I will be moving to Italia next year in March to attend Scuola LdV to study italian language. I was originally going to settle in Roma but after speaking to amici italini I changed my mind and thought perhaps to begin for 3-6 months in Firenze. Now, I am thinking that maybe even smaller Siena would be better place to start. Once my language skills are improved, I can then change the location of my studies.

I would be interested in what others have to say on this. The good and bad points of both Firenze e Siena.

Grazie,

Melanie

Well I can't find many bad points.

Wonderful cities both, culture wherever you turn, a lot of people speaks English, they are generaly very warm and welcoming.
The only problem could be with the cost of life, which can be really high if you don't know the right places to purchase everyday things.
But this can be solved with time
The Italian language you find there is probably one of the closest to Standard Italian there is, but here in Italy dialects are widely spoken as you certainly know, and Tuscany is not different.

Firenze is bigger, a little louder, but astonishingly beautiful. You can see something new and beautiful even after months of living there. It's the Italian city I prefer above all. A diamond.

Siena is amazing, it takes your breath away with those unbelievable little streets leading to sweet piazzas where you find nice churches. The only thing is: do you like to walk uphill?

I don't really see as many cons as pros in this choice, maybe someone else has had worse experiences there, but I wouldn't swear on it. You are also not so far from "Le dolci colline del Chianti".

To me it's the closest you can get to Heaven on Earth.

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the fewer english-speakers the better. you want to be speaking italian all the time, after all. it's faster to learn that way. perhaps another town near siena or firenze that's not overcrowded with Brits and American students would be better.

I would go for Siena - Firenze is undoubtably beautiful and full of treasures, but it is hot & very humid in the height of summer, and full of tourists - Siena is smaller, still a beautiful town, but not quite as busy. There is so much to discover in Firenze that it may even distract you from your language studies!

Quote Zidanie "The Italian language you find there is probably one of the closest to Standard Italian there is, but here in Italy dialects are widely spoken as you certainly know, and Tuscany is not different" - very true. My wife comes from Firenze/Castiglioncello and she and all of her family pronounce "ci" as if it was "sci"

Ciao Melanie,

I agree with Romano and MarkyMark. Siena is better as it is smaller and less fast-paced. You will have a better opportunity to make friends with the locals and they in turn will have the time to sit and chat. I found that because no one spoke english in my husband's tiny village, that I was able to pick up Italian a lot quicker. They also had a lot more patience with me

~Elliana~

I agree. The smaller towns where there are fewer English speakers are much better if you really want to learn
Italian. Many of the students in Perugia where I went to school complained that they did not have many people to speak
Italian too. I didn't seem to have that problem. I refused to speak English with anybody that was Italian speaking.
Smaller towns near Firenze and Siena would be places like; Pistoia, Empoli, Greve, Sinalunga e cosi via.


Da ogni modo I really like Firenze and Siena. Firenze is one of the most beautiful cities I've ever seen and that's not even counting all the art treasures.
Have been there 3 times. This last summer took that double decker bus tour of the city. Had not done that before because thought it was being too much
like a tourist. But glad I did. It takes you all over the city including up in the hills where you really get a good panaramic view of this incrediblely beautiful city.
Oh, they played this musica fantastica and the tour guide spoke Italian with such marvelous elegance. People talk about how great French is but I personally like
Italian better. Not that there's anything wrong with French either though.

I would probably take any of the above. I'm not picky seeing as any day in italy is probably better than a day here.

Joe, surely the US isn't that bad is it? My wife and I are hoping to buy a B&B sometime soon "ish" over here - I'll give you a free week whenever we get started

Don't get me wrong, it's not horrible here. I'm just not a fan of Corporate America and what it's doing to this country. There is no loyalty here, whether it be friends or family. The almighty dollar is all that people seem to care about nowadays. Not to mention being overworked, underpaid, insurance issues or lack there of.....O yea and the unbelievable amount of stress involved in everything you do here. Personally i'm not a big fan of that, so i guess me and the american way of life tend to clash.

BTW, its not just me who feels this way. It seems to be the topic of choice within the recent elections.

That's just my personal opinion

O and i accept your B&B invitation! thanks!

Joe - if and when we ever get there, your name will be on the first invitation