Cari Lettori,
We are proud to share with you this, our second Summer Special Edition. Summertime and reading go hand in hand.
In fact, some of my best childhood memories are of weekly visits with my mother or sister to the local “biblioteca” (library) during my summer break from school. My local library kept track of books children read over the summer and gave prizes to those who read the most books. Whether it was a gift certificate to a local gelateria, sand toys, or a bag of marbles, the excitement of winning something, definitely encouraged me to continue to read and learn over the summer months.
Similarly, my own children love their weekly visits to the library and participate in the local library’s summer reading program. I am pleased that I was able to encourage this love of reading with my kids, and I have also ensured they have access to books in Italian as well as a weekly tutor in the language in hope they will continue to study the Italian language to fluency.
On the same subject of reading and learning Italian, L’Italo-Americano is preparing for the launch of a very unique Italian language project by the end of this summer. Specifically, a beginning level Italian course is being developed by the dedicated team at the Graziadio Center for Italian Studies at Cal State University Long Beach.
This is a custom made program that will be conveniently offered online and was developed especially with L’Italo-Americano subscribers in mind. While the final development stages are still being completed, we will soon offer this new online language program that will be innovative, user-friendly and take a fun approach to learning Italian. why an online course?
Our online presence is growing faster than we could ever imagine we have now reached 100,000 unique visits a month, a milestone considering the site has only been launched less than a year ago. Publishing is in a state of rapid transformation in which the traditional model is being challenged by e-readers, the internet, the increasing popularity of self-publishing, the economy and countless other factors.
Things are moving at an impossible speed and this is precisely why L’Italo-Americano is working towards thoughtful and creative ways in which to engage our readers. We are excited to provide our subscribers from all over the world the opportunity to connect with us by taking this course and learning Italian. There is no better way of improving your knowledge of Italy and its communities here in the U.S. than to read the L’Italo-Americano and now there is also no better way to learn Italian!
I will close with a special thanks to the extremely talented and dedicated writers that contributed to this special summer edition.
Have a safe, memorable summer!
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