Hands-on evening
Pizza-making at Palazzo Monroy
An evening in the kitchens of a 17th-century palazzo: flour, fire, and a glass of something local. You stretch the dough; we eat together at the long table.
Italian Language School · Salemi, Sicily
You already love Italy.
Now come closer.
A one-week Italian language school in Salemi, Sicily, with small-group morning lessons, shared meals, local experiences, and time to practice Italian in a real Sicilian town.
Still time to learn Italian.
- · October 11 – 17 and October 18 – 24, 2026
- · Max 8 students per week
- · €725 October beta price
- · Accommodation and flights not included
Max 8 students
1 week in Salemi
Morning Italian lessons
Meals + local experiences
Airport transfer included
A week in Salemi
A week that feels less like a course, and more like finally stepping inside Italy.
Morning light on stone streets.
A walk to class instead of a commute.
Italian that follows you from the lesson to the bar, the table, the piazza, and the market.
A small group. A real town.
A week where you are not rushing through Sicily. You are learning how to be in it.
The barista will know your name by Tuesday.
The School
Most Italian courses give you a classroom. Ancora gives you a town.
Ancora is a small-group Italian language school in Salemi, a Norman-Arab hilltop town in western Sicily. You study in the morning. Then the town takes over.
The bar, the market, the trattoria, the castle, the streets: all of it becomes part of the lesson. Not because it is staged, but because this is a real Sicilian town, and Italian is what life happens in.
You are not a tourist here. You just happen to be learning.
8
Maximum students per group
3 hr
Of focused Italian each morning
4
Cultural experiences included: walking tour, castle, pizza-making, brewery.
Who this is for
For the person who has been almost-learning Italian for years.
This week is for you if:
- ·You have studied Italian on and off but freeze when someone speaks back.
- ·You can read a menu but still panic at the counter.
- ·You want structure, but not a school-trip vibe.
- ·You want to feel looked after, not herded.
- ·You'd rather sit at a real Sicilian bar than follow a tour guide with a flag.
- ·You want a week that feels meaningful, not overpacked.
You do not need perfect Italian. You need curiosity, a willingness to try, and a good sense of humor when your verb endings run off into the Sicilian sunset.
Why Salemi
Why Salemi? Because here, Italian is not optional.
In bigger cities, you leave class and slide back into English, tourist menus, crowds, and the familiar rhythm of travel. In Salemi, the town is small enough to notice you are here and real enough to make you try.
You order coffee. You ask for directions. You hear neighbors talking. You practice at the table. You make mistakes and keep going.
That is the point.
Salemi · Western Sicily
About 50 minutes from Palermo Airport (PMO)
About 45 minutes from Trapani Airport (TPS)
Close to Marsala, Gibellina, Segesta, and the western Sicily coast
The Week
Week 1: Oct 11 – 17 (Beginners). Week 2: Oct 18 – 24 (Intermediate). Sunday arrival, Saturday departure.
All levels welcome, A1 through C1, aligned with the CEFR framework. Entrance assessment on arrival.
- Before class1
Breakfast at Fabrizio's
Walk to Fabrizio's bar before class for a cornetto, cappuccino, and your first Italian of the day. The baristas will know your name by Tuesday.
- 9:00 – 10:302
Morning lesson
Grammar and structured learning with your dedicated teacher for the week.
- 10:30 – 11:003
Pausa caffè
Coffee break at the school: espresso on the terrace, fifteen minutes to breathe before the second half.
- 11:00 – 12:304
Conversation
Conversation, games and cultural topics with the same teacher and same group.
- Afternoon5
The town
Free. The piazza, the market, the trattoria: time to wander and put the morning's Italian to work.
What is included
Tuition, meals together, our cultural experiences and the airport transfer. Accommodation and flights are not included. We share our curated list of trusted local stays and help you secure one that fits. Local B&Bs average about €50–€70 per night.
- ·15 hours of small-group Italian tuition: 3 hours each morning Mon–Fri with your dedicated teacher
- ·Daily breakfast at Fabrizio's bar
- ·Round-trip Palermo (PMO) airport transfer: fixed Sunday arrival and Saturday departure windows; Trapani (TPS) on request
- ·Two group dinners: welcome dinner at Palazzo Monroy and one at a local trattoria
- ·Four cultural experiences: guided walking tour of Salemi, Norman-Arab castle visit, pizza-making at Palazzo Monroy, local brewery or wine tasting
- ·Free afternoons to wander Salemi at your own pace
- ·Expert local itinerary ideas for your free time
- ·Curated accommodation list (separate booking, we help you choose). Local B&Bs average about €50–€70 per night.
- ·All teaching materials
Why Ancora
Most Italian courses give you a classroom. We give you a town.
You've probably looked at the alternatives. Here's the honest version of what's out there, and where Ancora sits.
City language school
Three hours of class, then back into a city of half a million where everyone wants to practice their English on you.
A famous Sicilian hill town
Beautiful, but you're sharing the piazza with cruise-ship day-trippers and menus in four languages. The premium is for the view, not the language.
A Tuscan villa program
The classic choice, and a lovely one, but well-trodden, and the village often doubles as the campus. Easy to spend the week mostly with other learners.
Apps and online tutors
Excellent for streaks and grammar drills. Less excellent for the moment a Sicilian nonna asks you a real question.
Ancora, Salemi
One specialist teacher. Eight students. A working Sicilian hill town with no English-speaking exit. Tuition, breakfast, two dinners, four cultural experiences and the airport transfer included. €725 for the October launch, €900 from 2027.
The Afternoons
Three experiences are local. The rest of western Sicily is on the doorstep.
Tasting · included
Local brewery tasting
An afternoon at a Sicilian craft brewery: small-batch beers, a board of local cheese and salumi, and a chance to talk shop with the brewer in slow Italian.
Walk · included
Hike with a local Italian
A morning out in the countryside with a local guide: olive groves, old shepherds' paths, vista points over the valley. The slow kind of Italian, in the open air.
Free day · optional
Castellammare del Golfo
An optional day on the coast: beach time at one of western Sicily's prettiest harbor towns, lunch by the water, and a wander through the shops on the way back.
Optional trips
Add-ons we can arrange on request.
Booked separately. We'll share details and pricing closer to the dates; most are small-group, half- or full-day outings.
Couscous in San Vito Lo Capo
Western Sicily's Arab-Sicilian dish in the town that made it famous. The CousCous Fest is late September, but the restaurants are still very much in form through October.
Scopello & the Zingaro reserve
Coastal hike from the old tonnara through Italy's first nature reserve, with swim stops in hidden coves. Probably the prettiest stretch of coast near Castellammare.
Segesta temple at dusk
The lone Doric temple standing in the hills, almost empty in October. We go for golden hour and stay for the silence.
Olive harvest morning
October is raccolta delle olive. A morning at a small frantoio picking with the family, then watching the first cold-press and tasting fresh oil on bread.
Palermo day trip
A full day in the Sicilian capital: Ballarò market, the Norman-Arab cathedral and Monreale, street food along the way. Train or driver from Salemi.
Farm & food tour day
A full day through the countryside around Salemi visiting a working farm, a cheesemaker, and an olive frantoio, with tastings at each stop and a long lunch with the producers.
Oct 11 – 17 & Oct 18 – 24, 2026
€725
for your one week · accommodation and flights not included
October beta launch price
Standard €900 from 2027
Total included value · approx. €780
· Small-group Italian tuition: approx. €340
· Daily breakfast + two group dinners: approx. €140
· Four cultural experiences: approx. €220
· Round-trip Palermo airport transfer: approx. €80
· Time with Feuza and Fabrizio: priceless
Your week in Salemi: €725
October beta launch price. Standard price from 2027: €900. Tuition, meals together, four cultural experiences and the round-trip Palermo airport transfer included. Accommodation and flights not included. We share a curated list of local stays and help you book; local B&Bs average about €50–€70 per night.
€150 non-refundable deposit secures your spot. Balance due September 1, 2026.
Reserve your week in SalemiLimited spots · first come, first served
Early-bird rate. Price rises after July 30th.
Co-created
Co-created by Feuza Reis and Fabrizio Internicola.
Ancora is co-created by Feuza Reis of Fuse Creative Inc. and Fabrizio Internicola of Sicil House in Salemi.
Feuza brings the international student perspective, the storytelling, the program vision, and the understanding of what makes travelers feel cared for. Fabrizio brings the local roots, the space, the Salemi relationships, and the on-the-ground knowledge that make the week feel real.
Together, Ancora is both international and deeply local.
Questions
A few things people usually ask.
A small welcome
A few things waiting for you on day one.
An Ancora tote, a spiral notepad for your morning lessons, and a little pin to wear in the piazza. Small things, but they help the week feel like yours.
Reserve your spot
Reserve your week in Salemi.
€150 non-refundable deposit secures your spot. Balance of €575 due September 1, 2026. Secure checkout via card or bank transfer, handled by WeTravel.
Limited spots available · first come, first served
Not sure which week is right? We'll help you choose.
Early-bird rate. Price rises after July 30th.
Week 1 · Beginners · Booking open
Oct 11 – 17, 2026
€725
€150 deposit now · €575 balance Sept 1, 2026
For newer speakers, rusty learners, and anyone who wants a gentle start. 8 spots · Sunday arrival, Saturday departure.
Reserve Week 1 →Week 2 · Intermediate · Booking open
Oct 18 – 24, 2026
€725
€150 deposit now · €575 balance Sept 1, 2026
For learners who can handle simple conversations and want more confidence speaking. 8 spots · Sunday arrival, Saturday departure.
Taught by Fabrizio Marsilli
Reserve Week 2 →Booking secured by WeTravel · cancellation policy on the Planning page.