This year, we at Lingua Libera Tutti have discovered a new place where we can teach our beloved language, even for brief periods.
We were actually contacted by the organic Agriturismo “La Coccinella”, located at Pornello in the province of Terni, to offer a week-long course to two Dutch guests at their facility.
Mathijs and Luigi have a main house with five bedrooms and a number of outbuildings used to accommodate tourists. In the midst of a large olive grove, the property includes a swimming pool for guests.
Opened in 2018, “La Coccinella” is, in fact, managed by Mathijs who is Dutch and Luigi, a sardinian.
Interested as we are to know more about our partners, we asked them a number of questions. This is the interview they gave us.
- How did this project to open “La Coccinella” get started and why did you choose this name?
It was always our dream to get back to nature and to start an activity in the tourist sector. My dream (Mathijs) was to do it in Italy.
We chose the name “La Coccinella” because we wanted a symbol to represent something that could only belong to a healthy environment.
Besides, it also seems very gentle, obviously.
- How has living in Umbria changed your life?
We left the frantic life of the city behind. As a result, much of the negative stress has disappeared. Waking up every day in the countryside to the song of the birds is the best thing that can happen to you.
- On your site we noticed that you have launched the initiative “Adotta un ulivo”; what is that?
The year 2020 has obviously been a difficult one for everyone with the eruption of the pandemic. As a recently-opened company, we were badly affected.
But entrepreneurship naturally includes innovation. For example, we began “adotta un ulivo”. Anyone who wishes to can adopt an olive tree. Those who have done so have received an adoption certificate sent to their home with a photo of their adopted olive tree. In exchange, they receive the equivalent in extra-virgin olive oil from our olive harvest.
- What are guests of “La Coccinella” looking for and what do they find?
Our guests are mainly people who want to lower their stress. They want to enjoy nature in a genuine part of Italy, far from all mass tourism. We also have many people who want to stay for a long period of time and find the peace and inspiration near us to write their book, paint or compose music.
- What are the places around you or, more generally, in the province of Terni that are most attractive to your guests?
Our guests come to us to find the best of both worlds. So they stay with us in the Parco Naturale Unesco del Monte Peglia and are within at most an hour by car from the main attractions that Umbria has to offer. Since we are in a central part of Umbria, our guests can enjoy the falls, le cascate delle Marmore, in the south of Umbria, Orvieto to the west, Montefalco and Spoleto to the east, as far as places such as Assisi and Perugia a little more to the north … and, of course, the two lakes of Trasimeno and Bolsena that are within the same distance.
- How did you learn of the existence of Lingua Libera Tutti?
After moving to Italy, we spent some time living with Dutch friends in the province of Perugia. There we got to know a number of emigrants who had studied the Italian language with LLT and who were thrilled with the teaching method and the results. This is why we want our guests to learn Italian in this enjoyable way.