Sardinia is the cradle of a civilization which is thousands of years old.
Learning Italian allows you to fully enter into a culture and way of life. We promote alternative ways to language learning and offer a wide range of cultural activities in the afternoons.
Our Cultura course features three afternoon events, taking place inside and outside the classroom, each one on a different theme giving you the opportunity to dive into Italian culture. Integrated with our courses, this is a dynamic approach avoiding academic stereotypes.
This course should be booked in conjunction with our Lingua Italian language course.
Alghero – the walled-city
Discover the ancient city, through the history and architecture of the old town center.
I gesti – as our bodies speak
Italians are famous throughout the world for the vibrant gestures which often accompany their words. Learn with us what Italians are really saying with their hands.
Craftwork
Sardinia is rich in raw materials, and has developed a handcraft culture that is known and appreciated worldwide. Let’s discover together this world of textiles, ceramics and metalwork.
Coral – our “red gold”
Alghero’s coral is known to be among the most exquisite in the Mediterranean, famous both for its strength and above all its ruby red color. We will visit the local coral workshops.
Vie del gusto – Sardinian flavors
Discover a variety of distinctive Sardinian flavors outside the school – cheeses, salamis, cakes, desserts and culinary curiosities – as we wander from the market stalls to the typical local shops.
The Rites of Holy Week
The theatricality of the Passion in the week before Easter is evident all over Sardinia and especially in Alghero. It is a unique and moving experience, where centuries old Spanish traditions mingle with local mystical religious customs.
Carneval
Discover traditional ‘Carnevale’ and its ancient origins, which in towns such as Bosa, Mamoiada and Ottana has roots both in paganism and in the conversion of the local people to Christianity. In other places traditional festivals, such as Oristano’s Sartiglia, originated in medieval times at the height of the power of the Sardinian Judges (Giudicati). Discover with us the many fascinating aspects of Sardinia’s Carnevale, from the vibrancy of the horses in the Sartiglia at Oristano, to the irreverence of Tempio, and the ancient strangeness of Bosa.
The dark side of Sardinia – banditry
The origin of banditry in Sardinia from the Spanish colonial period up to the end of “classical” banditry. The link between the isolation of the island and criminality, and the culture of vendetta and kidnapping.
The Nuragic civilization
History and archaeology of the region: the prehistoric settlements like the Nuragic village of Palmavera, the burial chambers of Anghelu Ruiu and the Nuraghe of Sant’ Imbenia. The lesson focuses on the mysterious origins of the Nuragic people, their development and their equally mysterious disappearance.
Sardinia’s centenarians
The Sardinian provinces of Ogliastra and Barbagia are home to a so-called “blue zone”, an area with a very high concentration of centenarians. Find out how Sardinians do it!
Matriarchal society of Sardinia
Sardinian’s matriarchal society is not the mirror image of patriarchy. Women in Sardinia do not dominate their men; it is society that places the mother in the center, responsible for family organization based on maternal values addressing the needs of each member of the family, the basic principles of every civil society.
Sardinian women
Extraordinary women, protagonists of politics, literature, art and entrepreneurship.
- Eleonora D’Arborea – a wise and modern strategist.
- Grazia Deledda – first Italian woman to be awarded the Nobel prize for literature.
- Maria Lai – one of the most important artists of the 20th century in Italy.
- Daniela Ducato – award-winning entrepreneur who works to produce building products derived from the recycling of Sardinian sheep’s wool.
Sardinian music
Traditional music in Sardinia has different forms: polyphonic songs, monodic songs accompanied by traditional instruments, tenores, sacred songs and many other popular songs. We will introduce you to Sardinian traditional music, a bridge between sea and land, between ancient and modern. The canto a tenore is among the Masterpieces of the oral and Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
Sardinian cinema
Discover Sardinia with Vittorio De Seta, one of Italy's greatest documentary filmmakers, or with the eyes of Sardinian directors such as Giovanni Columbu, Salvatore Mereu, Gianfranco Cabiddu, Paolo Zucca and many others.
Cost
| Three of the above lessons | € 75 |
Conditions
You will also have the opportunity to sign up for these lessons when you are at school. On Monday morning we present the week’s schedule of activities. Minimum 3 persons required for a Cultura lesson to be staged.
Contact us for further information
info@pintadera.info
+39 079 917 064
+39 328 885 73 67
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