Dave Nelson
President

Dave Nelson began learning the extraordinary range of Italian experience in 1974, his first visit.  In a trattoria in Tuscany, he discovered strange and delicious noodles called tortellini.  His pocket was picked on the infamous Bus 64 in Rome.  He repeatedly encountered an odd bit of plumbing called il gabinetto, a hole in the ground the Italians called a toilet.  He puzzled over the ancient enigma of the lira, and he stood within a foot of the Michelangelo’s Pietà.  His trip was delayed several times because of gli scioperi, labor strikes, which seemed to shut down the train system every other day.  He fell ill after drinking 12 different Italian liquori during a social call in an Italian village.  (To this day, he shudders at the thought of another glass of strega, meaning witch’s potion.)  And he stayed for three days in an Italian home whose inhabitants could speak no English.  Unfortunately, at the time, he could speak no Italian.

Dave has been explaining these marvels, and more, to people ever since.

Having studied languages all his life, Dave is well-versed on the complex connection between speech and culture.  He speaks both Italian and French, and he can curse effectively in several other languages.  He has a degree in English from the University of California-Riverside and an ESL teaching certificate from Notre Dame de Namur University in Burlingame, California.  He designed the “concentrated” language course used by Beyond the Sights.

He lives with his wife, Barbara, in San Jose, California.

 

Cristina Brocchin
Director, Italian Operations 

Few people are more knowledgeable about the demands of moving between cultures and languages than Cristina Brocchin (pronounced “bro-KEEN”).  She was born in Vigevano, Italy, a small town south of Milan, and has lived in France, Britain, and America where she now resides with her husband, Giuseppe Scafidi-Polino and their daughter, Anna.  She studied law at l’Università degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca and graduated in 2004.  Cristina speaks three languages and teaches Italian whenever she isn’t supervising the Italian operations and chasing little Anna around the house.  She loves to cook and she is a world-class expert on gelato.

 

Romina Liscio, Lilli Caporello, Donatella Corvellini, Francesca Tomba, and Giulia Gregori
The Docenti

By special arrangement with The Language Center in Umbria, we have enlisted the services of the brightest, most charming docenti in all of Italy.  They will guide you through the challenges of Italian and introduce you to a part of Italy few people ever experience.

 

Alessandro Burato
Buona Luce Photography, Calci, Italy

Many of the photographs seen on our website were taken by Alessandro Burato (seen here on his wedding day with his wife, Rita).  Buona luce means “good light” and, as you can see from his work, Ale takes advantage of every ray of light.  He also writes articles on photography which you may read in our “Articles” section.

You may see more of his work at his web gallery, www.buonaluce.net.  And you correspond with him, in English or Italian, at alessandro@buonaluce.net.