PLIDA Exam in November - APPLY NOW!

PLIDA is one of the three Italian language proficiency tests officially recognised by the Italian government. By passing the B2 level or above, you can use it as a proof of language proficiency when applying jobs in Italy or enrolling universities as foreign students. It works just like TOEFL or IELTS for English, DELF/DALF for French or ZDaF for German.

Dante Chch has recently been endorsed by the Dante Alighieri Sede Centrale as Centro Certificatore, and from November this year we will start running PLIDA exams and preparatory workshops in Chch.

Each of the four basic abilities: Listening, Reading, Speaking and Writing is addressed and assessed separately. The length of the examinations varies according to the levels and goes from 90 min. for A1 level (Waystage) to a max. 210 min. for level C2 (Mastery). PLIDA takes place twice per year in May and November. A non-refundable fee is payable to sit the exam, currently it is set around somewhere less than $200 for each level, and a more detailed fee schedule will be released once it is decided.

DA Chch is the only committee running the PLIDA exams in NZ. To help us organise the exams and the preparatory workshops, please contact us if you wish to take the exam or you wish to obtain further details regarding the times and costs. Past exams can be found on the Dante website. For more detail about the test please click here. (.pdf file)

Massimo Folliero Piano Concert - 8 August

Società Dante Alighieri di Christchurch presents: Massimo Folliero Piano Concert

Italian Pianist Massimo Folliero has performed widely in Europe, Japan and the USA. Now on his first New Zealand tour, he’ll be playing Beethoven’s Appassionata and four Scherzo by Chopin in a recital organized by the Italian Dante Society.

Friday 8 August at 7.30 pm, Chapel of the Music Centre, 140 Barbadoes Street.
Door tickets: $10; students with ID: $5.

August Meeting - Engineered Wood Structures: building a sustainable future

7:30pm, Wed. 13 August, Linwood Community Arts Centre
The meeting this month will be the presentation titled "Engineered Wood Structures: Building a sustainable future" by Massimo Fragiacomo, Stefano Pampanin, Alessandro Palermo and Andy Buchanan.

The latest massive timber engineering project in the Civil and Natural Resource Engineering Department of University of Canterbury, with the collaboration with University of Sassari and Politecnico Milano, indirectly brings Christchurch closer to Italy. We are very fortunate to have most of the key researchers of this project together in Christchurch at the same time to give us a talk about the future of timber structures. This should be of particular interest to the engineers, but the talk will be very comprehensible and educational to also anyone who is not in this field.

The talk will be in English (with a nice Italian accent), and everyone is welcome to come to our meeting!

July Meeting - Sentiero degli Dei

7:30pm, Wed. 9 July, Linwood Community Arts Centre
The meeting this month will be the presentation titled
"La nave da crociera che vola tra le nuvole: Walking the Sentiero degli Dei on the Costiera Amalfitana - an illustrated talk by Denis Walker."

Sentiero degli Dei (Path of God) is a well known trekking path on the Amalfi coast, famous for it's beautiful scenery, and on a nice day you can see the Capri island from the path. Denis Walker will talk about his recent trip to the path, with some photos to show the stunning beauty of the region.

The presentation will be in English, and everyone is welcome to come to our meeting!

Cartolina, 9 - 23 July

Cartolina radio programs “for those who remember Italy and who dream of it”.

9 & 14 July: Evelyn & Alistair Robertson talk about their trip to Torino, where they witnessed the launch of the new Fiat Bambina, a great festa for all Italian cars lovers. We also have a quick update on the resurgence of Fiat industries. Listen to Domenico Modugno’s song ‘Ciao Bambina’ (what else?!)

23 & 28 July: Ewan Mitchell talks about his passion for Italian cars and food, and of his Mitchelli’s Deli Café in Ash St.. You can find a photo of the Mitchelli’s team on the Dante website. Then a nice winter recipe: zucca al forno, that is, baked pumpkin, with cheese and leek.

How to listen.

* Radio on demand through the internet: just visit: http://www.plainsfm.org.nz/Podcasts/programmes

Select “Cartolina” and you’ll get the list of all available programs.

* For the actual radio broadcast, tune in on PLAINS FM 96.9 on alternate Wednesdays at 7.30 pm, or listen to the repeat program on the following Monday, at 10.30 am.

House for rent in Tuscany

A house with 4 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, a living room and a kitchen. No swimming pool or garden. Fully furnished. Available from April to October, for people with transportation. The house is located at Setteponti, with Romanesque churches, in the Beato Angelico Valley between Florence, Siena and Arezzo. It is also close to Trasimeno Lake and Rome.

The place can house 8 people. The rent is 900 euro per month, 450 euro for 15 days, and 300 for a week. If you are interested, contact Teresa teresa.ricci.51@gmail.com for more information.

Una casa normale, senza piscina e giardino, con 4 camere da letto, 3 bagni, soggiorno, cucina; completamente arredata. periodo da aprile ad ottobre. Per persone con automobile.

Setteponti, chiese romaniche, in valle Beato Angelico, triangolo Firenze-Siena -Arezzo. escursioni lago Trasimeno, Roma.

I posti letto sono 8, per la spesa :per un mese 900 euro, 15 giorni 450 euro, 1 settimana 300 euro. Contatta Teresa a teresa.ricci.51@gmail.com se vuoi più informazioni.