Name: ONLINE CLASS: Italian Language - Elementary I - Continued Unit
Start: 2025-05-02
End: 2025-07-04
Location: Online

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This is a 10-week Italian language series.Welcome to our Italian series, Level Elementary I for basic beginners.

Online

ONLINE CLASS: Italian Language - Elementary I - Continued Unit

Il Chiostro, Inc.

I have been traveling with IL Chiostro  since 2014.  I am always amazed by how organized, attentive and congenial they are.  This past October was perhaps one of the most luxurious trips I've ever been on.  The setting, the accommodations, and the food were amazing.  My workshop with Sharon Pitts was also wonderful, she is an amazing instructor.  I learned so much from her, as always, and the other students graciously shared their work and their techniques.  The side trips were great also  (lots of shopping and wonderful towns. 

ONLINE CLASS: Glorious Italy in Watercolor

I love working with Sheila.  She always has such great prompts for us to use for our writing and wonderful, thoughtful inspiring suggestions or ways to think about out edits.  Great class!

ONLINE CLASS: All I want for Christmas is to Write!

There aren’t enough ways to describe how much I learn from Sharon Pitts, and how wonderfully orchestrated the classes are with Il Chiostro. I am so grateful to have found this group of amazing, gracious and talented people. Thanks for all you do. Looking forward to seeing everyone in 2026.

From Carol J Blatter
Sheila Bender is an excellent writing teacher. In this class, we had challenging prompts that led to the beginnings of good short stories. Thanks to her feedback, and feedback from classmates, I can go back and improve what I wrote. Perhaps one may be sent for publication in the future.


*She has been my writing teacher since 2009.

This trip to Tuscany could not have been better. Dievole was a magnificent location with every comfort and fantastic food. 
Sharon Pitts teaching was as always inspiring. 

Sharon’s class was very informative.  Even though she is a much more detailed artist than I am, I did enjoy her techniques. What I would have appreciated though 
was seeing how she actually finished each painting during class.  That would have been extremely beneficial. 

Thank you,
Helen Bond

Everything about Il Chiostro was above and beyond --- a total package gift to me
nancy levinson

ONLINE CLASS: Writing Flash Stories and Prose Poems

I loved this class on How to paint a Sunset with Pat Fiorello.  She does a great job at explaining each step of the painting and demonstrating how to mix the colors and apply to the canvas.   She makes it easy to understand and I really enjoyed following along as she paints.  I'd love to take more of the classes!  Nancy S.   

ONLINE CLASS: How to Paint a Sunset

This is the best trip!  Can’t wait to do it again next year!!!
Liane

Autumn Arts Festival – Figure Drawing & Painting

I always learn so much from expressive watercolors. It’s a great class. 

ONLINE CLASS: Expressive Watercolors with Marc Josloff

I have taught many wonderful Art Journals in Watercolor with IlChiostro and the experience at Dievole Wine Resort was completely delightful!
Sharon Pitts, watercolor instructor 

Autumn Arts Festival – Watercolor Journal

Dievole was beautiful, food was extraordinary, painting lovely.  It was a great trip.

This trip was wonderful. The location, food and instruction were first rate. I would definitely consider returning to this location.


It was a trip of a lifetime.  It was perfectly planned for allowing one to immerse oneself in the Venice of John Singer Sargent.  Each day was filled with enjoying the light of Venice and having the opportunity to paint  in spots that Sargent enjoyed painting in. It was all marvelous. Everything was thought out and ran without a glitch. 
Michael, Linda and Michalino (sp) made the stay  special to each member of the group. Great people. Great fun. Would do it again in a heartbeat!!!!

Brush with the Past: Painting Venice through the Eyes of Sargent

A beautiful experience with great teaching, fantastic hosts and a lovely setting. I met some wonderful people in the workshop and enjoyed the provided lunch/dinner meals and wine as well as the pace of the week and the excursions offered. 
The accommodation was quite clean and an interesting historic location but was a bit basic (no way to control room temp) and the breakfast could have been better (fresh fruits, less processed). The staff there was very nice and informative. 
Il Chiostro staff was amazing. So generous with their time and knowledge and very welcoming....not to mention, wonderful chefs and hosts! 
Our workshop teacher and accompanist were outstanding and I learned a lot from them and my fellow students. Having plein air painters alongside us for the week added to the beauty and enhanced the experience!

Sing Your Story in Venice

The focus was everything. Everything that supported and created the learning environment was great. 

I had a great time on my trip to Venice with Il Chiostro. The hosts were very accommodating and offered plenty of extra curricular activities mostly included in the original price. They were very friendly and helpful. The instructor for the class was also very good. She was friendly and helpful and tried her best to keep us occupied and provide adventure for us in our stay. I highly recommend Il Chiostro to anyone.

I had an amazing time. Great synergy with the two groups and lovely time enjoying both each other's company and the Charm of Lake Garda. The Hotel was really beautiful, I felt like I was living in a Wes Anderson film for a week.  Our workshop leader did an incredible job, it was a purely inspirational week! I would love to do this again! 

Italy En Plein Air! – Oil Painting in Verona & Lake Garda

Painting on the Amalfi Coast became an adventure each day due to Stefano’s thoughtful planning and ability to establish friendly ties wherever we ventured. Valter, our chef introduced us to true Italian cuisine and even gave us cooking demonstrations. Kathy, our instructor taught valuable lessons to enhance each person’s talent and ability. Overall, the beauty of location, the skills of leaders, created fun for all and wonderful memories we’ll treasure always. Cheers to Il Chiostro for another incredible trip!

Sketching and Painting on the Amalfi Coast

I enjoyed Pat's instruction, comments, and demonstrations during our time at Lake Garda.  The setting was beautiful, and the accommodations comfortable.  Breakfast on the patio overlooking the lake was a wonderful way to start each day.

Painting the Romance of Verona and Lake Garda – all mediums

The venue was perfect for our plein air art group. The scenery was terrific, and when it was too cold, we had an excellent indoor  location with great views. The food was excellent. The staff were  very polite and helpful. They all came to see our results at our final “show.”  Michael Farris of IL Chiostro was key to making everything go well for all of us. He’s the best!

Plein Air Oil Painting in Verona and Lake Garda


Wonderful experience, inspirational, thoughtful and thought provoking.
The location was picturesque and the hosts were charming in all their details


Creating the Life You Would Love to Live

My favorite things - the group, Marco's teaching, the neighborhood, the meals, on and on, and now the memories. So many special moments.

Italian Language with Marco in Milan

I believe that it was a mistake to mix an art group with the “Dreamers”.   Nothing in common.  Very depressing to be exposed to a group of seniors who are trying to find themselves.  The “Salon” with the Dreamers was deadly, a downer, I left after the first 10 minutes and did not attend any future sessions.  Artists are filled with energy and excitement in painting a new venue.  Contrary to the Dreamers group that was more of a self help, oh woe is me retirement group trying to figure out what they were going to do with the rest of your life.  My room had no view nor did at least 4 of the other artists.  The best rooms with a view of the lake went to the Dreamers.  Very disappointed.  

It was the trip of a lifetime! The scenery, stellar accommodations and food and wonderful people made this an incredible opportunity! It was very easy travel with a shuttle, train tickets and boat arranged. It was also so nice to dine at the hotel and experience restaurants in the area. 

Creativity Retreat & Painting in Cinque Terre Italy

The hotel Antica Locanda Leonardo was a superb choice- great location, lovely staff, and the breakfast every morning was ideal not only for sustenance but being able to hang out with the group in a common location. 
The scheduling of two days in a row of long bus trips (first to Como and then to Franciacorta) was not ideal. Weather and landslides aside, it would have been better to space these itineraries further apart in the week. The trip to Como was just not that fun relative to the length of the journey (although our walking tour guide was excellent), but the visit to Berlucchi in Franciacorta was a real peak experience, a fascinating location and top-notch tour. 
Really enjoyed our night at La Scala and of course the Last Supper, many thanks for organizing both of those as well as the itinerary in general. Marco’s classes were particularly great this time. 

Five stars hands down! From the beginning to the end, the Creative Light - Photography in Tuscany trip could not have been better! 
Pick-up at the Florence Santa Maria Novella train station was smooth, the ride to the villa in San Giovanni D'Asso was beautiful, the villa was comfortable, the food prepared for us was delicious (dinner was always a fun part of the day), and the workshop activities / day trips were well planned and executed.  Even when it rained. Among the best elements of the trip were Linda and Michael, who were so kind and generous with their knowledge of the area, and who went out of their way to accommodate the group under unexpected circumstances. 
I definitely would do another trip with Il Chiostro. 

Creative Light - Photography in Tuscany

Dievole was a beautiful wine resort with gorgeous views and a wonderful staff who took care of us. We had excellent small town experiences as well as easy travel to Siena. Marni Maree’s enthusiasm for sketchbooks, drawing, and watercolor, along with a great space to work together, made this trip one to remember fondly!

Creative Sketching with Marni Maree-Tuscany

It was a great trip ,with interesting people and the hotel was lovely.  The food was delicious. Just would have liked a bit more of a
schedule for planning purposes.  
Thanks
Kathy

Studying italian in Italy with Marco, my language family, Scott and Il Chiostro is a highlight of my year. The experience is motivating and valuable for making progress with the language but also just a blast. 

Enjoyed this art workshop trip to Italy immensely!  Beautiful location, excellent travel guides (John and Scott)who  spoke the language  and went beyond to make our trip successful.  

The Figure in its Environment

As always, Sharon came up with four challenging painting ideas for us. She demonstrated multiple techniques that take the class beyond just one way to paint the subjects. I feel inspired to try more approaches to each project. 
On top of that, she’s delightful and supportive. I really love her critique of our work and seeing what everyone else does. 

ONLINE CLASS: Four Surprise Classes with Sharon Pitts

Lodging was beautiful — removed from the bustle of Cinque Terra overlooking the sea.   Our host planned an itinerary that kept us moving but allowed for plenty of free time.   We adapted to adjust for the weather.  Food was delicious and our artist planned bite-sized lessons that were thought provoking and generated creativity

Eat, Paint, Love the Cinque Terre

When I started studying Italian with Marco a year and a half ago, my goal was just to learn a few useful phrases before a trip to Sicily. After the trip I decided to continue because (a) you don't meet many people like Marco in your life who's both a wonderful human being and a brilliant teacher; (b) my classmates have become friends and colleagues; and (c) I feel somehow more complete having more Italy in my life, even if I'm stuck in the USA. I heartily recommend this class.

ONLINE CLASS: Italian Language Elementary II

An outstanding travel workshop organized by Il Chiostro and led by instructor Mary Pettis. Both hotels, in Verona and  at Lake Garda were excellent and well located. The Hotel Gardenia at the lake was exceptional  in terms of warm, personal service, meals and ambiance. We had breakfasts and dinners lakeside and the food was excellent. Mary is a master painter and wonderful instructor who cared deeply about each student and shared not only technique, but from the heart on beauty and artistic inspiration.  The lake location provided plenty of painting inspiration, as well as a sense of peacefulness and serenity that helped us disengage from the pace of everyday life at home and focus on our painting. All aspects of the trip were well organized and handled by 2 program directors from Il chiostro who were  available on site to help with anything needed.

The weather was beautiful.  The hotel sitting on the lake with a beach/beach club nearby was awesome.  It was a very short walk from the hotel, and extremely relaxing.

The evening food at the hotel was okay.  The hotel staff was very pleasant and courteous.  The hotel was so unique being family owned with photos of the family history artfully displayed. 

Pat is a very nice artist and person and always ensuring artists were helped with painting Pat was knowledgeable and answered  questions promptly.

Janine was very organized and helpful. She kept everyone informed with options and suggestions for the day. 

The boat rides were nice for viewing the lake.  However, not everyone could enjoy the boat trips due to motion sickness.  Adding some vehicle/van trips to take artists to nearby painting locations as an alternative to a lengthy boat ride would be something for consideration.

This was a great class.  Fabulous instructor and very challenging but interesting subjects.  One of the best!

Gorgeous scenery and a A+++ team, made this a memorable trip. Kathy is a tremendous artist and as a student of her’s for 2 years, I have enjoyed my new passion.
Stefano and Valter were tremendous additions. Stefano was a terrific guide and Valter hit it out of the park with his cooking. 
Last but not least, I made some new friends! Great bunch of women.

I enjoyed taking this four week class to brush up on my painting skills and stretching my ability to try new things.
Looking forward to our trip to Tuscany with Sharon in a few weeks.
Susan Lettieri

We had an amazing time with adventurous experiences, beautiful sites and fantastic food and wine. The hosts, Rebecca and Paul, were warm, welcoming and fun. The program manager, Enricho, catered to our every need and made it a good and fun experience for all. The painting lessons were helpful and the opportunities for photos for painting back at home were endless. Thank you so much,!

Wonderful workshop venue, guide and chef! Very scenic. Would possibly skip some venues or spend less time there due to crowds.
Favorites: Ravello, Atrani, Emerald cove boat tour, garden in Capri (but huge crowds so I would go earlier in the day or later in the season. Sketching at Villa Elena was very nice, even with rain. 

This was an awesome trip!  Marni's workshops are always fabulous, Dievole is a to die for place to stay, the staff was wonderful, and Michaelino and Jim are super great trip coordinators!  We totally enjoyed ourselves!!

    I had a wonderful time in the Dolomites and Tuscany! Michael and Jim did a great job organizing us and taking us to so many places! The Dievole Resort was over the top!!! 
    The only suggestion I would make had to do with the tip. I probably would have brought more euros with me had I known about it before our trip.  I was not opposed to tipping, but the other two trips I took with Il Chiostro, we didn’t tip. So I didn’t know about it until we got over there. It worked out in the end!
Also…having a quiet studio to work in was perfect in Tuscany!
   I hope Il Chiostro will consider offering trips in the United States in the future! 
Pat Hafkemeyer 

Creative Sketching in the Dolomites with Marni

It was amazing. The people, vineyard setting and food were fantastic.  Program managers John Montondo and Scott Stebbins were so flexible, gracious and accommodating.  Both were friendly, knowledgeable and helpful.  They made the trip the success it was and added so much fun and humor.  They always picked the perfect excursions for our group, explained the Italian culture to us and made everyone feel included.   They engaged with everyone in the group, artists and non artists, and made us all feel welcome and comfortable.  

At Casa al Vento the food and wine were wonderful and the entire staff were all super friendly, always going out of their way to greet us and help with any special food requests.  

Program Managers:
John Motondo and Scott Stebbins both made the entire experience so much more amazing.   I was so impressed with their knowledge of Italy and the Tuscany region in particular.  Their command of the language and how they explained the food we were served and other aspects of the Italian culture was quite nice.  They were perfect liaisons between our entire group and the staff at Casa al Vento.   They were so willing and gracious to accommodate our needs and the daily excursions were so much fun.  As a 'non-painter participant' I enjoyed myself.  It just wouldn't have been the same without John and Scott being there.

Casa al Vento:
Casa al Vento was very nice.  The entire staff including the servers and kitchen staff, grounds keepers, room attendants and the owner were all so very pleasant and genuinely seemed to be happy we were there.  The food was mostly amazing and very delicious. The accommodations were not necessarily five star but sufficient and considering we were in a very rustic and rural area it was to be expected. 

Mark Kimberl

The experience was delightful.  The hotel was lovely and the staff went out of their way to meet all our needs. They were so friendly and professional. 
Our leader, Janine, was wonderful.  I can’t say enough about how much she added to the positive atmosphere of the trip.   
The instructor, Pat, was focused on giving each person in the class as much extra help as they needed.  She was available whenever she was needed.  
I would definitely do another trip with your company.
Thanks for a wonderful week!

Great time. Accommodations, food and transportation were the best. 

Eat, Paint, Love the Cinque Terre with Il Chiostro, Inc. was a truly memorable experience. The venue was picturesque, the activities were well organized, and the staff created a warm, welcoming atmosphere that made everyone feel at home.

A special thank you to Enrico Cioccolini, whose energy, insight, and care added so much to the experience. If you're looking for an immersive, enriching way to explore the Cinque Terre, I can't recommend this program enough.

This was a wonderful trip into an incredible region of Italy, the Dolomites.  The views and itineraries were spectacular.  Our tour directors, Michelino and Jim were so helpful and accommodating.  Love them.  The only down side of the trip was our hotel in Cortina, La Serena.  While i appreciate that i was upgraded to a more suitable room, this property was not up to Il Chiostro standards.  It was disappointing to end up in a 3 star property when a much better 4 star property was promised.  I believe all of my fellow students deserved the upgrade i received. Otherwise the trip was wonderful.

First off, I would like to thank the guides, Michael and Jim for the help with everything from transportation to meals to helping with some issues in timing.  Marni is a wonderful artist ,teacher and friend and without her being the one teaching, I would have been even more upset with Il Chiostro.  I have been on two trips with them and this trip had a number of discrepancies in the listing of accomodations, to where we would possible be able to art in a conference room. Since I am not a huge traveler, I did the research on the hotels listed in accommodations.  I received the same email information throughout all of the correspondence from Il Chiostro.  The final correspondence however, which encouraged us to print out , was still incorrect.   I left the information for my husband with dates and which Hotel I would be staying in.  Two out of three hotels were not what was listed. The last Hotel we stayed in was listed as a 3 star hotel and the description was a 4 star for the one we did not  stay in. The hotel that we should have been in,  would have been walkable, as it was in the middle of town. We had to be driven to town if we wanted to be there. The rooms were tiny and the shower was open for anyone with a roommate  to not have privacy unless their roommate stayed in Bed or left the room.

There was no where for us to have privacy in the hotels other than outside the hotels, or in the bar/lobby area. If we needed or wanted to make a call we had to be in room with roommate or go to lobby or bar. 

We took a cable car, train ride to a beautiful place, that was quite a walk down hill.  We were told we only had a short time to stay and enjoy so we could walk back up this hill and make the train to the cable car.  Luckily we did get to extend the time spent at the location so we could get in a lunch (which was listed) and have some time to art and enjoy.  A big plus for the guides who found out there was a bus ride back up the hill that we could use to get to train station.  A group of us did enjoy that and so did our legs.

Finally,
the last night of our trip we were told that we would be going to the train station and then have to take a taxi to the airport before our flight.  The correspondence said we would be taken to airport or train depending on where we would be going next.
None of the correspondence said we would need to take a taxi anywhere and pay for it. The guides told us the Vans needed to be back on time.  Some of us needed to be at the airport on time as well.  Having the extra stress of trying to deal with the end of a trip that was still a lot of fun despite the accommodations errors was not acceptable.  We finally received a whatsapp message later that night. We would indeed , be driven to airport as the others who wanted to get the train for the next part of their trip would be taken to the train.  Having a Van back on time, or finishing a trip with Il Chiostro that we started with should have been an obvious thing.

I have noted that there is another trip to the Dolomites online already for Next Sept.  Same exact listing, accomodations, conference room for Studio time.  I wonder if this is also another error.  Someone had said the two hotels we did not stay in were already booked way in advance and that we never were going to stay in them to begin with.  Another guide had said that it was a copy and pasting error.  How many emails were sent out with the same copy and past errors???

Anyway,
like I said, I had a fun time with a great group of friends, teacher and guides.  
If I travel with Il Chiostro again, I feel I would need to verify all information before signing up.  To me that was just false advertising of a trip that we had no way of knowing where we really were staying or what was going on.

Dee Landi

ONLINE CLASS: Italian Language - Elementary I - Continued Unit in Online

This is a 10-week Italian language series.Welcome to our Italian series, Level Elementary I for basic beginners.

Gerard has been a language teacher for about 20 years in Milan. Originally from the USA (Tunkhannock, Pa), he now lives permanently in Milan.

About the Instructor Gerard Marini

$280 for all 10 sessions including recordings, homework and review. &nbsp;If you miss a class, no worries, we always send the recording the next day so you can catch up.

ONLINE CLASS: Italian Language - Elementary I - Continued Unit

ONLINE CLASS: Italian Language - Elementary I - Continued Unit

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About the Instructor Gerard Marini

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