Italian is the 19th more spoken language in the world: 62 millions people knows it as mother tongue, and 120 million people knows it as second language. It is used often for commercial reasons, as Italy is both importing and exporting goods from and to many countries.

As we all know, modern Italian is an evolution of the Florentine dialect, and is one of the 23 official European languages. But why is it so important? Let’s see in how many places  is spoken!

Italian is the official language in: Italy, San Marine, Vatican State, some parts of Switzerland, in three regions of Slovenia and in Istria (a Croatian region close to the Italian border). It used to be the official language of Malta (until 1934) and Corse (until 1859).

In Switzerland is one of the three official idioms (with French and German).

In Brazil is recognized as “ethnic language ” of the poeople of Santa Teresa and Vila Velha in the Espirito Santo’s state, where is taught as obligatory second language at school.

In France, Italian is spoken in the Nice area and in Monaco.

You can find Italian speakers also in Albania and Montenegro, because of the many relations these countries have toghether, as well as in Dalmatia.

Italian is diffused in the African ex-Italian colonies such as: Lybia, Ethiopia, Eritrea and Somalia.

Because of the emigration, Italian has a significative presence in the USA, Argentina, Venezuela, Uruguay, Germany and Australia – where it is often spoken at home as a second language.

So what are you waiting for? Come and learn it at the Institute Galilei!