Italian in the Dominican Republic

The Italian Embassy in Santo Domingo works to expand the provision of Italian teaching in the Dominican Republic, in collaboration with different players, both Italian and Dominican, to meet the growing demand for Italy in the Dominican Republic.

For the first time, thanks to the Embassy’s support, Italian courses were organized and managed by the Miami Committee of the Dante Alighieri Society, paving the way for future initiatives in the planning phase. The initiative is part of the celebrations for the 200th anniversary of the birth of Giovanni Battista Cambiaso, a famous Genoese merchant who acted as Italian consul in the Dominican Republic.

The first Professorship of Italian has been active since 2019 at the Pontificia Universidad Católica Madre y Maestra, named after Alessandro Geraldini, an Italian humanist and scholar, the first resident bishop of the Americas. In the same year the Instituto Tecnológico de Santo Domingo participated in the ministerial project “Laureati per l’Italiano” *(Graduates for Italian), with classes taught by a teacher specialising in Italian as a foreign language, which saw more than 600 students attend in its first year alone.

Finally, starting February 2021 the Embassy has been promoting the creation of virtual Italian courses, organized by the Miami Committee of the Dante Alighieri Society. The approximately 70 places available were sold out in just a few days, with important officials of the Dominican institutions also getting involved.

In general, the Embassy is experiencing a growing interest in the Italian language and culture in the Dominican Republic, which could open up interesting opportunities for the development and promotion of our language.

For more information, visit https://ambsantodomingo.esteri.it/ambasciata_santodomingo/it/.