Meet Eleonora · 75 secThe Italian class where everyone talks.
Live online Italian for beginners, in mini classes of three to five people. Private lessons included, and one Italian teacher who builds the course around the way you learn.
No charge until your group is confirmed.
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Mini classes of 3–5 · 8 weeks · Live, never recorded · Private lessons included
The beginning is the best part.
Maybe there's a trip coming, and you'd love to arrive able to say more than grazie.
Maybe your family came from Italy, and you'd like to speak the language they spoke — to your relatives, or just to the country itself.
Maybe you've always liked the sound of Italian, and you've quietly wanted to speak it for years.
Maybe you just want something that's yours — a new skill, learned slowly, with people whose names you'll remember.
Whatever brought you here, starting a language is a lovely feeling, and it deserves a good beginning: somewhere practical, somewhere small enough to be comfortable, where you're speaking from the first lesson instead of waiting your turn in a room of twenty.
That's what In Piazza is for.
The Piazza Method
In a piazza, nobody sits in rows. A few people stop, and they talk.
That's the whole idea.
Mini classes, three to five people
Classes are small on purpose, and never more than five. Everyone learns differently and everyone is curious about different things — with three or four people around the table, I can actually follow that. You speak in every lesson, and I know what you found difficult last week, because I was listening to you.
One-to-one lessons, included
Every student gets three private 45-minute lessons inside the course. Not an add-on — included. It's where I can help you with the one thing that's blocking you personally, and where you get to talk for 45 minutes with nobody waiting their turn.
Conversation is the goal — grammar is how we get there
Talking is what these classes are for, and it starts from the very first lesson. But at the beginning there's a foundation to build first, and that's where grammar comes in.
Grammar is never the main character here. Think of it as the track under the train: you don't spend the journey looking at it, and it's the reason you keep moving forward. Knowing the rule is what lets you feel sure that what you're saying is right — and that's where confidence comes from. So you learn a rule, and then you use it the same day, out loud, about your own life.
Everything happens live, with me. No pre-recorded videos, no course you watch alone. I'm an Italian teacher and this is the work I love most — what matters to me is that you actually learn, and I've been on your side of it enough times to know what that takes.
Antipasto — Italian from zero
The first course on the menu. Eight weeks, from I know nothing to your first real exchanges in Italian.
By the end, you'll be able to:
- Read anything in Italian, out loud — after one lesson. Not a typo: by the end of the very first class you'll be able to pick up a menu, a street sign, a song title, and read it properly. Even words you've never seen before.
- Handle numbers and prices, tell the time, and ask someone else for it
- Order food and drinks, and understand the answer you get back
- Say what you do, where you live, and what you love
- Get through everyday situations with the verbs you'll use most
- Ask for help when you don't understand — in Italian
What this course is
Antipasto is what comes before the meal. Eight weeks won't make you fluent — I'd rather tell you that now than have you discover it later. What you'll have at the end is a real foundation, your first proper conversations, and a clear sense of what comes next.
The format
| Length | 8 weeks |
|---|---|
| Group lessons | One 90-minute lesson per week (45 min + 10 min break + 45 min) |
| Class size | Mini classes of 3 to 5 students |
| Private lessons | 3 × 45 minutes, included |
| Where | Live in your student area — never recorded |
| Materials | All included |
| When | Group: Monday 12 PM ET, Wednesday 10 AM ET, or Saturday 11 AM ET · Private: Fridays |
| Starts | Week of October [20] |
Ciao, I'm Eleonora
I'm 29, Italian, and I've moved around more than is probably sensible. I love travelling — though what I really mean by that is living somewhere new, working there, making friends there. I'd like to know every language in the world, because languages bring people closer and they show you that we're all the same and all completely different at once.
It took me a while to find this work. I did a lot of different jobs first, and I wasn't sure any of them was mine. Then I started teaching, a few years ago now, and I knew almost immediately.
I know what it feels like to want to learn a language. It can be easy or hard, fun or dull — and mostly it comes down to finding your own way into it. I learned languages at school the way most of us did: rules first, grammar first. And rules on their own don't mean very much. What changes everything is speaking, as soon as you possibly can. Grammar still matters — it's what makes you sure of yourself — but it belongs in the background, not at the front.
That's also why my classes are so small. Everyone learns differently, and everyone lights up about different things: some people want to read, some want to listen, some just want to talk. With three or four people around the table I can actually pay attention to that. With twenty, nobody can.
Starting from zero? Don't worry. It's a lovely place to begin, and I'll guide you step by step — in English at first, less and less as we go. We'll use games, songs, simple slides, and a lot of talking.
And I'm still learning too. I always want to hear what's working for you and what isn't.
A presto!
What my students say
[ ⚠️ PLACEHOLDER — the three quotes below are written examples, not real students. They must be replaced with real quotes before the site goes live. Publishing invented testimonials is illegal in the US (FTC rules). ]
[example] "I went to Rome in April and ordered dinner entirely in Italian. The waiter answered me normally, like a person — he didn't switch to English. I nearly cried."
Sarah, Boston
[example] "My grandparents were from Puglia and I grew up hearing Italian without ever speaking a word of it. Eight weeks in, I called my aunt and we talked for ten minutes. Badly. But we talked."
Michael, Toronto
[example] "I was worried a group class would mean sitting quietly while other people talked. There were four of us. I talked constantly."
Jenna, San Diego
[ NOTE FOR ELEONORA — not page copy, this gets deleted. How to collect these: ask for one specific moment, not an opinion. "What's something you did in Italian that you couldn't have done before?" gets you "I ordered lunch in Bologna and the waiter just answered me normally" — worth ten reviews saying "Eleonora is a great teacher." Use first name, city, and a real photo. ]
One course. One price. Everything included.
Antipasto$650
- 12 hours of live group lessons — 8 × 90 minutes, in a mini class of 3 to 5
- 3 private 45-minute lessons with me, one to one
- All materials, included
- Your seat with the same group for the next course, if you'd like it
You're not charged until your group is confirmed. I hold your card, and payment is only taken once your group and start date are set. If it doesn't come together, you pay nothing.
Questions
Do I need to know any Italian?
Starting from zero is ideal — that's exactly who this course is built for. A few words picked up here and there is completely fine too; you'll still want to build the foundation properly. If you already have a real level in Italian, this particular course won't be the right fit for you.
Is there grammar?
Yes, and I think that's a good thing. You can't feel sure of a sentence if you don't know how it's put together. What there isn't is an hour of me explaining a rule while you take notes — you learn it, then you use it out loud in the same lesson.
Do you speak English in class?
At the beginning, yes — enough that you're never lost. It fades quickly, and by the end of the eight weeks you'll be surprised how little we need it.
How small are the classes, really?
Between three and five people. Never more than five.
What if my group doesn't come together?
You pay nothing. I'll offer you another time or the next start date, and you decide.
What if I miss a lesson?
Lessons aren't recorded and can't be repeated — the whole point is that you're in them. Please let me know as early as you can. Whatever you missed, we'll pick up in your next private lesson so you can rejoin the group without feeling behind.
How do the private lessons work?
You book them in your student area, in the windows I keep open on Fridays — three sessions of 45 minutes across the eight weeks. They're not for new material: they're for practising what we've already covered and for whatever you personally need most. As you move through the menu, they become more and more about conversation.
What happens after Antipasto?
Primo opens next, and students who finish Antipasto get first pick of seats before it's offered publicly — usually with the same group. You're never committing to more than one course at a time.
What time are the classes?
All group times are set for North America: Monday 12 PM ET (9 AM PT), Wednesday 10 AM ET (7 AM PT), or Saturday 11 AM ET (8 AM PT). Private lessons are on Fridays, and you choose your slot.
Where do the lessons happen?
In your student area — that's also where you'll find your materials, your schedule, what you've paid for, and a calendar you can sync with Google.
Starting late October. Three possible times, mini classes of three to five.
Choose the times that work for you and reserve your seat — nothing is charged until your group is confirmed.