Spend the Week with Me at Lucca Italian School

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Have you ever wanted to learn a foreign language? I’m firmly of the mindset that there’s no better way to do so by immersing yourself in that country, which is why I recently spent a week studying Italian at Lucca Italian School, and I’m taking you along with me! Iniziamo!

Why I’m Studying Italian

About a year ago, I started researching my family history on my mom’s side and tracked down information about my great-great-grandparents who immigrated from Italy in the early 1900s. During that time, I began studying Italian through online classes, which was good, but I knew that to take it to the next level, I wanted to study in person, so I booked a trip to Italy to take a weeklong intensive at Lucca Italian School.

First Day of School

On our first day of classes, we were sorted into groups based on our level and got settled into our classrooms. I was in an A1 level class with nine other students, and our teacher, Chiara, quickly got started. And by getting started, I mean the class was conducted 99% in Italian. Most of the students in the class had at least some previous Italian knowledge, which was helpful, but the one or two that didn’t caught on pretty quickly thanks to the teacher’s effective use of gestures and demonstrating, as well as context clues.

Things to do in Lucca, Italy

Throughout the course of the week, we were taught using a variety of worksheets, listening and speaking exercises, as well as writing exercises and games. The worksheets were ours to take, so it’s great to have those to refer back to. However, my favorite part of the class was the emphasis on speaking and listening exercises. I’ve taken a few online classes and felt like my reading and writing comprehension was fairly decent, but my speaking and writing were lacking and my week at Lucca Italian School really helped improve that.

Optional Activities

Lucca Italian School offered several optional activities throughout the week, and if you’re taking lessons there, I definitely suggest taking part in them if your schedule and budget allow. 

There were three activities offered the week I was there, the first being a free walking tour of Lucca on Monday afternoon. Anyone who wished to take part met at the school in the early evening and was divided into one of two groups: 100% Italian or some English. As a beginner learner, I chose the some English group, which honestly was about 90-95% Italian, but simplistic enough that I was able to comprehend the entire tour. We spent about two hours walking around inside Lucca’s walls, learning history and getting great restaurant recommendations from the teacher who led the tour. It was a great way to get a local’s perspective on the city as well as meet fellow students in other classes. The tour concluded with apertivo, cocktails at a local restaurant, which was a fun way to end the first day of school.

Where to Eat in Lucca, Italy

I didn’t have the opportunity to take part in the other optional activities, but there was a group tour to a nearby Vespa museum offered (cost around 35 Euro, which included train transportation) and a casual gathering at a local pizzeria (dinner and drinks were self-pay). When I return to LIS (spoiler alert: I’m already making plans), I definitely plan to take advantage of these optional activities.

Daily Routine

Very quickly, I settled into a daily routine. I would start the day with breakfast at my AirBNB before walking to class. After morning lessons, I would enjoy coffee break in the garden chatting with fellow students, and after class ended for the day, I would pop by the market or my favorite pizza place, Pizzeria da Felice, and have lunch before doing a little wandering around Lucca. When the heat got to be a bit much, I’d grab a gelato and then head back to my AirBNB to get a bit of work done and maybe do some laundry. Once the day cooled down, I’d head out to dinner either solo or with a classmate, and spend some more time exploring the historic streets of Lucca.

One afternoon, I took a little side quest to the nearby beach town of Viareggio. This coastal city is about a 20-minute train ride from Lucca (trains run approximately every 30-minutes to one hour) and the sweeping coastline is dotted with beach chairs and umbrellas for hire at bagni aka beach clubs, which I appreciate as someone who takes sun protection pretty seriously. 

Pro Tip: If you go to Viareggio in the afternoon and it’s not crowded, you can negotiate the posted pricing and the bani, so don’t accept their first offer!

All too quickly, it was the last day of school, and when I tell you that I wanted to change my flight and stay for another week, I’m not exaggerating! Unfortunately, I had some things to attend to at home that prevented that, but I’m already planning my next trip to LIS!

Before my week at Lucca Italian School, I felt like my Italian learning progress had stalled and I was feeling a bit discouraged. However, the week of in-person lessons along with actually using the Italian I knew while staying in Lucca was a huge breakthrough for me in terms of speaking and comprehending spoken Italian.

If you’re learning any foreign language, I strongly suggest taking a weeklong (or more if time allows) immersive class in the country where the language is spoken. And if you happen to be learning Italian, I highly recommend Lucca Italian School!

Where To Stay

When booking your lessons, LIS offers the option to book a homestay with a local for an additional fee, but as an introvert, that wasn’t something I was interested in, so I booked an AirBNB that was about a five-minute walk from the school. Lucca is a small, very walkable city, and I recommend staying inside the city walls for the most immersive experience.

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