We learn Italian step by step | Impariamo l'italiano piano piano
Impariamo l’italiano piano piano is a story-based podcast designed for B1 to B2 Italian language learners who want to immerse themselves in engaging narratives while strengthening their grammar and vocabulary. Novices are welcome too—because we take everything piano piano, one gentle step at a time.
Each episode unfolds through an ongoing story, allowing you to experience Italian in context, naturally reinforcing key structures like the imperfetto, passato prossimo, and congiuntivo. You’ll also get guided practice, interactive exercises, and cultural insights to help you think, speak, and write in Italian with more confidence.
Your host Myra—an instructional designer and passionate language learner who understands the challenges of mastering Italian as an adult—is joined by Antonio, a familiar voice you’ll get to know throughout the episodes. Together, they guide you piano piano, step by step, toward greater fluency.
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🎙 Listen, learn, and improve your Italian fluency—one chapter at a time!
We learn Italian step by step | Impariamo l'italiano piano piano
👀 Bonus Episode 09 Preview – Shadows, Figures, and Hidden Voices – Chap 2 Part 2
🎧 Bonus Episode 08 Preview – Shadows, Figures, and Hidden Voices – Chap 2 Part 2
In this preview, we take the first steps into Chapter 2, Part 2 of Le Pagine del Passato. Strange meetings in the city, elegant streets, and hidden voices set the atmosphere.
You’ll hear:
🏙️ Category 1: City & Places with words like avvocato, pareti, raffinate, and centro città.
💡 Contextual stories, active recall, and a mini quiz to test yourself.
In the full version of this bonus episode, we continue with four more categories: people and descriptions, everyday objects and actions, gestures, and feelings that deepen the suspense and prepare you for the next part of the story.
Step into the city, practice your Italian vocabulary, and get a taste of the mystery that is about to unfold.
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Bonus Episode 08 – Shadows, Figures, and Hidden Voices – Chap 2 Part 2
Vocabulary for Chap 2 Part 2: Strange Meetings in the City
Theme: City spaces, mysterious figures, actions, and emotions
MYRA:
Ciao a tutti, benvenuti a un nuovo episodio speciale! Welcome to Bonus Episode 8. I’m Myra, your host, and with me, as always, the voice of mystery and mischief, Antonio.
ANTONIO:
Sì, sì, sono una voce… ma ammettilo, senza di me questo podcast sarebbe molto meno divertente.
Yes, yes, I’m a voice… but admit it, without me this podcast would be much less fun.
MYRA:
OK I admit it. This podcast would be much less fun without you.
In our last vocabulary episodes, we prepared you for Chapter 2 Part 1: the wind, the shadows, the woman under the streetlight. Today we step further into the story with new words from Part 2, words about the city, hidden objects, and the feelings that stir in moments of suspense.
We’ve grouped them into five new categories:
🏙️ Category 1: City & Places
👤 Category 2: People & Descriptions
👜 Category 3: Objects & Actions
🕯️ Category 4: Movements & Gestures
💓 Category 5: Feelings & Reactions
ANTONIO:
Cinque categorie, diciassette parole… e un mistero che cresce.
(Five categories, seventeen words… and a mystery that deepens.)
MYRA:
Andiamo avanti passo dopo passo.
Let’s move forward step by step.
🏙️ Category 1: City & Places
Contextual Introduction – English with Italian Vocabulary
It’s a Saturday morning in the centro città.
You have an appointment with an avvocato, but the office isn’t open yet.
While you wait, you admire the tall pareti of the old library nearby, decorated with raffinate details that make the whole street feel elegant.
E adesso in italiano a velocità lenta.
Introduzione contestuale – Italiano
È sabato mattina nel centro città.
Hai un appuntamento con un avvocato, ma l’ufficio non è ancora aperto.
Mentre aspetti, ammiri le alte pareti della vecchia biblioteca lì vicino, decorate con particolari raffinati che rendono elegante tutta la strada.
Myra:
E di nuovo a velocità normale.
(Antonio repeats the story at normal speed)
Active Recall – Category 1: City & Places
Lawyer
→ avvocato
Walls
→ pareti
Refined / elegant
→ raffinate
City center
→ centro città
Mini Quiz – Category 1: City & Places
MYRA:
The lawyer is very busy today.
ANTONIO:
L’avvocato è molto impegnato oggi.
MYRA:
The walls are white.
ANTONIO:
Le pareti sono bianche.
MYRA:
This is a refined restaurant.
ANTONIO:
Questo è un ristorante raffinato.
MYRA:
The hotel is in the city center.
ANTONIO:
L’albergo è nel centro città.
📘 Category 1: Grammar Notes – City & Places
- avvocato → masculine noun, singular.
- l’avvocato = the lawyer (m)
- plural: gli avvocati
- pareti → feminine plural noun.
- singular: la parete = the wall
- plural: le pareti = the walls
- raffinato / raffinata / raffinati / raffinate → adjective, must agree with the noun in gender and number.
- un vino raffinato = a refined wine (m, sing.)
- una donna raffinata = a refined woman (f, sing.)
- piatti raffinati = refined dishes (m, pl.)
- opere d’arte raffinate = refined works of art (f, pl.)
- centro città → literally “center of the city.”
- Always used in the singular.
- Il centro città è molto affollato. = The city center is very crowded.
💡 Tip: Unlike English, Italian adjectives like raffinato must always match the gender and number of the noun they describe.
Preview wrap:
Myra:
That’s all for this preview of Bonus Episode 8. In the full version, we continue with four more categories - descriptions of people, everyday objects and actions, gestures, and feelings, that bring even more depth to the mysterious scenes of Chapter 2.
Antonio:
Io ci sarò… e voi?
I’ll be there… and you?
Myra:
Unlock the full episode to practice all seventeen new words, with recall exercises, mini quizzes, and grammar notes. Ci sentiamo presto!