The Italian Escape: A bilingual English-Italian language podcast

Ciao! Siamo Gabriele e Angelique e ben tornati nel nostro podcast, the Italian Escape.

We are passionate language learners, and we record for you the language learning podcast we’d like to play when we learn new languages

Our podcast in mixed English and simple Italian helps beginners and intermediate Italian language learners enjoy engaging content about Italy, its language, and its culture from day 0 of their language learning journey.

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For season 2, we’d like to kick off with a topic that’s being debated within Italy: how do we address our newly elected prime minister Giorgia Meloni?

Recently, journalists and intellectuals criticized Giorgia Meloni’s decision to be called, “IL” Presidente del Consiglio (in case you did not know, this is another way of saying prime minister in Italian).

According to Italian grammar, she should be called, “la presidente”, and yet, she insists on being called “il presidente”. Many speculate the motive for this decision to be political, yet some thought it to be a move related to gender equality.

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Because of the latest headline, we thought of unearthing an interview we had with Alice de Ferrari.

Alice works as a project manager for numerous innovative European projects. She is also a proud mother of two kids and a minimalist, and a feminist. Last year, she took a master’s degree in Gender Equality and Diversity Management provided by Fondazione Brodolini and was happy to share with us her insights on gender inequality here in Italy.

In this episode, we will first give you a short summary of what we discussed with Alice about the said topic, followed by a clip of our interview. Please note that our original interview was done earlier this year.

You can find Alice de Ferrari via:

Access show notes via our website.

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If you have any thoughts or comments on our podcast, e-mail us at [email protected]. Also,

Music credits: storyblocks.com

Italian food – many of you love it. But do you really know the stories behind it?

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Ciao! Siamo Gabriele e Angelique. Benvenuti nel nostro podcast!

We are passionate language learners, and we record for you the language learning podcast we’d like to play when we learn new languages

Our podcast in mixed English and simple Italian helps beginners and intermediate Italian language learners enjoy engaging content about Italy, its language, and its culture from day 0 of their language learning journey.

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Today we’d like to share with you our conversation with Martina Bartolozzi, an Italian American trained butcher and food expert, who was born and raised in Tuscany.

If she’s not busy sharing her anecdotes on the local food scene and food customs of Italy on Instagram, you can find her working on her personalized or ready-to-go interactive maps and writing stories of women in food.

We personally had a great time chatting with her about her life story, the struggle of Italian women in the food business, and the contrasting food culture between Italy and the States.

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This episode will conclude our first season of the Italian Escape Podcast. 

Next month we will disappear for a brief period as we take a break to recover and prepare for the next season. The format of our episode will be a bit different compared to the first episodes.

This episode will give you an idea of what you’d expect when we return this November.

In the meantime, if you love our podcast and would like to help us out, do leave us a review in Apple Podcast and on Spotify. Another way of helping us is by joining our Patreon community, as we’ll be putting up more exciting stuff once the next season starts.

And now, we present to you our conversation with Martina. Listen NOW and learn about the importance of sharing stories of the food we produce, cook, and eat here in Italy.

You can find Martina Bartolozzi and her maps via:

Show Notes:

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Did you like our episode? Rate us!

If you have any thoughts or comments on our podcast, e-mail us at [email protected]. Also,

A free transcript will be available soon on our website.

Music credits: storyblocks.com

Photo courtesy of Valeria Raniolo

We have always talked about how wonderful Italy is, but what do you know about its dark sides, such as poverty?

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Ciao! Siamo Gabriele e Angelique. Benvenuti nel nostro podcast!

We are passionate language learners, and we record for you the language learning podcast we’d like to play when we learn new languages

Our podcast in mixed English and simple Italian helps beginners and intermediate Italian language learners enjoy engaging content about Italy, its language, and its culture since day 0 of their language learning journey.

---

Today we talk about Italy’s state of poverty. But what is poverty? Is it absolute? Is it relative?

In this episode, we will talk about the numerous questions related to poverty including:

As you will listen to our episode, you will realize that the poverty crisis is a complex matter. In Italy, it is part of a vicious cycle. People may end up being jobless and homeless for good. Once you’re in the system, you cannot get out of it.

Listen NOW to our conversation and learn more about Italy’s ongoing poverty crisis while enriching your Italian language learning experience.

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Fill up our survey and get a chance to have your idea featured!

If you have any thoughts or comments on our podcast, e-mail us at [email protected], or send us a voice message. Also,

A free transcript will be available soon on our website.

Music credits: storyblocks.com

Do you know who “the hero of the 2 worlds" is?

Today we will be talking about the one and only – Giuseppe Garibaldi, one of the most famous Italian heroes who spent his life fighting for freedom and unified Italy. Being known as “the hero of the two worlds”, you’ll see his monuments everywhere in Italy, as well as in Latin America.

In this episode, you will find out why everybody should know about this brave man who fought for freedom in Italy and many more countries across the world.

He was not fighting out of spite, or desire to become famous. He just believed that every person deserves freedom. Because of his democratic ideals, in a time of monarchies, he was not well-liked by the royal political leaders of his time. And yet, people of all social classes loved him so much that he was a worldwide recognized hero during his lifetime.

Listen NOW to our conversation and learn more about one of Italy’s most famous historical figures.

Show notes:

If you have any thoughts or comments on our podcast, e-mail us at [email protected], or send us a voice message. Also,

A free transcript will be available soon on our website.

Music credits: storyblocks.com

What is a language acquisition expert? Chances are you might need one.

We had a chat with Ludovica Corda, an Italian second-language acquisition expert based in New York, USA. Living abroad most of her life, she saw the value of working smarter and not harder when it comes to language learning.

For years, she teaches people on how to effectively learn Italian by associating it with their mother tongues.

Since the pandemic, she began producing online educational videos by mixing English with Italian.

Listen to this episode NOW and find out Ludovica’s story and her unconventional yet effective way of teaching Italian.

If you’re interested, you can contact Ludovica via her website or her YouTube channel.

If you have any thoughts or comments on our podcast, e-mail us at [email protected], or send us a voice message. Also,

A free transcript will be available soon on our website.

Music credits: storyblocks.com

Where do Italians hideaway when summer comes?

If you happen to spend your Italian summer holiday in a city, you’ll eventually realize that the city’s practically deserted. Where are the Italians you longed to interact with?

You’ll eventually find out that they are living very different lives by the sea, or by the mountains.

Start listening to this episode NOW, to improve your Italian while you learn how and where do Italians spend their summer holidays.

By the end of the episode, you’ll learn a thing or two about what “l’estate italiana” is for the locals.

If you have any thoughts or comments on our podcast, e-mail us at [email protected], or send us a voice message. Also,

Music credits: storyblocks.com

Access Full Transcript Here: https://www.theitalianescapepodcast.com/transcripts/episode-17

Have you ever wondered whether you’d like to jumpstart your musical career here in Italy?

For this episode we talked to Oyku Dogan, a Turkish musician who decided to pursue her musical education and career in another Mediterranean country - Italy.

At 19 years old, she left her home country and settled in the little town of Piacenza.

Once she has set foot in Italy, she studied different music styles and the techniques behind each of them, all of which were taught in Italian – a language she had to be proficient in a short span of time.

Time and time again, she showed the same courage she had when coming to Italy by ignoring big music companies and embarking on an unconventional independent music career while living in Italy.

Listen to this episode NOW and find out Oyku’s story while learning Italian with the Italian Escape podcast.

If you’re interested in reaching out to Oyku, you can find her in Spotify, Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook.

To listen to Oyku’s recommended Turkish music playlist, click here.

If you have any thoughts or comments on our podcast, e-mail us at [email protected], or send us a voice message

Follow us at:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/it_escape_pod

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/it_escape_pod/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/italian.escape.podcast

Music credits: storyblocks.com

Access Full Transcript Here: https://www.theitalianescapepodcast.com/transcripts/episode-16

Have you ever thought of working in Italy as a luxury brand strategist, while travelling and living la dolce vita?

For this episode we talked to Elena Ciprietti, a New Yorker who decided to pack her bags and live her Italian dream over 10 years ago.

She first lived in Milan, building her career in marketing.

She then lived in Palermo, where she reconnected with the land of her great-grandparents.

Now, she is in Modena and can often be found exploring tiny, wonderful Italian islands.

Why did she come to Italy?

How did she begin her career and worked her way up in the world of Italian luxury?

Would you think that she is living the American dream of a new life in Italy?

Would you like to follow her footsteps and visit the unconventional spots in Italy?

Listen to this episode NOW and find out Elena’s story while learning Italian with the Italian Escape podcast.

If you’re interested in reaching out to Elena, you can find her in Instagram.

If you have any thoughts or comments on our podcast, e-mail us at [email protected], or send us a voice message

Follow us at:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/it_escape_pod

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/it_escape_pod/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/italian.escape.podcast

Music credits: storyblocks.com

Access Full Transcript Here: https://www.theitalianescapepodcast.com/transcripts/episode-15

The Italian escape podcast is growing. Do you want to know what’s new?

In the last 3 months, since this podcast started, we were overwhelmed by the support that you showed us.  You let us know, over and over, how helpful this podcast is for you.

That’s why we decided to double our efforts and release a ton of new features to make your Italian learning journey more engaging, easier, and smoother than before!

In this episode we thank you for your support and introduce the many new tools that we are adding to your bilingual language learning toolbox. Newsletters, transcripts, vocabulary lists, videos and more new features are coming for you.

Listen to this episode NOW and find out how is learning Italian with the Italian Escape podcast.

If you have any thoughts or comments on our podcast, e-mail us at [email protected], or send us a voice message

Follow us at:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/it_escape_pod

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/it_escape_pod/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/italian.escape.podcast

Music credits: storyblocks.com

Access Full Transcript Here: https://www.theitalianescapepodcast.com/transcripts/episode-14

Have you ever witnessed a real Italian wedding?

In this episode we share the emotion of celebrating our friends’ love in a timeless Italian setting.

We attended our friends Davide and Ilaria’s catholic wedding inside a 24-century old temple of Athena, the Greek goddess of wisdom. How incredible is that!

We joined the wedding party in an ancient Villa in the outskirts of Siracusa, Sicily. So quaint!

We ate the cake by the pool. We danced, ate, laughed and challenged the spouses with wedding trivia.

But we also struggled eating through the many hours long of party.

Italian weddings are all of this and much more. Listen to today’s episode NOW, to learn Italian easy and find out how awesome weddings are in Italy and why you should manage to get invited to one!

If you have any thoughts or comments on our podcast, e-mail us at [email protected], or send us a voice message

Follow us at:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/it_escape_pod

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/it_escape_pod/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/italian.escape.podcast

Music credits: storyblocks.com

Access Full Transcript Here: https://www.theitalianescapepodcast.com/transcripts/episode-13