Here at Mammaprada, we are always looking to support Italian businesses or those inspired by Italy.

This week we’re delighted to welcome Tania Pietracatella, owner of The Little Italian School in Perth, Australia. From here Tania offers wonderful experiences from her intensive knowledge of the Italian language and culture.

Find out here how she started and why The Little Italian School is so special…

How it all began

I started my school back in 2016. I had always taught Italian in schools, and after having children, instead of returning, I decided to open my own school with a relaxed and authentic Italian vibe rather than the sterile classroom feel.

I wanted to teach the language and get right into teaching some of our real, more everyday cultural aspects rather than the obvious Dante Alighieri, art history and so on. The main thing is to keep our Italian culture and language alive without the pressures of tests and exams.

I created my own course, following the guidance of the students, and understood through them, how best to teach time-poor adults who would otherwise simply not be able to do lessons.

Italian Heritage

My parents were Italian immigrant restauranteurs, and I feel that generation of Italian’s stories were being untold and fading away.

I love to honour past Italian generations through language and pasta making and talk about their stories while embracing the new Italy and its new generations.

I have been taking annual trips back to the family in Italy since I was 12 and lived there for a few years, meeting my now husband and returning to Australia to have our 3 children.

Tours of Molise

I have always felt as though I was raised in both Australia and Italy and love both equally, though I identify more with my Italian ‘blood’.

Alongside the school, I run small group tours of our region Molise which is stunning and ‘untouched by tourists’ which are of course on hold until the pandemic is over but we are happy for people to make enquiries now.

My husband and I take our guests to a few of our friends ‘agriturismi’ to make cheese, extra virgin olive oil, pasta and much more so they can experience our local Italy and immerse themselves in our culture.

What activities can people take part in within the school?

We offer a range of classes from Italian language lessons to cooking. We have pasta making classes for both children and adults and we love throwing pasta parties for special occasions.

We also cater for team building and more corporate events if desired.