Enjoy an Italian language course in Italy
at our language school in the city of Capo Vaticano

Capo Vaticano is a beautiful cape of white-gray granite beaches located on the outskirts of Ricadi in the beautiful Calabria district in Souther Italy. Winding roads trace along the beaches and rocky coves of the coastline on one side while mountains and foothills rise upon the other hiding historical villages and mountain cottages with spectacular views. The waters in this area are clear and “pescoso” which means full of fish. Up until the 1980s Ricadi was primarily a fishing and agricultural town though today it is becoming a major tourist destination. People have discovered the beauty of Capo Vaticano for generations, liked famed writer Giuseppe Berto, who made it his second home, will tell you: “Capo Vaticano is is called Vatican as a Roman hill: once priests and fortune tellers searched for the future basing their predictions on birds’ flights. 200 meters over the Cape there is a rock called Mantineo and in ancient Greek it means: to communicate with God. The Cape was a holy place and now it is the same”.


While Capo Vaticano is so beautiful it may be considered heavenly, it has been home to many people. While nearby Ricardi can be dated back to the 10th century and the Saracen invasions, it has been settled by the Greeks, Romans, Byzantines and Normans who made many road and defensive infrastructure. These ruins are available for archaeological tours and many historic houses are protected as part of the National Museum of Reggio Calabria. You won’t have to travel far for history as our school is situated in an old, rustic estate which is surrounded by overgrown gardens, orange groves, lemon trees and grapevines and is only a 10 minute walk to the beach. The most known beaches are in the bays of Grotticelle around which a variety of tourist lodgings have been built and have brought wealth to the originally fishing and agricultural community.


The area retains many of the charms of a rural town with, not surprisingly, excellent fishing. There is also La Sagra della Cipolla Rossa (The Red Onion Festival) every 13th of August which celebrates the famous red onions from Tropea, a crop for which the area is perfect for, with games and races, a midnight dance and fireworks. One can also visit the Farming Museum to see how the land has been cultivated for generations. Every June the area hosts the Guiseppe Berto Literary Prize with a prize both for an emerging writer and another for a foreign writer whose work has been published in Italian. Like all of Southern Italy the area is a gastronomical adventure. Fresh seafood and deliciously harvested produce make for unforgettable meals. Most importantly, however, are the beaches which are unmatched in the rest of Italy and offer the perfect place to enjoy this sunny Mediterranean climate. There could be no more idyllic and charming place to learn Italian than Capo Vaticano!


We also offer a “Split City” option with our Florence & Rome programs, which offers the student the opportunity to visit and study in both cities. This is extremely flexible and also allows the student the opportunity to sample the cultural city and the rustic south coast of Italy.


What we like about Italian in Capo Vaticano:

  • Capo Vaticano is apicturesque Mediterranean coastal village with postcard views.
  • Our school is very laid-back with outdoor classes and walking distance to beach.
  • The city has a beautiful warm and sunny climate that makes it an ideal vacation spot.