First things first: learn how to order coffee. We get down to basics in Caffè Letterario where the owner, Pasquale, greets our new arrivals, putting them at ease. It’s caffè (never espresso!), cappuccino – just like English, but say latte and you’ll get milk, so ask for caffè latte, or even, latte macchiato – milk with a dash of coffee, or un macchiato – coffee with a dash of milk. And on it goes… 

Caffeinated- up, we cross to Palazzo Bonanni for a morning of Italian with Alessandro and Giovanna, both fully qualified to teach Italian to stranieri. Lessons in very small groups allow them to structure learning pretty individually. At break, in the piazza, Francesco the butcher is interested to know where we have come from, and why? He interrupts his sausage making to sell us a picnic lunch to have on the terrace after class with un bicchiere di vino – the softest prosciutto and local cheeses, and it’s easy to engage in conversation.