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Reviews of The Italian Academy, Siracusa (Sicily), Italy

NOTE: All reviews are authentic. Only students who booked their course through us can publish evaluations here, and only after the end of their programme. These evaluations then are not manipulated in any way, neither by us nor by the school, and can be trusted as honest opinions about personal experiences with the school.

Average Rating

4.5

Overall rating
The Italian Academy, Siracusa (Sicily), Italy

Based on 40 reviews of former students of The Italian Academy

School

Location of the school

4.4

Facilities

4.3

Social activities

3.6

Organisation

4.3

Course

Quality of teaching

4.5

Value for money

4.3

Accommodation

Homestay

4.6

Shared Flat (apartment)

4.5

Overall school rating by student age group

Students < 18 years (0 ratings)

0.0

Students 18-30 years (1 rating)

4.0

Students 31-49 years (9 ratings)

4.4

Students 50+ years (27 ratings)

4.5

Verified reviews only, uncensored. All student opinions from students who booked a course at the school with LanguageCourse.net.

Back to profile of The Italian Academy, Siracusa (Sicily)

Individual Reviews

The Italian Academy

12. Jan. 2026

Carsten (67 years)

Course: General Italian - 1 week

Overall rating

Value for money

Positive aspects of school

"Excellent teacher, trilingual and very systematic. Well-organized institute with great support."

Details of the review

City/place

School organization

Facilities (library, classrooms)

Social activities

Quality of teaching / language progress

10. Dec. 2025

David (71 years)

Course: General Italian - 1 week

Overall rating

Value for money

Positive aspects of school

"Great location and very friendly and helpful staff."

Negative aspects

"More could be done in terms of activities. For example, there was a one-hour conversation class that was very good."

Details of the review

Quality of teaching / language progress

"I should have stayed longer."

Accommodation

"The building was a bit of a maze, but the hosts were charming and made me feel right at home."

City/place

School organization

Facilities (library, classrooms)

Social activities

Quality of teaching / language progress

Accommodation

Homestay

1. Dec. 2025

Susanna (62 years)

Course: General Italian - 2 weeks

Overall rating

Value for money

Positive aspects of school

"Super organized, nice & competent teachers & reception staff! Wonderful location, very friendly all round!"

Details of the review

Other comments

"Keep up the good work - you are doing a great job!"

City/place

"Lots of opportunities to do something! Usually still warm days even in November."

Quality of teaching / language progress

"Top."

City/place

School organization

Facilities (library, classrooms)

Social activities

Quality of teaching / language progress

5. Oct. 2025

Anne-kett (64 years) Norway Course: General Italian - 4 weeks

Overall rating

Value for money

Positive aspects of school

"The school was very good at getting participants to use the language actively in class. Emphasized the use and understanding of the language."

Negative aspects

"For me, there are no negative experiences."

Details of the review

City/place

School organization

Facilities (library, classrooms)

Social activities

Quality of teaching / language progress

8. Sep. 2025

Dagmar (66 years)

Course: Private Italian Lessons - 1 week

Overall rating

Value for money

Positive aspects of school

"The old villa in which the school is housed, with its magnificent large garden."

Negative aspects

"Unfortunately, extensive renovation work forced a move from this villa to a much uglier school building."

Details of the review

Other comments

"The staff is very dedicated and always helpful."

Quality of teaching / language progress

"I find this method ideal."

City/place

School organization

Facilities (library, classrooms)

Social activities

Quality of teaching / language progress

8. Sep. 2025

Günter (73 years)

Course: 1 week

Overall rating

Value for money

Positive aspects of school

"The individual lessons (for 2) were well tailored to our wishes, the teacher was very committed and competent."

Negative aspects

"The organisation seemed good. So it was all the more surprising that, with almost a year's notice, they had forgotten that we had been guaranteed morning lessons."

Details of the review

City/place

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School organization

Facilities (library, classrooms)

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---

Quality of teaching / language progress

7. Jul. 2025

Petra (60 years)

Course: General Italian - 1 week

Overall rating

Value for money

Positive aspects of school

"Very nice teacher. A beautiful historic building with a great big garden. A quiet place."

Negative aspects

"Nothing."

Details of the review

City/place

"Historic old town centre very nice, otherwise a lot of traffic and unclean."

City/place

School organization

Facilities (library, classrooms)

Social activities

Quality of teaching / language progress

23. May. 2025

Manfred (63 years)

Course: General Italian - 2 weeks

Overall rating

Value for money

Positive aspects of school

"Top teachers, good facilities, great park right next to the school"

Negative aspects

"The range of attractive afternoon activities is limited. Guided tours of the old town would be a great opportunity to meet other students."

Details of the review

Other comments

"The school should offer better social activities so that students can get to know each other (and other groups) better. Excursions to the surrounding area would be great (since public transportation is somewhat limited)."

Quality of teaching / language progress

"Top teacher"

City/place

School organization

Facilities (library, classrooms)

Social activities

Quality of teaching / language progress

20. May. 2025

Tove (77 years) Norway Course: General Italian - 1 week

Overall rating

Value for money

Positive aspects of school

"Nice location, nice administration, good teacher."

Negative aspects

"Poor toilet conditions. A bit much use of copy of textbook and sometimes difficult to see blackboard."

Details of the review

Quality of teaching / language progress

"Good teaching but too much use of textbook copies."

City/place

School organization

Facilities (library, classrooms)

Social activities

Quality of teaching / language progress

19. May. 2025

Petra (59 years)

Course: General Italian - 1 week

Overall rating

Value for money

Positive aspects of school

"The school is in a great location, on historical sites in a wonderful garden. The staff are very friendly and courteous. Friendly teachers who responded to the different levels."

Negative aspects

"I would have liked more speaking lessons to practise my pronunciation more and a little less grammar."

Insider tips about what future students should not miss

"No."

Details of the review

Other comments

"No. It would have been nice to have the opportunity to have a coffee, even if you paid a certain amount of money. There was only coffee during the break on the first morning, but then with croissants. Very tasty."

City/place

"I stayed in the not-so-great suburb, which seemed pretty run-down, I had to walk a bit to get to Ortigia (old town). It was super nice there, lots of restaurants, cafés and a great view all round."

City/place

School organization

Facilities (library, classrooms)

Social activities

Quality of teaching / language progress

30. Jan. 2025

Edith (70 years)

Course: General Italian - 2 weeks

Overall rating

Value for money

Positive aspects of school

"Good organization, great teacher, good location, good course composition. Good compensation for missed lessons through online lessons."

Negative aspects

"Unfortunately, the afternoon activities almost never took place due to a lack of participants. I would have liked an offer of (paid) excursions in the surrounding area for the weekend, as I was there without a rental car. I had actually expected this according to the website."

Insider tips about what future students should not miss

"Visit to the San Giovanni catacombs next door."

Details of the review

City/place

"Beautiful old town, many sights such as the catacombs, the archaeological park, the churches."

Quality of teaching / language progress

"Small group lessons with a great teacher."

City/place

School organization

Facilities (library, classrooms)

Social activities

Quality of teaching / language progress

17. Dec. 2024

Martina (44 years) Germany Course: Intensive Italian (20 group + 10 individual) - 2 weeks

Overall rating

Value for money

Positive aspects of school

"I really liked their flexible system! It allowed me to attend even in the low season with fewer students. Since I was the only one at my level, I got one-on-one lessons. The number of lessons varies with group size, so I got fewer lessons but greatly enjoyed and profited from the private teaching."

Negative aspects

"Nothing really. I can‘t say a lot about afternoon activities since less happened in the low season but I liked the ones I participated in."

Details of the review

Quality of teaching / language progress

"Great!"

Accommodation

"Stefania"

City/place

School organization

Facilities (library, classrooms)

Social activities

---

Quality of teaching / language progress

Accommodation

Homestay

24. Sep. 2024

Elisabeth

Course: General Italian - 1 week

Overall rating

Value for money

Positive aspects of school

"The excellent and likeable teacher. Good quality of teaching."

Negative aspects

"The offers for additional activities were quite intrusive."

Details of the review

City/place

---

School organization

Facilities (library, classrooms)

Social activities

---

Quality of teaching / language progress

24. Jun. 2024

Lana (36 years) Switzerland Course: General Italian - 1 week

Overall rating

Value for money

Positive aspects of school

"I thought the school had an amazing building and garden. The team was very caring and competent. Thank you!"

Details of the review

City/place

School organization

Facilities (library, classrooms)

Social activities

Quality of teaching / language progress

7. May. 2024

Kornelia (65 years)

Course: General Italian - 3 weeks

Overall rating

Value for money

Positive aspects of school

"I really enjoyed the lessons in a very small group. Our teacher was great and took good care of us. Can only recommend the school. I also thought the location was great."

Details of the review

Quality of teaching / language progress

"Very good"

City/place

School organization

Facilities (library, classrooms)

Social activities

Quality of teaching / language progress

Accommodation

Homestay

15. Apr. 2024

Kees (51 years) Netherlands Course: General Italian - 2 weeks

Overall rating

Value for money

Positive aspects of school

"Very nice people, enthusiastic teacher and a very good reception/organiser. The school is next to the museum and archeological area and offers free tickets to one of these (catacombs). The building is super nice and the large garden is heaven. Syracuse is a very nice city to stay."

Negative aspects

"There were no weaknesses."

Details of the review

City/place

"It is a very nice city with a lot of sightseeing opportunities. For clubs and shopping maybe someone would like to have another place to stay, but there are far too many good restaurants to check out, a good amount of nice bars, and of course the historical places. As it's a city close to the sea you can also enjoy the beach and boat tours etcetera. People were all very nice and the city felt very safe."

City/place

School organization

Facilities (library, classrooms)

Social activities

Quality of teaching / language progress

5. Apr. 2024

Janet Germany Course: General Italian - 1 week

Overall rating

Value for money

Positive aspects of school

"Our teacher made the class fun and it was well organized and paced."

Negative aspects

"The location of our apartment was not ideal. I liked the walk but the neighborhood offered few stores etc."

Details of the review

Other comments

"Thank you to all! We really enjoyed our week there."

City/place

"It wouldn’t be a city I’d return to."

City/place

School organization

Facilities (library, classrooms)

Social activities

Quality of teaching / language progress

11. Mar. 2024

Mike (50 years)

Course: Intensive Italian (20 group + 10 individual) - 2 weeks

Overall rating

Value for money

Positive aspects of school

"The school has a wonderful garden."

Negative aspects

"The first week was a bit too fast for a beginner."

Insider tips about what future students should not miss

"Ortigia, of course"

Details of the review

City/place

"Siracusa and Ortigia are always worth a visit."

Quality of teaching / language progress

"The individual lessons were great."

City/place

School organization

Facilities (library, classrooms)

Social activities

Quality of teaching / language progress

27. Nov. 2023

Anne Kristin (57 years) Norway Course: General Italian - 4 weeks

Overall rating

Value for money

Positive aspects of school

"Skilled teachers and good location."

Negative aspects

"Could have been more variation in the afternoon activities. Somewhat poor quality in some classrooms."

Details of the review

City/place

School organization

Facilities (library, classrooms)

Social activities

Quality of teaching / language progress

17. Oct. 2023

Andrea (59 years)

Course: General Italian - 1 week

Overall rating

Value for money

Positive aspects of school

"The school is located in a beautiful villa, nestled in a large park. The classrooms are well equipped and there is even a school kitchen for the weekly cooking classes. The organisation worked out great."

Negative aspects

"The language level of the participants in my course was very varied."

Insider tips about what future students should not miss

"Spending an evening on "La Barca", a cosy boat with a bar and small snacks, docked in the harbour in front of the Grand Hotel in Ortigia."

Details of the review

Other comments

"Small, well-organised language school"

City/place

"Siracusa is a pretty seaside town in south-eastern Sicily with a guarantee of good weather. The old town of Ortigia with its narrow streets is bustling with life. There are numerous shops, restaurants and bars, but also historical sights. In Siracusa, there are Greek and Roman ruins and the famous "Ear of Dionysus" to discover."

Quality of teaching / language progress

"Good teaching material."

City/place

School organization

Facilities (library, classrooms)

Social activities

Quality of teaching / language progress

16. Oct. 2023

Elena (64 years) Netherlands Course: General Italian - 2 weeks

Overall rating

Value for money

Negative aspects

"Standard Italian course. My level was defined as B2. Too relaxed. I got the impression that the teacher just did not have enough material until the end of the lesson. On the fourth day of the course, after I said and other students supported me that it would be better not only to talk, but also to learn/practice grammar - topics that are not so easy to introduce into speech at this level, we started to look at certain aspects of congiuntivo usage. Nevertheless as I didn't learn a single new word/expression/ grammar use during the wole week, I cancelled the second week of the course. I still don't see a refund for the second week in my account, but maybe it's due to the international transfer. This is not my first course, I remember with great gratitude and nostalgia the course of Piccola Università in Tropea (A2-B1 level) which once fuelled my interest in Italian, I also enjoyed the course of Solemar Academy in Cefalù (C1) some years ago"

Details of the review

Other comments

"Cosy school with beautiful garden"

City/place

School organization

Facilities (library, classrooms)

Social activities

Quality of teaching / language progress

16. Oct. 2023

Martina (64 years)

Course: Intensive Italian (20 group + 10 individual) - 2 weeks

Overall rating

Value for money

Positive aspects of school

"I had very good, good-humoured and highly motivated teachers. The structure of the lessons was consistent and logical, even entirely in Italian. The location of the school is fantastic! The cooking course was a lot of fun."

Negative aspects

"The wine tasting was ridiculous, especially for the price. There was supposed to be "something to eat", but all we got were bread crumbs, fingernail-sized wafer-thin slices of parmesan and a drop of oil. There was one sip of each of three wines. At least the tour was interesting."

Insider tips about what future students should not miss

"Visit to the Dan Giovanni Catacombs across the street. Free entry through the school."

Details of the review

Other comments

"A lovingly maintained old villa in a lovely park, currently with a little cat that everyone loves living there."

City/place

"If it weren't for the rubbish and the dog poo everywhere, it would be a dream! Typical Italian! At lunchtime it's dead, in the evening it's a wonderful soundscape like in a film! Delicious, affordable food, also to go, bars, restaurants in masses, both for locals and tourists. The surrounding area is also very inviting!"

Quality of teaching / language progress

"Perfectly tailored to me."

Accommodation

"I had to fight to get the casa cleaned after a week. This also happened in a very minimalist way! This definitely needs to be improved! There was no vegetable knife and no paring knife. The rack on which the dishes were supposed to dry was totally rusted. I was very positively surprised by the bed: a very good mattress and a good pillow. The best thing is the terrace: nice and big, with a big table, shady and quiet, although located in the middle of the city. However, some of the chairs urgently need to be replaced, also in front of the house. Despite everything, I would take Villa Limone and especially Casa Figue d'India again any time!"

City/place

School organization

Facilities (library, classrooms)

Social activities

Quality of teaching / language progress

Accommodation

Other

12. Sep. 2023

Sarka (39 years)

Course: Intensive Italian (20 group + 10 individual) - 2 weeks

Overall rating

Value for money

Positive aspects of school

"I had a very flexible teacher who adapted the content exactly to our needs in the group courses. The host family was also excellent."

Negative aspects

"The only thing was that with the individual courses there were two of us - with one student it worked out wonderfully (we were both very diligent), but with the other, the next week, then not (such a personality type) - there I actually would have needed an individual course, as it was too slow for me. That's why I deducted one point."

Details of the review

City/place

"Very beautiful"

Quality of teaching / language progress

"Good"

City/place

School organization

Facilities (library, classrooms)

Social activities

Quality of teaching / language progress

Accommodation

Homestay

24. Jul. 2023

Ruth (33 years) United Kingdom Course: General Italian - 1 week

Overall rating

Value for money

Positive aspects of school

"I had a wonderful week with the school! Julia was an excellent teacher, and the course gave me a good start into the Italian language!"

Negative aspects

"Whilst there were some lovely optional activities offered in the evening, they were quite expensive for what they were."

Details of the review

City/place

"A wonderful city- but Ortigia is the place to experience, rather than Syracuse!"

City/place

School organization

Facilities (library, classrooms)

Social activities

Quality of teaching / language progress

30. May. 2023

Aoun (54 years) Kuwait Course: General Italian - 2 weeks

Overall rating

Value for money

Positive aspects of school

"The main building of the campus is a historic villa. Also, the entrance is next to Chiesa di San Giovanni."

Negative aspects

"When we sometimes asked to lowering our voice, and we need to close the windows for that."

Insider tips about what future students should not miss

"Prepare for the course as much as you can."

Details of the review

Other comments

"Coffee machines, etc"

City/place

"Beautiful, historical, and charming"

Quality of teaching / language progress

"Book, materials."

City/place

School organization

Facilities (library, classrooms)

Social activities

Quality of teaching / language progress

13. Mar. 2023

Daniela (61 years)

Course: Intensive Italian (20 group + 10 individual) - 1 week

Overall rating

Value for money

Positive aspects of school

"Very personal and super friendly"

Details of the review

City/place

"I lived in Ortigia"

Quality of teaching / language progress

"Perfect"

City/place

School organization

Facilities (library, classrooms)

Social activities

Quality of teaching / language progress

1. Oct. 2022

Marjaana (75 years)

Course: General Italian - 2 weeks

Overall rating

Value for money

Positive aspects of school

"The atmosphere and ambience was pleasant. The school was located in a beautiful setting. The teacher was knowledgeable, clear and articulate. The staff was helpful and sympathetic."

Details of the review

City/place

"A very interesting city."

City/place

School organization

Facilities (library, classrooms)

Social activities

Quality of teaching / language progress

23. Sep. 2022

James (40 years) Italy Course: General Italian - 3 weeks

Overall rating

Value for money

Positive aspects of school

"It tried to offer activities but a lot of people did not take advantage of them."

Negative aspects

"As an absolute beginner class we started fast and moved faster so it was hard to figure things out. We did not practice the basic sayings very much which you would think would be something that should be done daily to at least get you saying the basic phrases."

Details of the review

City/place

"If you like warm weather and beach its a good place to go. Ortigia had a lot of food and things to do and see."

Quality of teaching / language progress

"If you are comfortable with learning language you should be fine. I was a first time outside my main language so it was way too fast for me."

City/place

School organization

Facilities (library, classrooms)

Social activities

Quality of teaching / language progress

16. Aug. 2022

Deniz (38 years) Italy Course: General Italian - 3 weeks

Overall rating

Value for money

Positive aspects of school

"I liked my teacher and learned from her. I feel more confident to talk in Italian now."

Negative aspects

"Every Monday new students were joining and there were days went to repeating instead of learning new things. I am up for revising but even same exercise sheets were given. There were few teachers absent (probably due to covid) at some point we had 3 different levels (they combined the classes) in the same class."

Details of the review

City/place

School organization

Facilities (library, classrooms)

Social activities

Quality of teaching / language progress

3. Aug. 2021

Esther (40 years)

Course: General Italian - 2 weeks

Overall rating

Value for money

Positive aspects of school

"The school garden is very nice."

Negative aspects

"There were no free afternoon activities during the two weeks of my course."

Details of the review

Quality of teaching / language progress

"In the same group they brought together different levels."

City/place

School organization

Facilities (library, classrooms)

Social activities

Quality of teaching / language progress

3. Dec. 2019

Daniel (41 years)

Course: 2 weeks

Overall rating

Value for money

Positive aspects of school

"The friendly and helpful staff and the great location with a park."

Details of the review

City/place

"Siracusa has a rich history and there are many historical monuments to visit, for example from Greek and Roman times. Unfortunately it is very noisy and dangerous due to the heavy traffic. It is common not to adhere to traffic rules and to disregard safety regulations."

City/place

School organization

Facilities (library, classrooms)

Social activities

Quality of teaching / language progress

20. Jul. 2026

Anette (57 years) Germany Course: General Italian - 1 week

Overall rating

Value for money

Details of the review

City/place

"Ortigia is nice, it is the ancient quarter. The upper town is more modern."

Accommodation

"The apartment was very nice and calm in an ancient fisherman's quarter in Ortigia. What could be improved? In the bathroom, the power-socket is loose, it should be fixed. And in the shower room there should be a hook or holder for a towel."

City/place

School organization

Facilities (library, classrooms)

Social activities

---

Quality of teaching / language progress

Accommodation

Other

17. Oct. 2022

Jürgen (63 years)

Course: Private Italian Lessons - 1 week

Overall rating

Value for money

Details of the review

City/place

School organization

Facilities (library, classrooms)

Social activities

Quality of teaching / language progress

7. Sep. 2020

Sophie (60 years)

Course: General Italian - 1 week

Overall rating

Value for money

Details of the review

Quality of teaching / language progress

"Unless I'm mistaken, if a course is for 2 students, the 15 hours of training per week turn into 12. I only had 10 ... and no organized activity (even with COVID, we can do things) . Otherwise, a very nice school and quality teachers. I probably came at the wrong time ..."

Accommodation

"The keys to the outdoor garbage cans and the instructions for the capricious boiler must be left with the tenant."

City/place

School organization

Facilities (library, classrooms)

Social activities

Quality of teaching / language progress

Accommodation

Homestay