🇮🇹Italy · Language & culture
Italy — Language & culture
Italian for an expat: CILS B1 for citizenship, English level in Italy (EF EPI 35th globally), CPIA, dialects, cultural rhythms. Where to learn, how to sit the exam, how to belong.
Italian is one state language plus 12 officially recognised minority languages plus around 30 living dialects, separate languages with their own grammar. English in Italy ranks 35th globally, below Spain and Portugal. Citizenship requires B1 since 2018. This chapter sets out the real picture: where and how to learn, which certificate to sit, and which cultural rhythms to pick up to belong.
One state language, many voices
The 1947 Italian Constitution does not name Italian as the state language in Article 1; the de facto status came through the 20th-century school system. Standard Italian (lingua italiana standard) is built on Tuscan, which became the literary norm in the 16th century via Dante, Petrarca, Boccaccio. It runs schools, courts, media, business.
Alongside, 12 officially recognised linguistic minorities (Law 482/1999): German and Ladin in Alto Adige, Slovenian in Friuli, French in Aosta, Occitan in Piemonte, Greek in Calabria and Apulia, Albanian (arbërësh) in Calabria, Sardo, Friulano, Catalan in Alghero, Croatian in Molise. These languages have bilingual signage, school programmes, local press.
And then , not dialects in the strict sense but separate regional languages with their own grammar and literature. Napoletano (Naples, UNESCO-protected), Siciliano (Sicily), Veneziano (Venice), Romanesco (Rome), Milanese (almost gone), Genovese, still audible in the stairwell, at the market, with grandmothers.
For an expat this means: standard Italian is enough to live anywhere. But in a small Sicilian town you will be received better if you know three words in siciliano. Not because it is a language; because it is a signal of respect.
English in Italy: what is actually there
2024 places Italy 35th of 116 countries at a score of 549 ("moderate"). Below Spain, Portugal, Poland; above France and Japan. By age group: 18-25 on "high", 45+ on "low".
- Trentino605
- Emilia-Romagna582
- Lombardy575
- Lazio565
- Veneto558
- Tuscany552
- Sardinia535
- Campania522
- Sicily518
- Calabria498
What that means on the street. In Milan, Bologna, Turin, Venice, Florence within an international business setting (corporate, IT, science, design) English works. In Rome through corporate plus tourist sectors. In smaller northern cities, basic B1. South of Rome outside tourist zones, do not count on it.
What does not run on English anywhere. Government offices (Anagrafe, ASL, INPS, Questura), traditional bank branches, most private doctors, private-landlord leases, public middle and high schools, notaries, ordinary lawyers. There are niche English services (premium private clinics, international lawyers) but those are Milan- and Rome-only and triple priced.
Practical takeaway: the first year is possible on minimal Italian if you live in a major northern city and work for an international employer. After that, life without B1 gets expensive (everything through a translator) and socially isolating.
CEFR levels and what each unlocks
European language exams run on the CEFR (Common European Framework of Reference) scale from A1 to C2. For Italian that maps to:
- A1 (survival), ~80 hours of class. Order coffee, ask directions, fill in a simple form.
- A2 (elementary), +80 hours. Daily conversation, past tense, simple descriptions. Minimum for life in a small town.
- B1 (intermediate), +120 hours. Connected speech, work topics, TV comprehension. Required for citizenship since 2018 and for the long-term carta di soggiorno UE.
- B2 (upper-intermediate), +120 hours. Comfortable in office settings, abstract topics, Italian employment in most sectors.
- C1 (advanced), +200 hours. Professional level: law, medicine, journalism, civil service.
- C2 (mastery), +200 hours. Native-level; teaching, academic work.
Realistic pace. A Russian-speaking adult starting from zero, practising daily (3-5 hours a week plus living in country) reaches A2 in 6 months, B1 in 12-18 months, B2 in 2-3 years, C1 in 3-5 years. Without living in country these timelines double.
Hidden advantage: Italian is a Romance language that maps onto English-speaker intuitions about Latin-rooted vocabulary, and onto Russian-speaker intuitions about declensions and noun gender. An adult who already knows another Romance language (Spanish, French) hits B1 in 4-6 months. From English/German, slower, but still faster than learning Finnish from scratch.
CILS, CELI, PLIDA: how to sit them
Three state-recognised Italian-for-foreigners certificates. All three are legally equivalent: any one is accepted for citizenship, residence, or university entry.
- , Università per Stranieri di Siena. The most common. Levels A1-C2. B1 fee €€ 110. Four sessions a year (December, June, plus two others). Centres worldwide (Russia until 2022; now online there).
- , Università per Stranieri di Perugia. The runner-up. Same cost, format, certificate weight. Stronger centre network in southern Europe and Latin America.
- , Società Dante Alighieri. Available through local Dante chapters; convenient if you have already sat Dante exams in your home country.
B1 exam structure (any of the three): listening (~30 min), reading (~50 min), grammar-vocabulary (~40 min), writing (~70 min), oral (~10 min). Failed modules can be resat alone within two years.
Preparation. Bonacci "Espresso" (B1-B2), Alma "Nuovo Contatto", and past-exam packs published free by each university. Three-week preparatory intensives at Università per Stranieri (in Siena or Perugia), €450-700, deliver the best lift.
Where to learn Italian
Free. CPIA (Centro Provinciale per l'Istruzione degli Adulti), the state adult-education network at the comune. Italian courses for foreigners at A1-B1, 200-300 hours, diploma accepted for citizenship and permesso. Enrolment opens in September each year; seats are not guaranteed, you must show up with codice fiscale and permesso. Quality varies: Milan and Bologna excellent; small towns nominal.
Università per Stranieri (Siena, Perugia). Language universities with programmes from 4 weeks to a full year. A 4-week intensive runs €700-900 and gets you into a student town (Siena especially), with fast progress. The summer semester (June-August) fits an expat on holiday.
Private schools (Scuola Leonardo, ABC, Inlingua, Caffè Italia in major cities). €400-800/month for an intensive (15-20 hours/week), €15-25/hour for one-on-one. Schedule flexibility, teacher choice.
Online (Italki, Preply, Tandem). One-on-one lessons with native speakers from €10-25/hour. Excellent for regular conversational practice; does not replace a grammar foundation. Tandem is free ("Italian for Russian") and runs slowly but produces real friendships.
Immersion without classes. Living in a small town in the centre or south (Spoleto, Lucca, Lecce) where Italian is mandatory at the shop, the doctor, the bank. The fastest but most stressful route. Recommended only for those with a six-month buffer before starting work.
Cultural codes of daily life
Italy is a culture of repeating rhythms. Reading them turns "foreigner" into "one of us who happens to have an accent."
(18-20). A drink before dinner at a bar, with snacks. In Milan €8-15 buys an Aperol Spritz or Negroni and a buffet (often a full meal); Rome runs a leaner version, drink plus crisps. It is a social code: "let's meet for aperitivo on Saturday" is the standard invite, less "let's drink" and more "let's spend an hour in informal company."
(the evening stroll). Through town centre, around 18-19 on the south, 19-20 on the north. Not transit and not exercise: being seen, exchanging greetings ("buona sera, signora Rossi"), reading who is out with whom. Joining the passeggiata is a real "one of us" signal.
(rural food festivals). Between June and October hundreds run: truffle, pistachio, black pig, lemon. Entry free, food cheap (5-15 € a full plate), staffed by volunteers from a local club. Going is a low-cost way into the local community.
(15 August). The summer high point. The country actually stops: small shops, restaurants, private clinics close for a week or two around it. Only chain supermarkets and duty pharmacies stay open. Everyone is at the sea. Knowing that Italian August means full stop protects you from trying to file documents or book renovations then.
Patron-saint feast (festa del santo patrono). Each of 7904 comuni has its day: Palermo, Santa Rosalia, 14 July. Venice, San Marco, 25 April. Naples, San Gennaro, 19 September. On the day everything closes, a procession runs, fireworks at night. Knowing your town's patron saint is the minimum signal of belonging.
Museums. The first Sunday of every month all state museums are free (Uffizi, Colosseum, Pompeii, Brera). Queues are heavy, but the free-entry policy makes cultural life accessible.
Dialects: the living Italy
Italian are not dialects in the strict linguistic sense but separate Romance languages with their own grammar that evolved from Latin in parallel with standard Italian. Napoletano and Siciliano have a literature stretching back to the Middle Ages; UNESCO protects Napoletano as "intangible heritage."
What you actually hear today. In Naples 60-70 % of street conversations include Napoletano elements (especially among people 50+). In Venice, Veneziano is alive in families but young people switch to Italian. Milanese has almost vanished (~5 % speakers). Sardo remains the first language for many rural Sardinians.
Should you learn a dialect. For most expats, no: standard Italian is enough. But in a small Sicilian or Calabrian town, three or four phrases in siciliano ("chi cosa fai", "ué chiamu") earn a smile that flawless Italian will not. It is a sign of respect and a wish to belong.
Minorities. If you settle in Alto Adige (Bolzano), German matters more than Italian day-to-day (~70 % German-speaking province). In Aosta, French is on the school curriculum. In Trieste, Slovenian is audible. Factor this into the region choice.
A language plan for your goal
The language plan depends on the time horizon and the target:
- Citizenship after 10 years of residence. Goal: B1 CILS/CELI/PLIDA. Start: free CPIA in year one plus 1-2 Italki sessions a week. Sit the certificate in 18-24 months.
- Italian-employer work. Goal: B2-C1 in 2-3 years. Intensive course in the first 6 months (Università per Stranieri or a private programme with 15+ hours a week), then immersion through work.
- Short-stay (1-3 years), English-speaking remote work. Goal: A2 for daily life. CPIA + Italki, about 3 hours a week.
- Living in a small town in the centre or south. Goal: B1 fast. Immersion without classes: Italian at the shop, doctor, bank, plus 1-2 sessions a week with a tutor.
- Children in public school. L2-italiano gives a child under 10 native-level Italian in a year. The parent must hold at least A2 to help with homework.
What does not work. App-only learning (Duolingo, Babbel) builds vocabulary but not conversation. A single intensive without follow-up fades inside 6 months. "I will learn when I need it" is a trap: the first year without language is socially more expensive than three years of patient study.
Frequently asked
Can you live in Italy without speaking Italian?
In Milan, Venice, Florence, Rome (especially Prati, Trastevere, Brera) the first year is possible: international business runs in English, expat infrastructure is developed, premium private clinics and lawyers are often bilingual. But you pay triple (everything through a translator) and stay socially isolated. South and small towns: nothing happens without A2. ASL, bank, private-landlord lease, school, notary all run in Italian.
Why do I need a CILS certificate?
B1 (or its equivalents or ) is the formal requirement for Italian citizenship since 2018, for the long-term permesso (carta di soggiorno UE), and for Italian university entry as language evidence. The certificate is universally recognised by the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Interior, and every university. The standard fee for CILS B1 is €€ 110; the exam is taken at the Università per Stranieri di Siena (or certified centres worldwide).
What level of Italian do you need for work?
Depends on the sector and city. English-speaking IT, finance, science, design in Milan or Rome (multinationals): B1 covers daily comfort, English does the office. Italian employer (media, retail, manufacturing): B2-C1. Medicine, law, civil service, journalism: C1-C2 plus subject training. Teaching foreign students at Università per Stranieri: C2 plus a teaching credential.
Where do you learn Italian fast?
CPIA, free state courses at the comune (enrol in September), 200-300 hours A1-B1, certificate accepted for citizenship. Università per Stranieri (Siena, Perugia), best immersion, 4-week intensives at €700-900. Dante Alighieri, local classes in every major city, flexible schedule. Italki and Preply, one-on-one lessons from €15/hour with natives. The free Tandem app ("Italian for Russian" exchanges) runs slowly but builds real friendships.
What is passeggiata and why does it matter?
is the evening stroll through town (around 18:00 on the south, 19:30 on the north) as a social ritual. Not transit and not exercise: being seen, exchanging greetings, joining the informal fabric of the neighbourhood. Joining it is a real signal of local acceptance. Same goes for the morning coffee at the same bar (baristas remember regulars) and going to one or two (rural food festivals) over the first summer.
How many dialects does Italy have?
About 30 regional languages, not strict dialects: (Naples, UNESCO-protected), siciliano, veneziano, romanesco, sardo, friulano, ladin, each with its own grammar, vocabulary, and literature. Plus 12 officially recognised linguistic minorities (Law 482/1999): German and Ladin in Alto Adige, Slovenian in Friuli, French in Aosta, Greek, Albanian, Catalan. The state language is one, Italian; that is what schools, courts, and media run on.
Verified · 2026-04-01