The Museo Italo Americano offers Italian Language classes at two locations: at the Museo Italo Americano in San Francisco and at the Cubberley Community Center in Palo Alto. Below are descriptions of the various Italian Classes that we offer. For days and times that classes are held, see Italian Class Schedules.

Beginning
The thrill of going from zero Italian to being able to order ‘caffè macchiato’ at a caffè, to ask for directions to the Colosseo and to greet your newly found cousins in Genova!

Intermediate I & II
Continue to enrich your vocabulary while learning the Passato Prossimo, adjectives and imperfetto.

Intermediate III & IV
Besides continuing your grammar studies you begin reading short, short stories and after studying the ‘imperfetto’, conditional and conjunctive, you can start writing them.

Intermediate Review & Conversation

Converse about Italian art, cuisine, fashion design and opera while reviewing those boring

pronouns, prepositions and the mystifying use of the imperfetto.

Advanced Grammar

Complete your study of Italian grammar, including the CONGIUNTIVO, the CONDIZIONALE and much more!

Letture in Italiano
Now that you know everything about Italian food and wine, you can begin to learn about Italy’s contemporary literature: humor writers, Achille Campanile, Beppe Severgnini or more serious ones, Natalia Ginzburg, Leonardo Sciascia, Alberto Moravia and many others. And, while you discuss the text, your teacher will gently remind you about the subjunctive, the double negative and the use of ‘fare’ with the infinitive! Films based on reading material will be shown as available.

Advanvced Culture and Conversation
A detailed study of a region’s geography, history, traditions, art and cuisine, will serve as the basis for advanced conversation. The region studied this fall will be Sicily.

Intermediate Review and Conversation
Converse about Italian art, cuisine, fashion design and opera while reviewing those boring pronouns, prepositions and the mystifying use of the imperfetto.