anyone visiting Rome! The first thing we do when arriving into Rome is to walk to Trastevere and have a pleasant long pranzo (lunch) on the terrace at Trattoria Casa Mia. Lastly, one must walk down Via Dei Foro Imperiali towards the Colosseo to see about 2500 years of Roman history!
Tuscany is completely different, in history, surroundings, and food. We would have our hub in Florence, the center of the Renaissance. We again would rent an apartment in the city center where everything is in walking distance. Outstanding art! The Uffizi, the Duomo, the Pitti Palace, the Bargello, and the Accademia, home of Michelangelo’s David. Once you see the David in real life, there will be no need for you to look at another sculpture ever since nothing will surpass the awe and beauty of this magnificent masterpiece! And the food! The cantinetti, buche, and lots of trattorie! Our favorite, must-have Tuscan foods include crostini di fegato, pappardelle al cinghiale, and of course bistecca alla Fiorentina. And then from Florence, we can take day trips by bus, train, or car rental to the likes of Siena, Pisa, Cortona, Lucca, San Gimignano, and the Chianti Hills. So much to do!
Do you have any travel tips to share with first time visitors to Italia?
Travel Tips for first time travelers to Italy:
Speak Italian, the Italians take it as a compliment and will help you out;
Rent an apartment in the middle of the town or city to experience the real Italian La Dolce Vita;.
Get an Eyewitness Travel tour book of your destination to plan your visit, don’t wait until you get there;
Sign up for guided tours of popular venues long before your trip in order “to skip the line with fast entrance” (your will save a ton of time; for Rome, we recommend Through Eternity Tours and City Wonders; they also have wonderful day trips from Rome to Florence, Pompeii, Tuscany, and the Amalfi Coast);
Use taxis, this is the quickest way to get around when not walking;
When deciding on an impromptu eatery, avoid where they have hawkers trying to lure you to a table and where they have menus in 5 different languages.
Francesco at a tasting of Brunello di Montalcino wines in Tuscany
