BABILONIA

Anita Ventura (studies coordinator) & Alessandro Adorno (founder & director)
celebrating the LTM Italian Language School Star Award 2008

We are incredibly proud to announce that Babilonia has just been named WINNER of the LTM Italian Language School Star Award 2008

Rosy Spina, marketing assistant,
receiving the LTM AWARD at the Gala Dinner, September, 13th, 2008

The accolade recognises 16 years of hard work by the Babilonia team, during which time we’ve strived for the best teaching standards and the highest levels of student care.

We started the school in 1992 to a sceptical reception – many felt that Sicily was too far from the traditional learning destinations of Florence, Perugia, Siena and Rome. When promoting Babilonia in the early days, this was a typically doubtful comment from agents: “no one will come to study in Sicily!”.

But we wanted to look beyond the stereotypical view of our island and start a school somewhere we believe is at the very heart of Italian culture and history. Before Rome existed, Sicily was hosting famous poets and writers, with actors performing – in spectacular amphitheatres – the tragedies written here by Aeschylus, Euripides and Aristophanes. The Sicilian Greeks heavily influenced the Etruscans and Romans who later created the glories of the Renaissance. Yet it all started in Sicily!

From the time of the Scuola Sicilia (1230-1250) of Frederik II Stupor Mundi up to the present day, the contribution made by Sicily to Italian culture – and specifically the field of literature – has been huge. We can boast two Nobel literature prizes (Pirandello and Salvatore Quasimodo) and other native writers include Andrea Camilleri and his Commissario Montalbano, Verga, Capuana, Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa, Vittorini, Sciascia, Bufalino, Consolo, Fava, Buttafuoco and Piazzese.

Occasionally we are asked about the issue of our Sicilian dialect. However, linguistically speaking, dialects are simply minority languages and every region of Italy has a unique regional language/dialect. In Veneto the Venetians speak a dialect with as strong an accent as ours, and the same is true of Lombardia, Sardinia and so on. The truth is that, in Italy, we all live in a permanent state of ‘bi-lingualism’, using both our local dialect and standard Italian. Clearly at a language school, only standard Italian is taught and spoken !

As native Sicilians, we founded Babilonia to offer Italia-philes the chance to learn the language in a spectacular environment, rich in history, culture and natural beauty. And because the cultural experience is such an important part of learning a language, we continue to run supplementary student courses in everything from art and cooking to history and wine appreciation.

Whiel we try to get used to being Italy’s top language school, we’d like to take the opportunity to express our gratitude to all students, teachers and staff who have contributed to the success of Babilonia – our warmest thanks. Without you, we would not be celebrating this prestigious award. Grazie mille!

www.babilonia.it