Leading people who are crazy about Italy, giving them insights into language and culture, and helping them overcome learning doldrums, and frustrations.
I’m Melissa, but people know me as Studentessa Matta – The crazy student – because every day I dive head first into the Italian language and use it wherever I am, whether in Italy or at home.
I want to show you how to improve your Italian and help you become more conversant.
My goal is to inspire you to learn the language and introduce you to a slice of Italy you might not know about by either traveling with me, conversing with me, or reading posts and novels in which I write about Italy.
Follow along with me, and let yourself go a little “matta” and find out how quickly you can overcome your anxiety and frustration with traditional methods as I help you to build your own unforgettable language learning experience.
Chat Italiano
I’ve heard it so many times before, “I can read and understand Italian, but when I try to speak, I become tongue-tied!” Sound familiar? Is this your problem too? With Chat Italiano, you can regularly practice your Italian with me. It is a perfect way to keep up your Italian conversation skills at home, supplementing on-line or evening language classes. It is also a great way to get your language in shape just in time for your next trip to Italy!
Price: $25 / 30 minutes.
Andiamo in Italia
Travel with me to Learn in Italy
Twice a year, I take small groups to Italy with me to learn the language and practice conversation skills. During the mornings, we study at a partner school in classes perfect for your language level. In the afternoons we go on adventures and excursions. We sink our hands into pasta dough, raise our wine glasses, laugh, dance, and chat the evenings away in Italian with teachers and Italian friends. You will travel with likeminded individuals and make memories and friends to last a lifetime. Andiamo in Italia!
Price: $3,850
At Home in Italy
Live in Italy in the Home of an Italian Teacher
Ready to take your language skills to Italy and live and study in the home of your Italian teacher? At Home in Italy is the perfect opportunity to immerse yourself in language and culture for one or two individuals in a city that interests you and at a time that fits your travel schedule. Homestays combine formal study with everyday family activities. Make new friends and experience a different side of Italy few tourists see, and return home closer to being bilingual than when you left.
Price: $1000 to $1,500 / week
Travel to Italy in the Pages of One of Melissa’s Books
It’s a fun way to immerse in Italian culture and learn the language too! Available on Amazon in Print & Digital.
Price: 16.99
Dive into the Matta Blog and read articles in Italian & English
Satisfy your passion for Italian language and culture while practicing your Italian language skills.
Experience Italy the Matta Way!
Andiamo In Italia!
I’m going back to Lucca this fall 2020!
You are invited to come for 10 days of Italian study (beginners to advance students welcome) and discovering all that Lucca has to offer. We will also enjoy excursions to Villa Reale, Volterra, and Bolgheri.
Latest from the Blog – Dive into Italy and Italian
From the Multi-Award Winning Blog about Culture & Italian Language
Buone notizie per Arezzo! Opening of new museum celebrating the joust.
Buone notizie per Arezzo! Anche se quest’anno la Giostra del Saracino è stata annullata… gli Aretini festeggiano l’apertura di un nuovo museo dedicato alla Giostra. Good news for Arezzo! Even though the joust has been canceled this year… the Aretini are celebrating the opening of a new museum dedicated to the Giostra Saracino. Laura Folli,…
Read More Buone notizie per Arezzo! Opening of new museum celebrating the joust.
Fra Filippo e Lucrezia Buti: un amore infame
Ci sono numerosi racconti di amanti nella storia, ma tra i più intriganti nella storia dell’arte è quello di Filippo Lippi e Lucrezia Buti: lui è un monaco e lei una suora! There are lots of infamous lovers recorded in history, but one of the most intriguing couples in the art history is that of…
Ciao Bella! The origins of the word “Ciao”
Che tu stia arrivando o uscendo, atterrando o decollando, ti stia imbarcando o sbarcando non puoi sfuggire la parola “Ciao!” È ovunque tu vada, da Roma alla terra tailandese! Whether you are coming or going, flying in or flying out, embarking or disembarking you can’t escape hearing the word “Ciao!” It is everywhere you go,…
Il Bacio di Klimt—nuova canzone di Emanuele Aloia
Viviamo ancora Covid-19 e la quarantena. I giorni sembrano di trascinarsi ancora lentamente. Ho dovuto cancellare i miei due programmi di lingua italiana in Italia per il 2020. Ovviamente, questo mi rende estremamente triste. Ma… la buona notizi è che le mie collaboratrici—Paola Testi ad Arezzo e Daniela Bonaccorsi a Lucca—ed io stiamo già guardando…
Buon compleanno Artemisia!
Oggi, l’8 di lugio è il compleanno di Artemisia Gentileschi! Today, the 8th of July is Artemisia Gentileschi’s birthday! Come con tutti i miei amici, attraverso i social mi piace inviare torte di compleanno virtuali. Ecco la mia torta dedicate a Artemisia! As with all my friends, through social media I like to send them…
New AudioBook set in Italy: Eternally Artemisia
Eternally Artemisia is now available in English as an AudioBook! Sono lieta di annunciare che il mio terzo libro ambientato in Italia, “Eternally Artemisia,” oltre ad essere disponibile in formato stampato e ebook… è ora disponibile in Inglese come AudioBook I am pleased to announce that my third book set in Italy, “Eternally Artemisia,” in…
Italian Learning for kids with Life Lemons Italy!
La mia amica Lonielle De Haven, che è appassionata di tutte le cose italiane e che scrive il blog “Life and Lemons,” sta crescendo i suoi figli americani per parlare sia inglese che italiano. Oggi si unisce per condividere con noi come sta andando il suo esperimento di lingua! My friend Lonielle De Haven who…
E-Book Give Away! Il risveglio di Isabella.
Announcing a new e-pub Give-Away Contest on the Matta Blog! Come Isabella avrebbe fatto, mentre aspettiamo per le cose di migliorino e per ricominciare viaggiare, pensavo che sarebbe stato divertente organizzare un nuovo concorso per regalare un e-book a un lettore del blog. As Isabella would have done, as we wait for things to improve…
It’s all in the past! Grammar Time! Review of Passato Prossimo
È una nuova settimana e vorrei vorrei dare un’occhiata alla grammatica. Ogni settimana parlo con gli studenti attraverso il mio incentivo “Chat Italiano” che offro qui (click Link per sapere di piu`). Recentemente Carol in Inghilterra ha voluto dare un’occhiata al passato prossimo. Quindi ecco una breve spiegazione come to formulare il passato prossimo usando…
Read More It’s all in the past! Grammar Time! Review of Passato Prossimo
What They’re Saying
Sheree Isola — 3-time trip participant — talks about her experience in Italy with Melissa!
Bill Bahr — 2-time trip participant — talks about his experience in Italy with Melissa!
This was the best trip of my life! From the moment I heard Melissa’s podcast, I felt I found my kindred spirit. An incredible woman with infinite love for Italy and the Italian language. This program was worth every cent I spent and even more. Everything was so thoughtful, not only we had interesting excursions but also trips to bio farm, cooking lessons and wine tasting. The excursions, views, and dinners were fabulous! – Karina Kagramanova, Andiamo in Italia participant
I had a fabulous time staying with Cristina in Trento in September. The opportunity to be fully immersed in Italian from morning to night took my language abilities to an entirely new level. Cristina was wonderful to be with— very friendly, with a wide range of interests (from art to film to sports), and always helpful and supportive with my clumsy attempts to speak Italian. A bonus was that Trento is a great place to stay. It is a lively city in a beautiful location surrounded by mountains, not overwhelmed by tourists, and close to many attractions from Venice and Verona to the Dolomite mountains and Lake Garda. The experience couldn’t have been better. – Daniel Bayer, At Home in Italy participant
