ALESSIO BANZATO
After obtaining a master's degree in Russian literature from the University of Pavia, he moved to St. Petersburg, Russia, where he collaborated with the Italian Cultural Institute (Istituto Italiano di Cultura) for 13 years, teaching Italian as a second language (L2) in various schools it sponsored.
During his years in Russia, he became a certified CILS test giver and CELI examiner, and obtained the DITALS II certification.
Thanks to his experience at the Italian Cultural Institute (IIC) in St. Petersburg, he was able to experience the great Russian and, more specifically, St. Petersburg cultural tradition, participating in numerous theatrical, musical, and cinematographic events, often as part of Italian-Russian projects.
In 2022, he worked at the Italian Cultural Institute in Dublin, Ireland, where he was responsible for Italian language courses.
In 2024, he opened a private online school and dreams of organizing Italian language courses complemented by wonderful bike rides in the hills of the Oltrepò Pavese.
NICOLETTA CHIAPEDI
Nicoletta Chiapedi graduated in Modern Languages from the University of Pavia in 2002 with a thesis in Sociolinguistics. From 2002 to May 2004, she attended the Master’s in Teaching Italian as a Foreign Language at the University for Foreigners in Perugia, obtaining the diploma (30/30 cum laude) in 2004. In February 2008, she obtained a PhD in Linguistics from the University of Perugia with a thesis on the acquisition of Italian articles by native speakers of Chinese. She has a extensive experience teaching Italian as a second language: she has taught at the University of Pavia, at the University for Foreigners in Perugia, at the University of Bologna, and at the University of Genoa. At the University of Pavia she has been teaching Italian to the students of the Marco Polo Program since march 2011 and to Foundation Year since 2018.
FRANCESCA RIVA
Passionate about Asian cultures, she obtained a bachelor’s degree in Intercultural Communication at the University of Milano-Bicocca (2017) with a focus on Asian languages and cultures.
Immediately after, she started working as a volunteer teacher of Italian as a second language in charity associations. This experience encouraged her to further specialize in this field by first obtaining the DITALS II certificate (2018) and then a master’s degree in Teaching Italian as a foreign language at the University for Foreigners of Siena (2021) with a thesis on the use of chatting apps to learn Italian.
In 2022, she obtained a master certificate to teach to people with ADHD and Specific Learning Disabilities.
She is now completing a master's course in Teaching Italian as a second language in public schools.
During many years of experience as a teacher of Italian to foreigners, she has had the opportunity to teach in different environments such as private schools, university, associations, and companies, which allowed her to get in touch with different realities and types of students – both online and offline. Since 2024, she is a CILS examiner and in 2025 she trained teachers in public schools on CLIL and the use of AI in class.
Currently, she is teaching Italian as a second language at the University of Pavia to students of the Foundation Year and Marco Polo/Turandot program.
GABRIELLA SCAVONE
She graduated in Philosophy from the University of Milan and later began a specialization in teaching Italian as a Second Language at the University for Foreigners of Bergamo. She obtained the CEDILS Certification for teaching Italian as a second language at Ca' Foscari University of Venice. Since 2003, she has taught Italian as a second language at the European Institute of Design (IED), the University of Milan Bicocca, and the Humanitas University International Medical School. She has also collaborated for many years with the Foundation of Civic Schools of Milan, consulates, and international companies. Since 2018, she has been involved in intercultural education and multilingualism in secondary schools and is responsible for didactic projects for linguistic literacy at a Welcome and Integration Structure. She is currently a teacher in the Foundation Year program at the University of Pavia.
MARIA FRANCESCA SACCO
Graduated from the University of Siena in Art History, she continued her studies focusing on the dramaturgy and theatral critic at the University of Pisa, where she collaborates with some magazines. She began teaching Italian for foreigners in Poland, where she works for seven years in a private university and five years in a high school. Her studies include the certification CEDILS and DITALS II as well as the School of Specialization in Teaching Italian as a foreign language, University of Siena, in 2020. She is a CILS test giver and also works in different environments: the University of Philology of Valencia, the University Federico II of Naples ,Dante Alighieri Society of Siena, in a project about teaching Italian through the language of wine.
DEBORA BELLINZANI
Debora Bellinzani is a teacher of Italian language and literature, as well as a professional journalist.
She is currently teaching Italian language at the University of Pavia and the University of Milan.
Formerly, she taught Italian language, literature, and culture at several institutions in Italy and the United States: the University of Venice Ca’ Foscari, the University of Padua, the University of Iowa (Visiting Assistant Professor), the University of Wisconsin-Madison (Lecturer), and private schools for adult learners.
She obtained a PhD in Italian (University of Wisconsin-Madison), Master’s degrees in Italian
Literature (Middlebury College) and in Teaching Italian as a Foreign Language (University of Milan), and a laurea in Sociology (University of Rome La Sapienza).
At the University of Parma, she studied how to manage special educational needs (SEN).
Her research interests in the second language acquisition field include cooperative writing, the learning in motion technique and the use of literary texts in foreign language teaching; her research interests in the literary field include novels and short stories by Giovanni Verga, Luigi Capuana, Federico De Roberto, and Luigi Pirandello.
Her research has produced articles (Italiano LinguaDue, Quaderni CIS Franco Cesati Editore, Atti del Centro Nazionale di Studi Pirandelliani) and invited speeches at the annual conferences of the Centro Nazionale di Studi Pirandelliani.
GIULIA PERRELLA
Giulia Perrella graduated from the University of Pisa with a master's degree in Italian
Studies with a critical-literary focus in 2021.
She started working as an Italian Language and Literature and Language Acquisition teacher at the International School of Monza. She then decided to further specialize by obtaining the CEDILS Certification for teaching Italian as a second language at the
Ca' Foscari University of Venice. She had the opportunity to work with different training orientations, from the International Baccalaureate to the traditional Italian state school, and to the Montessori method.
Her contact with students from different backgrounds inspired her to deepen language teaching for non-Italian speakers and the achievement of second-level master’s certification at the University for Foreigners of Perugia in teaching Italian as a non-native language(2024).
She is an oral examiner for the Italian language certification CELI as well as a CILS test
giver. She currently teaches Italian as second language at the CIS of the University of
Cagliari, to the international students of the Luiss University and in the Foundation
Year/Marco Polo Turandot programs at the University of Pavia.
MARIANGELA CASTRONOVO
Mariangela Castronovo graduated in Foreign Languages and Cultures from the University of Rome“La Sapienza”. Later, she obtained the Ditals Certificate for teaching Italian as a second language atthe “Università per stranieri” of Siena, and a Master’s degree in Teaching Italian as a SecondLanguage at the “Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore” of Milan. Over the past thirteen years, shehas been teaching Italian as a second language in universities to international students, inparticular the Marco Polo/Turandot and the Foundation Year students. In her career as an instructor of L2 Italian, Mariangela has gained experience in different educational contexts,
including the universities of Rome, Bergamo, Milan and Pavia. Furthermore, she delivers the CILS
and the PLIDA exams of L2 Italian. She has also published studies on second language acquisition,especially related to Chinese-speaking students’ population.
MARIA GRAZIA MONTAGNARI
Maria Grazia Montagnari obtained her master's degree from the University of Pavia with a grade of 110/110. During her university studies she taught Italian to immigrants as a volunteer at a charity association in Pavia. Subsequently, he worked at the Universidad del Norte in Colombia and obtained the Ditals II certification at the University for Foreigners of Siena.
Over the course of her career she has worked in various contexts: from public schools, where she worked on literacy and Italian culture, to universities, passing through private institutes and multinational companies. He taught Italian for ten years at the Santa Caterina Biomedical Residence in Pavia and worked at the Language Center of the University of Pavia. Currently, in addition to teaching at the Faculty of Political Sciences and the Master's Degree Course in Psychology, Neuroscience and Human Sciences, he collaborates with Treccani.
ILARIA MOSCHINI
She obtained a Master’s degree in Ancient Philology, Literature and History from the University of Milan and a post-graduate degree in Tourism Economics and Management from Bocconi University.
Her academic focus was on ancient languages and the enhancement of cultural heritage, as she has taken part in scientific outreach and educational projects.
She has gained extensive international experience, including a cultural exchange with AFS in Finland, an Erasmus+ year in Berlin, and various study and work stays in Germany and the UK.
She taught Italian language and culture at VHS Neukölln in Berlin and Humanities at the Liceo Classico of the Educandato Statale E. Setti Carraro dalla Chiesa in Milan.
Her commitment to teaching has led her to attend a German course at the Humboldt University of Berlin in order to become a teacher in Germany, to obtain the CEDILS certification – Ca’ Foscari University of Venice – and to enroll in the second-level Master degree Teaching Italian Language andCulture to Foreigners – Scuola IaD, University of Rome Tor Vergata.
She applies participatory teaching methods and digital tools, such as digital storytelling, which she previously explored through a collaboration with the “PoliCultura” project of the Polytechnic
University of Milan.
She currently teaches in the Foundation Year and Marco Polo/Turandot programs.