LANGUAGE IMMERSION
Lingua e Cultura in Calabria
Slow down. Listen. Connect.
This one-week Language Immersion invites you to experience Italian at the gentle rhythm of a medieval Calabrian hamlet, where daily life unfolds slowly and conversations happen naturally.
Designed for all language levels, the retreat offers an atmosphere of comfort, authenticity, and freedom rather than a fixed program.
WHEN: You can enrol any SATURDAY of MAY, JUNE, JULY, SEPT, OCT, NOV.
The Place
The retreat is hosted in a comfortable and elegant villa set within a small medieval village founded by the Normands, surrounded by nature and woods. The house offers generous shared spaces that invite both connection and quiet time:
– a large garden for open-air conversations and rest
– a library for reading, reflection, and informal study
– a music room with a piano for relaxed, creative evenings
Life in the hamlet is simple and human. Local residents, many of whom do not speak English, welcome you into everyday Italian life—at the café, in the street, in the small shops—making each interaction a natural moment of immersion.
Living the Language
Italian is practiced through real life, not pressure. Sharing meals, greeting neighbours, ordering food, exchanging small stories—language grows organically through presence and repetition. Each participant engages at their own pace, with guidance adapted to individual levels and confidence.
Food & Daily Rhythm
Participants are free to shape their days. The village offers restaurants and pizzerias within walking distance, while meals can also be enjoyed at the villa for those who prefer a quieter evening or shared cooking moments.
Optional Activities
Afternoons offer a selection of optional workshops and excursions, always by invitation, never by obligation. These may include:
– cultural workshops (cheese making/soap making… )
– visits to castles, archaeological parks, and historic villages (Tropea, Pizzo, Vibo V….)
– nature walks and coastal outings to the Ionian Sea
You are free to join, rest, explore independently, or simply enjoy the villa and the village.
For Whom
This immersion is ideal for travellers, learners, and culture lovers seeking a slow, authentic Italian experience, where language is absorbed through daily life, human connection, and the beauty of simplicity.
Itinerary
8:00 am - 9:00 am: Breakfast at Villa Stella
10:00 am - 12:00 pm: Italian lesson related to the afternoon activity
12:00 pm: Aperitivo in the garden
1:00 pm: Lunch + Relaxing/Study time
4:00 pm: OPTIONAL Cultural excursions/Tastings/Film/Chat/Cooking workshop.
7:30 pm: Dinner
9:00 pm: After-dinner with goodnight chats (you will be free to speak in Italian or English).
Included
Transfer to/from International Airport of Lamezia Terme
ROOM for 7 nights + breakfast with genuine local ingredients
Italian course (15 hrs)
Walks to the beach /in the nearby woods
All amenities at the villa
Room cleaning (end of the week)
Not included
Flight to/from home
Medical Insurance
Meals
Optional activities/excursions
Personal expenses
The place
Villa Stella will be the base for your language classes, cooking workshops and daily activities. It sits on the edge of Torre di Ruggiero, a medieval hamlet, totally immersed in nature. 20' drive from the gorgeous beach of Soverato, on the Ionian coast; 50' drive from Pizzo; 70' from Lamezia Airport.
It is a beautiful house where you can spend time to detoxify from your work routine or you can join a small group of people to enjoy art/cultural activities. Here, you can relax and feel inspired, eat natural and organic food (Km 0) and feel free to express yourself. A library with books and Italian DVDs is available to the guests.
LODGING
During the full immersive programme you will stay in an independent room with private bathroom. The rooms are a few minutes walking from the main house Villa Stella where you will go every day for breakfast and the activities with the group.
Why choose this course
You will be living in the heart of the ancient Magna Graecia, the land where 2000 years ago the Greeks developed the arts, philosophy, maths and the base of Western civilization.
The class is very small and the school is a comfortable villa with a library, a garden for private moments, a kitchen for free snacks and drinks, and space for activities..
You can get extra help any time if you need it.
Teachers are qualified with more than 20 years of experience. Anna holds a PhD in languages with a background in classical music and theatre.
You will be in a group according to your ability.
The Villa is in a village where no people would speak English so you will experience an authentic lifestyle.
Locals are curious about international students and will welcome you.
Focus is on social/cultural programs in which you are invited to speak Italian.
It will be a FUN, RELAXING and MEMORABLE journey.
“ [….] It turned out to be a very special experience. Unlike other courses in anonymous accommodation, this was a week of total immersion in the Italian language and culture while staying in Villa Stella, Anna’s family home. Not only did she teach the lessons, she looked after us as a friend would, meeting us at the airport and driving us on all the excursions, chatting with us every day in Italian – with the occasional necessary burst of English – and sharing her life with us. […] We spoke and heard Italian all the time and also learned so much from Anna’s extensive knowledge of the history and tales of the area which added greatly to the experience of the excursions.” - Dina
Price
£ 720 pp (single room)
£ 500 pp (shared room)