Italian Language & Cooking Courses in Sardinia, Italy

Centro Mediterraneo Pintadera, Sardinia:
Located in Alghero on the North West coast of Sardinia, the Centro Mediterraneo Pintadera offers Italian language and culture courses all year round. From the very beginning, we take language out of the classroom and onto the streets of Alghero.

The heart of Pintadera’s Italian program are the Lingua group language courses which generally presume a maximum enrolment of 8 students per class. The lessons are normally divided into two parts with a different teacher guiding each segment. The first part emphasizes Italian grammar and structure. The second part emphasizes the application and exercise of these linguistic rules in real life settings.

Pintadera offers three basic levels of Italian proficiency - elementary, intermediate and advanced (Lingua A, Lingua B, Lingua C). Elementary classes generally begin the first Monday of every month. Intermediate and advanced classes can be started on any Monday of the month, but enjoy too the liberty of beginning other days depending on student circumstances.

Pintadera does not employ standard Italian textbooks but instead produces its own class and take-home materials which are modified to the particular interests, abilities and needs of the group. This method has proven most effective in teaching adults who come to us from different backgrounds and who respond most favorably when treated in a way that is personally significant.

Pintadera carefully selects readings from Italy’s most celebrated poets, playwrights, and novelists. Wide varieties of current-event materials such as newspapers, magazines, radio and TV broadcasts are used in the Pintadera learning experience. Together, the student is enlightened to valuable Italian cultural, historic and contemporary perspectives and supplemented with improved linguistic and communicative skills.

Levels
Lingua A - Elementary (A1 / A2) - "Contatto e Sopravivenza" - for those who have very little or no knowledge of the Italian language

Lingua B - Intermediate ( B1 / B2) - "Soglia & Progresso" - for those wishing to improve their existing knowledge of Italian grammar and vocabulary and to strengthen their speaking and comprehension skills

Lingua C - Advanced ( C1 / C2) - "Efficacia & Padronaza" - for those with a formidable grasp of Italian grammar who wish to refine their written and oral skills

We also offer private lessons upon request or you can book a combi course consisting of Lingua lessons in the morning and 1 hour of individual lessons each afternoon.

Cultura – Culture Courses
As a compliment to our Lingua group classes, we offer a two week Cultura course which is scheduled three times a week in the afternoon. The first week of Cultura focuses on Alghero, examining its history, architecture, customs and traditions - both contemporary and ancestral - as well as an unique exploration of the Nuragic settlements in the vicinity. The second week of Cultura focuses on Sardinia - the island with a myriad of facets, flashing the sacred, the profane and the beguiling gulf between. One week may be booked by itself.

AllegraMente – A Vacationer's Delight
For shorter stays, we offer the weekly AllegraMente program, our special late afternoon/early evening course for holidaymakers who want to better know the people and town of Alghero. The course concentrates on acquiring basic notions of Italian to aid and enrichen communications with locals in restaraunts, bars and shops. AllegraMente offers insights into the Sardinian way of life and makes learning an active and edifying holiday joy.

AllegraMente is structured with the first 30-45 minutes staged in a classroom where the day's new vocabulary words and expressions are introduced. Thereafter, the class ventures forth into town and practices what it has learned. AllegraMente is a course in continual evolution, with a finger on the pulse of what is happening in Alghero. Upon request, the course may be tailored to your personal interests and needs. You may begin this course any day of the week.

Buon Appetito – Italian Cooking
Pintadera is proud to offer Italian cooking classes in collaboration with the young Master Chef: Cristiano Andreini whose restaraunt, Ristorante Andreini, located in the historic center of Alghero, has been selected by Moda Stile as, "…the best restaraunt in the city (Alghero)" and by La Stampa as "…one of the best (restaraunts) in Sardinia".

Time permitting, in the morning the participants of the afternoon's cooking session go to the market place together to do the shopping. In the afternoon, the cooking session begins with a 30 minute classroom period where the menu of the day is studied with discussions of ingredients, cooking techniques, and kitchen strategies. Thereafter, the class proceeds to Trattoria Al Refettorio, a restaraunt immediately below the school, where the meals are cooked unders the Chef's careful eye and with his personable encouragement.

Traditional entree selections such as "Lasagna al Forno" and "Ossobuco con Risotto alla Milanese" with traditional desserts such as "Tiramisu", to name a distinct few, will be performed. Students will prepare a simple "Sugo al Pomodoro" or a "Pesto of garlic and basil" where Chef Cristiano will demonstrate beforehand the importance and skill of selecting genuine fresh native products. The class size of Buon Appetito is strictly limited to 6 students. Class menus are influenced according to student tastes and preferences. After the meal is cooked, the students and Chef sit down at a single table and enjoy their dishes with animated reflection and delight.

Cin Cin - wine tasting session
We hold our Cin Cin wine tasting sessions in the spectacular setting of the Ristorante Andreini in the old town. Gian Luca Andreini, sommelier of the prestigious restaurant which he runs with his brother, Chef Cristiano, will introduce you to wines of the same grape which are produced in different areas of Sardinia with entirely different approaches. Gianluca is constantly looking for new products and invests in the quality and uniqueness of types of wine.

Uno, Due, Tre – Italian for Children
During the summer months, Pintadera offers an Italian language course for children. One course is held in the late afternoon and is available to children between the ages of 6 and 14. This class is taught outdoors, whenever possible- most often in the courtyard of San Francesco, just below the school or in an quaint immediate park. Simple vocabulary, notions and phrases are provided and practiced most often in the context of a game. Local Italian speaking children participate and are paired with a child student of approximately the same age so that the duo benefits both lingually and culturally. Another course, a more traditional children's class, is held in the morning for those children whose parents are participating in a group language course at the same time. The minimum number of particpants for this class is 3 children.