Where Pinocchio (Pino for friends) and his conscience "Grillo" (Talking Cricket or Jiminy Cricket), travel through Italy, meet very famous people and ask them what friendship is.

Objectives:

In the Intermediate level you follow Pino while he travels through Italy, meets with very famous* Italian people (Leonardo, Michelangelo, Rossini, etc.) and ask them what friendship is.
You get to know more of Italian culture and you become familiar with Italian topics such as Opera, Art, Cinema and others. You learn how to express your opinions in a better way, understand more complex sentences, make comparisons, narrate a fact, write a letter, use the future and much more!

*The Intermediate level draws inspiration from famous Italian characters. The dialogues between Pino and the characters have been written with creative license.

What is Pinocchio doing on CyberItalian?

Program:

• Lesson 1 Un viaggio in Italia
  (A trip to Italy.)
  Pino decides to go on a journey through Italy.
  Practice how to use the dictionary and improve your listening skills. Review the basic structures of the Italian language and the verbs.
  Activities:
  La geografia italiana - read,test
  Word search: articles, prepositions, verbs - play
  Eccellenze italiane: il capitalismo umanistico - read,watch
  Anagrammi e altri esercizi (Anagrams and other exercises) - play
  

• Lesson 2 Pino e Rossini a Milano
  (Pino and Rossini in Milan.)
  Pino begins his journey through Italy.
  Get to know Milan, and Italian opera and music. Learn to express yourself with more complex sentences and make comparisons. "Se, che, perché"; comparative and superlative. Idiomatic expressions.
  Activities:
  Get ready for Italian conversation: 3 steps - listen,test
  Italian Opera - listen,read,sing
  Your Renaissance - read
  Memorization techniques - read,test
  Play with the Italian language - play
  Rossini and Italian music - research
  Milano - research
  Italian cultural centers and Italian movies - research,watch
  

• Lesson 3 Pino e Hugo Pratt a Venezia
  (Pino and Pratt in Venice.)
  Get to know Venice and Italian comics. Learn to ask for assistance. Parts of the body. Reflexive verbs; irregular nouns; the partitive.
  Activities:
  Mediterranean Diet: Italians, nice and thin - read
  Difference between mangiare and nutrirsi (vocabulary: nouns and verbs) - read,research
  Italian comics - read
  Reflexive and reciprocal verbs - play
  Venice - research
  Italians and sport - read
  

• Lesson 4 Pino e Fellini a Bologna
  (Pino and Fellini in Bologna.)
  Get to know Bologna and Italian cinema. Learn to express doubt or make hypothesis. The future tense; direct object pronoun.
  Activities:
  Italian Cinema in the USA and the Oscars - read
  Bologna - research
  Federico Fellini - research
  Italian cinema - read,watch
  

• Lesson 5 Pino e Leonardo a Firenze
  (Pino and Leonardo in Florence.)
  Get to know Florence and Italian style. Learn to express pleasure, regret or make an apology. Indirect object pronoun; use of the verb "Piacere".
  Activities:
  Firenze - research
  Leonardo da Vinci - research
  Getting Dressed (vocabulary, anagram and crossword puzzle) - listen,play
  Moda italiana: 5 regole per vestirsi bene - read,watch
  La moda italiana - read,watch
  

• Lesson 6 Pino e Michelangelo a Roma
  (Pino and Michelangelo in Rome.)
  Geto to know Rome and Italian art. Learn to narrate and express disapproval. How to narrate (part 1): "imperfetto"; pronouns "ne" and "ci".
  Activities:
  La gatta e l'imperfetto (the cat and the imperfect) - sing,test
  Michelangelo - research
  Roma - research
  A brief history of art - read,test
  La pasta all'amatriciana - cook,watch
  A revolutionary painter: Masaccio (part 2) - listen,read
  A revolutionary painter: Masaccio (part 1) - listen,read
  

• Lesson 7 Pino e Santa Scolastica sul Monte Majella
  (Pino and Saint Scolastica on Mount Majella.)
  Get to know the Italian parks and the most common religion in Italy. Learn how to narrate and congratulate someone. Relative pronouns; pronouns after a preposition; how to narrate (part 2): "trapassato prossimo".
  Activities:
  Get ready for Italian conversation: 3 steps - listen,test
  Experience Stromboli, the Vulcano - read
  Memorization techniques - read,test
  A trip to Italy - read
  Italian traditions: tree or nativity scene? - read,research
  Natural parks and reserves - research
  Santa Scolastica and religion - research
  August in Italy - read
  The feast of Saint Lucy - cook,read
  Torrone: a dessert for the holidays - cook,read
  

• Lesson 8 Pino e Pulcinella a Napoli
  (Pino and Pulcinella in Naples.)
  Get to know Naples and Italian theater. Learn to express preferences. The conditional (present and past conditional); special construction: conditional of "dovere, volere, potere" + infinitive. Idiomatic expressions.
  Activities:
  Pulcinella and Italian theatre - research
  Napoli - research
  

• Lesson 9 Pino e Pirandello a Lipari
  (Pino and Pirandello in Lipari.)
  Get to know Lipari and Italian literature. Learn to speak in a general and impersonal way and discover more idiomatic expressions. Indefinite adjectives and pronouns; impersonal construction.
  Activities:
  Pirandello and Italian literature - research
  Giacomo Leopardi and freedom - listen,research
  Poetic spaghetti - cook,read
  Isole Eolie - research
  Write your poem - play
  

• Lesson 10 Pino e Eleonora d'Arborea a Tharros
  (Pino and Eleonora d'Arborea in Tharros.)
  Get to know Tharros and Italian history. Learn to write a letter. Difference between written and spoken Italian. Learn to give commands and suggestions. Imperative.
  Activities:
  L'importanza dei saluti (The importance of greetings) - listen,read
  A historical dish - cook,read
  Eleonora d'Arborea e la storia d'Italia - research
  I misteri dell'archeologia: Tharros e la Sardegna - research
  Can you write a letter in Italian? (Esempi di lettere) - read,write
  A historical pasta - cook,read
  

• Lesson 11 Pino e Cristoforo Colombo a San Fruttuoso
  (Pino and Colombo in San Fruttuoso.)
  Get to know San Fruttuoso and Italian politics. Learn to make plans and reflect on fake news. Reciprocal construction; other particular constructions; special construction (stare + gerundio); adverbs.
  Activities:
  Cristoforo Colombo, Italian politics and news - listen,research
  San Fruttuoso and Liguria - research
  

• Lesson 12 La vera amicizia
  (True friendship.)
  Reflect on true friendship and review what you have learned so far in the Intermediate level. Use of pronouns; use of verbs.
  Activities:
  The Italian anthem - listen,read,sing
  The eighth wonder of the world: Bomarzo - listen,read
  Happy Anniversary, Italy! (150 years) - cook,listen,read
  

• Lesson 13 Antico e moderno
  (Ancient and modern)
  Compare ancient and modern (who were the ancient Romans? who are we?) and continue the language review with an in-depth analysis of some aspects. Pronouns: esso, essa, egli, ella, ciò. Comparatives - use of "più" and "di più". Verb revision - passato prossimo.
  Activities:
  Witches in Calcata (difference between chi and che) - read,test,watch
  

• Lesson 14 Le abitazioni degli antichi romani
  (Houses of the ancient Romans)
  Practice listening to authentic material (Italian spoken at natural speed), explore the homes of the ancient Romans and delve into some aspects of the language. Difference between "stare" and "essere". Difference between "buono", "bravo" and "bene". Direct and indirect pronouns. Formal approach: use of Lei.
  Activities:
  La donna angelicata e l'approccio formale - read,test
  

• Lesson 15 L'alimentazione degli antichi romani
  (Nutrition of the ancient Romans)
  Know some differences between standard Italian (the one you learn here) and dialectal Italian (the one you might hear in some places in Italy). Compare the nutrition of the ancient Romans to that of today's Italians and delve into some grammatical aspects. Basic structure of a sentence and position of adverbs. Difference between "infine" e "finalmente". Reflexive verbs and pronouns. Revision of pronouns "ne" and "ci".
  Activities:
  Una favola di Fedro (pronomi) - read,test
  

• Lesson 16 L'abbigliamento degli antichi romani
  (Clothing of the ancient Romans)
  Improve your way of telling a story and compare the ancient Roman clothing to today's clothing.
  Verb revision: passato prossimo. Verb revision: imperfetto. Independent and dependent clauses. Demonstrative and relative pronouns - "colui, coloro, ciò", use of "quello che" and difference between "quello" and "che".
  Activities:
  Il dio Asclepio e Ippocrate (passato prossimo e imperfetto) - read,test
  La gatta e l'imperfetto (the cat and the imperfect) - sing,test
  

• Lesson 17 Trattamenti cosmetici degli antichi romani
  (Beauty treatments of the ancient Romans)
  Experience a quarrel in Italian, compare the cosmetic treatments of the ancient Romans to those of today, and see how our way of speaking can be emphasized. Punctuation. Relative pronouns. Impersonal construction.
  Activities:
  5 tips on listening to the Italian news - listen
  Difference between "siccome" and "perché" - read,test
  

• Lesson 18 Gli antichi romani e le terme
  (The ancient Romans and spas)
  Delve into telling a story in Italian and understanding complex texts, and learn how the ancient Romans used the thermal baths.
  Verb revision: imperfetto. Verb revision: trapassato prossimo. Structure of complex texts.
  Activities:
  Come usare il cioccolato? - cook,watch
  

• Lesson 19 La politica e la vita sociale degli antichi romani
  (Political and social life of the ancient Romans)
  Learn more about the use of verbs and reflect on the political and social life of the ancient Romans. Verb revision: imperative. Verb revision: conditional - present and past. Use of the conditional to express future in the past.
  Activities:
  L'amicizia - read,test
  

• Lesson 20 La religione degli antichi romani
  (Religion of the ancient Romans)
  Use advanced constructions and idiomatic expressions, and reflect on the religion of the ancient Romans, compared to Italy today. Special constructions - stare + gerundio, stare per + infinitive, present or imperfetto + da + tempo. Reciprocal construction. Collocations and idiomatic expressions.
  Activities:
  Baustelle and the meaning of life - listen,test,watch
  Amore e Psiche (pronomi ed espressioni idiomatiche) - read,test