The Italian Academy

Piazzale San Marziano, 1, 96100, Siracusa (Syracuse), Syracuse, Sicilia 96100, Italy
courses

All courses

The Italian Academy offers the following course types:

starting at
$311

starting at
$484
school
photos

Photos

  • Homestay housing offered by The Italian Academy 1/21
  • Reception of The Italian Academy 2/21
  • Classroom at The Italian Academy 3/21
  • Building of The Italian Academy 4/21
  • Apartments offered by The Italian Academy 5/21
  • Activities offered at The Italian Academy 6/21
  • Activities offered at The Italian Academy 7/21
  • City of Syracuse 8/21
  • City of Syracuse 9/21
  • Activities offered at The Italian Academy 10/21
  • Activities offered at The Italian Academy 11/21
  • Activities offered at The Italian Academy 12/21
  • Activities offered at The Italian Academy 13/21
  • Activities offered at The Italian Academy 14/21
  • Apartments offered by The Italian Academy 15/21
  • Building of The Italian Academy 16/21
  • Building of The Italian Academy 17/21
  • Entrance to The Italian Academy 18/21
  • Classroom at The Italian Academy 19/21
  • Classroom at The Italian Academy 20/21
  • Entrance to The Italian Academy 21/21
reviews

Reviews

100% recommend

based on 10 reviews
5 stars
7
4 stars
2
3 stars
1
2 stars
0
1 star
0
Quality of teaching
School facilities
Social activities
School location
Housing

"A joyful struggle with subjunctive and pronouns in a lovely environment under a sunny sky!"

Gabriela Eigensatz, student from Switzerland

Why did I become so fond of the Italian Academy?
Annalisa is a dedicated teacher with a good sense of humor. The location of the School is superb and
I thoroughly enjoyed our small group of four women with different international backgrounds.

The Italian language course in Siracusa was a lovely pretence to escape the Swiss winter.

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My ratings for this school

Quality of teaching
School facilities
Social activities
School location
Housing
Duration of study
1 week
Date of study
5 Feb 2024 - 16 Feb 2024
Would you recommend this school?
Yes
This is a verified review. This student has booked a course at this school through Language International.

"Excellent teachers- I learned more than I could have hoped for and it was fun!"

Gabrielle Buresch-Teichmann, student from Austria

I had two weeks of studying Italian at the Italian Academy. I was surprised by the excellent teachers and about the amount we were able to cover and learn within two weeks.
In the first week we were a group of 8 international people, In the second week we were only 3, but this was even more intense.
Both teachers Agata and Luisa were excellent- I liked Agata´s sense of humour.
The villa of the school and surrounding park is wonderful for having breaks and realxing during the break.

AS I was there with my friend 'Grete we were busy exploring Sicily and participated only at one activity, which was lovely: The puppets museum and the puppets theatre

The Italian Academy offers enough activities for students to get to know each other..

My accomodation was an appartment from the school- which was a nice only 15 minutes walk away.
Personally I did not like so much the furnishing of the living room of my villa "Arancio" was a bit like a "farmhouse parlor"
Whereas the furnishing of the villa "limone" of my friend was modern and lovely.
the appartments could be cleaner when accessed and there was a strange smell.
The price for the appartment is very reasonable and nice to give to students of the school.

This was an excellent experience I would definitely recommend to everybody!

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My ratings for this school

Quality of teaching
School facilities
Social activities
School location
Housing
Duration of study
1 week
Date of study
22 May 2023 - 2 Jun 2023
Would you recommend this school?
Yes
This is a verified review. This student has booked a course at this school through Language International.

"Just a fantastic experience and I am so glad that I did the course"

Ýr Gunnlaugsdottir, student from Iceland

The Italian Academy is situated in a beautiful garden and I loved the location. Our teacher was superb and I just loved her and how she could make us learn and understand so much, really great.

I did the cooking class and it was really the highlight.

I can not say nothing negative from this one week

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My ratings for this school

Quality of teaching
School facilities
Social activities
School location
Date of study
22 May 2023 - 26 May 2023
Would you recommend this school?
Yes
This is a verified review. This student has booked a course at this school through Language International.

"A wonderful experience in a beautiful setting"

Sandy Ainsfield, student from USA

I originally registered to study for a week at the Italian Academy in Siracusa three years ago. I was finally able to attend in June this year. It was worth the wait. The school itself is in a beautiful location in a beautiful city. The staff was very helpful and friendly. My teacher, Leonora, was always prepared and spoke very clearly. I had no problem understanding her. She has a good sense of humor and I enjoyed her classes. I was placed at the Intermediate level. The class was small, four to six people a day. The students were from several different countries (France, Switzerland, the Czech Republic) as well as the USA, and always had an interesting point of view to offer. During our daily break we shared a coffee and a pastry at a nearby cafe. I enjoyed many conversations in Italian with the French student in the class. He spoke better Italian than English, and I spoke Italian better than French. I discovered that he was being hosted by a family in the same building as I was.

I was very happy with my housing situation. I had opted for a half board with an Italian family, and enjoyed conversing with my hostess, Stephania, during my meals. She was very kind and helpful, and my accommodations were very comfortable. She corrected my Italian whenever my Spanish crept into the conversation. The apartment was about a 20 minute walk to the school. It usually took me 30 minutes to get there because I got lost often, even using GPS. But I was glad to have the exercise.

Several activities were offered after class, but I was only able to participate in a visit to the nearby Catacombs. It was very interesting. On my own, I was able to book a boat excursion on the Island of Ortigia, which was very near Stephania's apartment. I took advantage of the tourist Hop Off, Hop On bus, which had a stop very close to the school, and was able to visit many interesting sites.

I have nothing negative to say about the experience. I have attended a language school in Milan and one in Rome, and this school was by far the best. My only regret is that I didn't have more time to study there. I am sure my Italian would have improved even more.

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My ratings for this school

Quality of teaching
School facilities
Social activities
School location
Housing
Date of study
20 Jun 2022 - 24 Jun 2022
Would you recommend this school?
Yes
This is a verified review. This student has booked a course at this school through Language International.

"A good repetition of what I already knew - helped a lot"

Angelika Krabacher, student from Austria

First of all, all staff is very nice and helpful at the Academy.
The place is a pure asset - wow!

The rooms are ok; the garden is lovely. The teacher was good and even if nearly all was a repetition of what I had already known and learnt - I did improve my level.

The first week we had been 3 in the class, one - really nice - colleague however had great problems to follow and was certainly not placed in the right level.

The second week we had been 2 and thus the hours have been reduced.

I liked the methodology, did not get bored - however, it was not very challenging.

I truly liked the film-afternoon and did appreciate the Monday morning breakfast. The excursions and offer to cook was too expensive - 60 euro. I had in Naples similar offers at my school there at a much much lower price.

The school also offered a family where I stayed one week - the lady was nice, and the stay was ok.

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My ratings for this school

Quality of teaching
School facilities
Social activities
School location
Housing
Duration of study
1 week
Date of study
6 Jun 2022 - 17 Jun 2022
Would you recommend this school?
Yes
This is a verified review. This student has booked a course at this school through Language International.

"My whole experience with Language International was excellent and I would not hesitate to book again with them."

Steve Pedder, student from UK

I would not hesitate to recommend the school. I really enjoyed my time there, learnt lots and made some good friends. The whole package was excellent. The accommodation was ideal, the teaching very good indeed and the school promoted a good atmosphere of togetherness between the students. The social activities were also very good and Francesco at the school really took time to ensure we enjoyed them and experienced something authentic of the region.

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My ratings for this school

Quality of teaching
School facilities
Social activities
School location
Housing
Date of study
16 Sep 2019 - 20 Sep 2019
Would you recommend this school?
Yes
This is a verified review. This student has booked a course at this school through Language International.

"Exellent"

Sigrid Frank, student from Germany

i liked the Location very much. It was a old Villa, very good situated. one could reach it very easy by bus or by Walking from the Center of Siracusa.
The School was good organised. My teacher was a very good one, she had a professione, goodl education.
In one week I improved my Italien a Little bit. Four week would have been better. So my Italien would have been perfect.....

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My ratings for this school

Quality of teaching
School facilities
Social activities
School location
Date of study
12 Feb 2018 - 16 Feb 2018
Would you recommend this school?
Yes
This is a verified review. This student has booked a course at this school through Language International.

"The best holiday experience I've had"

Leslie Hanslow

Classes - I expected to be a class member but my lessons were one-on-one. This had advantages - shorter lesson times, direct relationship with the teacher, instant feedback, personalized instruction, additional content covered. It also had disadvantages - no social interaction with other students, no learning opportunities through hearing other students responses.

Teachers - I had two - both excellent and easy to relate to. There was a tendency to cover too much content (a common problem in teaching limited time courses). I would have liked a slower pace with much revision to ensure I could use the content that had been covered.

Location and Facilities were fine.

Housing - I stayed with a lovely host family and I would strongly recommend the experience to potential students. It made a simple language course into a great learning experience. I felt like a member of the Siracusan community.

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My ratings for this school

Quality of teaching
School facilities
School location
Housing
Duration of study
3 weeks
Date of study
10 Aug 2015 - 4 Sep 2015
Would you recommend this school?
Yes

"Fantastic - teachers and support staff at The Academy were brilliant, I was incredibly well looked after by everyone, a wonderful experience."

Judith Gelling

My class had a brilliant teacher, Louisa, very patient and clear and logical. Our lessons were very enjoyable and informative. Everyone at the school were very warm, friendly and extremely helpful.
I did feel that I might have benefited more from listening exercises as I did not really get much practice speaking Italian outside of the classroom!
I had organised my own accommodation which unfortunately turned out to be unsuitable and the school stepped in immediately and arranged a lovely apartment in Ortijia, which I was extremely grateful for.

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My ratings for this school

Quality of teaching
School facilities
Social activities
School location
Housing
Duration of study
3 weeks
Date of study
5 Oct 2015 - 29 Oct 2015
Would you recommend this school?
Yes

"I found more than I had expected or even hoped: a very engaging staff in teaching and socializing - it was as if I had been with good old friends."

Martina Winkelmann

I will start with what I did not like, because this will be said in one word: Nothing! What I liked were the classes and the way the Italian Academy tried to find out what I wished, hoped for even in my leisure time. The teacher met exactly what I wanted to learn, she looked for the fitting articles, books and essays. It was not only that I learned a lot and could talk a lot in Italian but I received many other ideas. During my first day at the Academy we had a talk about what I would like to do in my free time - and they created a personal program for me. And they even brought me into contact with a local lady in order to give me the opportunity to talk in Italian outside the Academy. They chose her so very well that we became friends. What can you say more about a stay at a language school where I just wanted to improve my Italian? They opened not only their teaching skills but also their culture and their hearts to us, the students. Thank you so much!!!

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My ratings for this school

Quality of teaching
School facilities
Social activities
School location
Housing
Duration of study
1 week
Date of study
14 Sep 2015 - 25 Sep 2015
Would you recommend this school?
Yes
housing

Housing

The Italian Academy offers the following housing types:
homestay

Homestay - Single-person room - Breakfast

$288
weekly
Age range: 16 years old and older
Location: In the city center of Syracuse
Housing type: Homestay
Room type: Single-person room
Board type: Breakfast (7 meals per week)
Facilities: Kitchen, laundry, wireless internet, free internet, and heating
Distance to school: 5 - 20 minutes by walk
Availability: January - December
Check-in: Sunday, anytime
Check-out: Sunday, anytime
$288

Homestay - Single-person room - Breakfast and dinner

$369
weekly
Age range: 16 years old and older
Location: In the city center of Syracuse
Housing type: Homestay
Room type: Single-person room
Board type: Breakfast and dinner (14 meals per week)
Facilities: Kitchen, laundry, wireless internet, free internet, and heating
Distance to school: 5 - 20 minutes by walk
Availability: January - December
Check-in: Sunday, anytime
Check-out: Sunday, anytime
$369
apartment

Premium Private Apartment - Single-person room - No meals (From November to April)

$323
weekly
Age range: 18 - 99 years old
Address: Via Premuda, Siracusa, SR 96100, Siracusa
Location: In the city center of Syracuse
Housing type: Private apartment
Room type: Single-person room
Board type: No meals
Facilities: Private bathroom, kitchen, laundry, wireless internet, free internet, tV room, air conditioning, heating, garden, and other
Distance to school: 5 - 15 minutes by walk
Availability: 01 Nov 2019 - 31 Dec 2023
Check-in: Saturday, anytime
Check-out: Saturday, anytime
$323

Premium Private Apartment - Single-person room - No meals (From May to October)

$404
weekly
Age range: 18 - 99 years old
Address: Via Premuda, Siracusa, SR 96100, Siracusa
Location: In the city center of Syracuse
Housing type: Private apartment
Room type: Single-person room
Board type: No meals
Facilities: Private bathroom, kitchen, laundry, wireless internet, free internet, tV room, air conditioning, heating, garden, and other
Distance to school: 14 minutes by walk
Availability: 01 Jan 2019 - 31 Dec 2023
Check-in: Saturday, anytime
Check-out: Saturday, anytime
$404
visa

Visa support

We cannot apply for visas on behalf of students. However, the school can supply you with all the documentation you need to support your visa application.

Your letter of acceptance will be sent to your home address by regular mail at no charge to you.

Flights and airport transfer

Please note that we do not book flights for our students. If you are researching airfare costs, we recommend using Kayak.com, a search engine that lets you compare flight options from your home country to Syracuse based on your budget, schedule and preferences.

Travel insurance

Study abroad worry-free with Language International's health and personal effects insurance coverage. When you book a course with us, you can opt to purchase an international insurance plan that covers not only your health care cost but also loss of your personal belongings. You must book your insurance in advance when you register.

Learn more about our insurance plan »

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map

Map

Piazzale San Marziano, 1, 96100, Siracusa (Syracuse)
Syracuse
Sicilia 96100
Italy

School location

It is located in the heart of Siracusa, next to the archaeological museum and park, within a short walking distance of the main shopping streets of the city, the island of Ortygia and the beach.

The main building of our campus is a historic villa that boasts over 2 acres of lush botanical garden filled with citrus trees, Mediterranean flora, century-old palms, and magnolias, as well as many other exotic trees and plants. Outdoor lessons, cooking classes, workshops, and other activities are often held within this enchanting setting.

The entrance is next to St. John’s Church (Chiesa di San Giovanni), which gives access to the Catacombs and the Crypt of St. Marcian: considered by many the first place of Christian worship in the West, where St. Paul is said to have preached.

questions

Questions and answers

Have questions? Get answers from The Italian Academy staff, Language International student advisors, and past students.

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