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“La Direttrice”: Christina Ball, Ph.D.
Christina Ball picked up a Ph.D in Italian Language and Literature at Yale University in 1998 and has been teaching all aspects of Italian—language, literature, culture, film—at Yale, Wake Forest and the University of Virginia for the past 15 years. An educational enthusiast, she founded Ecco Italy with the goal of enhancing the presence of Italian language, culture and travel in the Charlottesville area.
As the Owner/Director of Ecco Italy (and Spain on Main), Christina teaches language and culture classes, offers travel consulting, trains restaurant and business groups in pronunciation and language, organizes study adventures at our sister school in Todi (Umbria), and nurtures any Italia-related idea or request that comes her way – from coordinating a Tuscan dinner party at a private home to training employees in the Italian language and lifestyle for an American firm with connections to Italy.
Christina has lived the ‘sweet life’ in Rome, Bologna, Cortona, and Florence doing everything from researching the moon in Italian literature on a Fulbright grant to searching for the perfect gelato to creating an edition of handmade books in a chilly palazzo courtyard.
If she’s not nibbling on a panino or sipping a macchiato at The Main Street Market, she’s probably doing it in Italia. Christina currently spends summers in Tuscany and Calabria with her husband, Enrico Cesaretti, their daughter, Mila, and a shiny black motor scooter. She travels to Italy regularly during the year for research and to teach at Ecco Italy’s sister school in Todi, La Lingua, La Vita. A bonvivante and certified ‘foodie’, Christina is currently the Dining Editor for Virginia Living Magazine .
Read an interview with Christina on the Rome-based blog Eternallycool
Read about Christina in The Hook
Ecco Italy’s Guest Faculty:
“La Fiorentina”: Silvia Dupont
A native of Florence, Italy, Silvia Dupont moved to Charlottesville with her family this year – and we wasted no time in discovering her many culinary and pedagogic talents! Silvia excels both in the language classroom and in the kitchen, and is truly in her element teaching cooking classes! Always eager to share her language and culture with others – dispelling stereotypes along the way – she has been teaching Italian language, culture and conversation since 1998, primarily at the University of Notre Dame and, now, at Ecco Italy and the University of Virginia. For the past four years, Silvia, who holds a laurea in Economia e Commercio from the Universita’ di Firenze, has worked as a consultant for both the Consortium of Parmigiano Reggiano and for the Cooperative of producers of Fontina cheese, helping to educate Americans about the superiority of these truly exceptional, historic cheeses (and the inferiority of their imitators!). Well aware of the social and creative powers of food, she looks for any excuse to cook for people and we’ll certainly give her a few more. She looks forward to contributing her many passions: cooking, teaching, meeting new people, enjoying life – to the Ecco Italy community.
L’innamorata (dell’Italia!): Nicole Ponticorvo
Calling northern New Jersey home, Nicole Ponticorvo is a fourth-year undergraduate student at the University of Virginia, finishing up her English Language and Literature major and Italian Studies minor this year. Having just spent an entire semester living and studying abroad in Siena, Italy, Nicole eagerly looks forward to bringing her passion, language skills and love of all-things Italian to Ecco Italy, as one of the school’s first student interns. While abroad, Nicole attended Siena’s University for Foreigners in conjunction with her UVA program. Nicole began her Italian studies in high school and hopes to continue growing as an Italian speaker, cultural enthusiast, avid traveler and member of the Ecco Italy famiglia in the future.
“La Sarda”: Patrizia Johnson
photo in the works!
A native of Nuoro, on the beautiful Italian island of Sardegna, Patrizia Johnson made her way to Virginia and Ecco Italy via a quite interesting international itinerary. She has taught Italian in places as different and as distant as Winchester, England (at Linguarama and Bi-lingua schools, and in a local prison), Bonn, Germany and Farmville, Virginia. A life-long student, Patrizia earned her certificate in English proficiency from the University of Cambridge and studied German and Spanish (languages) and Italian literature at the university in Bonn. As multi-lingual as she is multi-talented, Patrizia speaks Italian, English, German and Spanish fluently, is proficient in French and Sardinian and has studied Latin, ancient and modern Greek, Russian, Romanian, Portuguese and even Esperanto! Her areas of research interest include literature, sociolinguistics and Italian women’s studies. Patrizia currently resides in Farmville with her family but commutes willingly to her grande amore- Charlottesville – each week to share her passion for language and culture with fortunate students of Ecco Italy. She’ll be teaching Italian for beginners 1 and 2 this fall and a course on Italian through opera in the winter of 2009. Benvenuta, Patrizia!
“La Storica”: Lynn Laufenberg, Ph.D
Powerhouse Historian Lynn Laufenberg studied Ancient
Greek/Latin as undergrad at Northwestern in Chicago, then got a job in architectural history at Chicago Historical Society – which proves that you CAN do something interesting with that liberal arts degree! She fought the urge to go to law school by living in Rome for a year, which taught her that life without Italy simply wasn’t worth living. Lynn compromised by studying medieval Italian law at Cornell University, where she earned a Ph.D. Lynn and Christina crossed paths for the first time ten years ago on Fulbrights to Italy, and for the second 4 years ago after Lynn landed a job as Professor of History at Sweet Briar College. The rest really is history. Lynn co-teaches Italy on Main with Christina and also contributes a history component to our “Bella” aperitivo events.
Got a history question or comment?
E-mail Lynn at: llaufenberg@sbc.edu
“L’Esperto di Vini”: Robert Harllee
A pioneer in the Virginia wine world, “Wine Expert” Robert (Roberto) Harllee opened his version of the Market Street Wineshop in Downtown Charlottesville way back in 1986, when there was barely a good bottle of Barolo to be found. In 1997, this native Floridian with a passion for history and a penchant for storytelling, opened his second shop north of town. He is a frequent traveler to Italy (just returned from an October trip to Tuscany and Campania) and strives to stock his shops’ shelves with the noblest and most playful Italian wines he can get his hands on. Robert writes a wine column for In the Kitchen monthly and organizes regular wine dinners for Escafe restaurant. As Ecco Italy’s Esperto di Vini”, he selects the wines for all of our classes and events involving vino.
“Il Modernista”: Enrico Cesaretti, Ph.D
Tuscan-born and bred, Enrico Cesaretti studied English and German languages and literature at the University of Pisa, where he earned a laurea in 1987. Eager to exercise his linguistic skills, he moved to Charlottesville (for the first time) in 1989, where he received his masters in – ironically – Italian Literature at UVA. Next stop: New Haven, where Enrico not only met Christina, but also earned a doctorate in Italian. As luck would have it, Enrico returned to UVA in 1999, this time as Professor of Italian. An avid newspaper reader, Enrico specializes in modern and contemporary Italian literature and pop culture. He currently teaches the “Headline News Italia” section of our day-long intro course, Italy on Main.
“The Flexible Francophile”: Jennifer Waine
Born and raised in New York, Jennifer holds a Masters degree in French literature from the University of Virginia and has been teaching French at the high school and college level since 1999. She has worked as a translator and extensively as a private instructor. Other professional experiences include working closely with the Artistic Director at the French Institute/Alliance Française in Manhattan helping mount projects that ranged from producing the Bastille Day Street Fair with over 10,000 participants to curating Vietnamese lacquer exhibitions in the art gallery. She says of her teaching at Ecco Italy: When I took the Buon Viaggio course with Christina, I was struck by her ability to transmit her passion for the language and culture to her students. My students tend to evaluate my teaching in a similar manner. Christina and I also share a high-energy, interactive approach to teaching, so I feel like the way I will add French to Ecco Italy is very much in line with Christina’s mission for her language school In addition to being a dynamic and flexible language teacher, Jennifer is also a yoga instructor and enjoys teaching yoga in both French and English. She lives in Charlottesville with her husband and their baby daughter.
GLI ARTISTI
Meet the three artists responsible for Ecco Italy’s “look”-
Steve Ingham (artist, illustrator), Lawren Spera (graphic designer) and Courtney Tallman (graphic designer).
Press-Praise for ECCO ITALY:
Read Southern Living’s coverage of Ecco Italy and Verity blue/Milano: Southern_Living_May_2006.pdf
Find out why Thomas Jefferson would approve of Ecco Italy in Elizabeth Barbour’s article – “Charlottesville: Jefferson’s Eden” in the Winter 2006 issue of Pinnacle Living Magazine -Pinnacle Living.doc
Read what the Staunton News Leader has to say about Ecco Italy
2_7_05_Staunton.pdf
Check out Tim Sprinkle’s take on Ecco Italy in The Hook
Walkabout on Ecco Italy.doc
What some of our Students and Clients say:
“One of the most important trainings we scheduled for our new staff was with Christina Ball at Ecco Italy to learn correct Italian pronunciation, spelling, and inflection, to ensure that enoteca give off the authenticity for which we are striving. Our staff had a great time, learned so much, and will NEVER mispronounce bruschetta again!”
Megan Headley and Marisa Catalano, managers of enoteca
“Ecco Italy was the best preparation we could have had for our trip to Italy. We were able to ask for directions, ask the location of restrooms, and order from the menu with ease. On several occasions we took the opportunity to ask people where they were from in Italian and we could actually understand their replies. Best of all, taking their traveler’s course gave us an immediate connection to the Italian people. We felt instantly accepted each time we said “buon giorno” and “grazie.” It definitely increased our comfort level and made for a richer experience.”
Kathy Godfrey
Culpeper, VA
“Christina is an accomplished,dynamic teacher. She really made the class fun. I’ve studied Spanish and French and she’s definitely in the top 3% of foreign language teachers. I would recommend her class to anyone.”
Tammy Boudreau, Charlottesville, VA
“I highly recommend Ecco Italy. The atmosphere is relaxed even for someone who is apprehensive about trying to speak a foreign language in front of ANYONE. Christina, the teacher, is absolutely terrific. She is funny, patient, enthusiastic, challenging and encouraging. If you have always been afraid to take a foreign language, wait no longer; this is the class for you.”
Sandra Savine, Charlottesville, VA
“Ecco Italy’s in a great location!!!!!!!! Right by the gelato bar! Milano was a great place!”
Kendall Gardiner
14-year-old Peabody student
Charlottesville, VA
“Learning Italian with Christina Ball is an enormously pleasureable experience, which makes learning Italian full of joy. I would suggest that everyone experience her teaching, age and language “aptitude” are absolutely no obstacle in her capable hands.”
Lisa Aronson, MSW, PhD.
Charlottesville, VA
“Christina Ball is a smart, energetic, hip young professor with a very congenial and enthusiastic teaching style. Her approach has given me a great deal of confidence that I will eventually realize my dream to be able to read, understand and speak Italian with ease.”
Judith Bill
Classical singer, medical technologist, and Italian-at-heart
Lake Monticello, VA
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