What they say about us: Italian Society’s group Amicizia study holiday

The language school (il Faro) was in the centre of the old part of the village and proved to be of very high quality indeed. The group was divided in three depending on the level of tuition required. All members felt their Italian improved as the lessons were well suited to their existing language ability.

This Easter a group of Amicizia members from Sligo and Dublin, totalling 20 in all, made their way to the resort village of Caorle between Venice and Trieste. The area is unlike any of the places visited in previous years- resembling parts of Holland and Belgium rather than the usual Umbrian-Tuscan scenery. Long sandy beaches interrupted by lagoons that stretch for miles into the interior, small settlements based on cultivation of the flat canal drained fields, small scale fishing from the shallow Adriatic, wine making and of course tourism. The group arrived on Easter Sunday so the following day ( la Pasquetta) being a major holiday for Italians brought large crowds to the village. The hotel on the beach used by the group was full for a few nights but later things quietened down and Caorle took a deep breath before the summer season.

Several trips were made to surrounding places of interest. Close to Caorle is one of the largest areas in Italy for the production of organic wine and the group took a bus to visit the farm of the Piccinin family "Le Carline". Naturally a sampling of the produce was needed. Members were surprised to find this winemaker has a delicious white wine labelled "AMICITIA" the Latin version of the name of the society. The excursion to Venice was by ferry from Punto Sabbioni to Piazza San Marco which was a delightful way to reach the old town of Venice which is so incantevole that it simply defies description.

Some members went to Trieste, a frontier city with notable historic overtones, others went to Portogruaro closer to Caorle. A private coach was hired to visit Padova, site of one of the oldest universities in Europe.

(The Sligo Champion News)