Director PATRIZIA SAGLIO, director of Collina Italiana (CI), was born in Lugano, Switzerland and grew up speaking Italian, French, and German. She graduated in political science from the prestigious Universita' Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Milan, where she worked for several years as an assistant professor and private teacher of Italian and French to college students and in international corporations. Patrizia moved to New York in 1998 and after a stint as co-owner and manager of an international trade company she decided to open an Italian language and cultural center on the upper east side of Manhattan in 2006. In founding Collina Italiana, the director's mission is to offer Italian language classes in an authentic cultural setting and context: all Italian language classes include an introduction to Italian culinary arts, wine, and film.

Instructors/Staff

ALESSANDRA GRECO was born and raised in Rome. She earned a degree in Foreign Languages and Literature from the Universita' degli Studi Roma Tre. Her studies included: linguistics, philology of Germanic languages, Italian literature, and English literature. In addition to mastering English, Alessandra has learned Spanish and French. An Instructor of Italian for more than ten years both in Italy and abroad (England-Ireland-USA), Alessandra is an experienced instructor, especially adept with children. She teaches adult classes at CI too, including specialty classes such as Parla come Mangi.

RICCARDO COSTA (www.riccardocosta.com, www.mangiamor.com) instructor of Italian language and culture classes, was born in Bologna, one of Italy's food capitals. From the Tisch School of the Arts at NYU, Riccardo earned a BFA. In Italy and New York he worked as an assistant to director Spike Lee, among others. He has written and co-written 10 feature screenplays, including Queen of Harlem, and plays for Off-Broadway. As a director he has received awards and recognition in more than 60 festivals worldwide and on CBS. Presently, Riccardo is the President of Blitz Entertainment, a production company in Italy and NYC, and the American representative of Cinecitta Studios. In his free time Riccardo is an accomplished chef. Learning to cook from his grandmother, a famous Bolognese socialite from the '50s, he assimilated all the century-old family culinary secrets. He has recently penned a cookbook of some of these traditional Italian recipes, which he shares with friends, acquaintances, celebrities, intellectuals, politicians, and artists who come to his apartment to eat exceptional food, discuss ideas, and network. Riccardo has worked as an Italian teacher and translator for Fortune 500 Companies, taught at the Italian Culture Institute, and now at Collina Italiana.

ANTONELLA VASSALLO was born in Malta and grew up speaking Maltese, Italian, and English. She earned a bachelor's degree in Education, specializing in teaching Italian as a second language and Personal Social Development (PSD), from the University of Malta. Her studies included: linguistics, pedagogy, psychology and sociology of teaching Italian as L2. She has also studied classroom facilitating techniques and motivational skills. Antonella has 8 years of teaching experience as a high school teacher, a private tutor. Antonella immigrated to the United States where she has continued to build on her professional foundation in education, teaching and tutoring young children and adults. Antonella counts among her passions a love for crafting especially lace making, Maltese and Italian cuisine as well as being an avid reader.

RAFFAELLA GALLIANI, Bachelor of Arts in Foreign Languages & Literatures from the Università degli Studi di Bergamo and currently pursuing her Master in Linguistic, Literatures and Translation Studies at Università degli Studi di Roma "La Sapienza", is an Italian Instructor with 6+ year experience, who worked for such high-profile organizations as the U.S. General Consulate. Raffaella is a returning member to our team in NYC, collaborating between Italy and the US at our upcoming Intercultural Projects that focus on exam preparations (CELI), events, and academic objectives that we will launch very soon. Ditals II (Certificate of Proficiency in Italian Language, Instruction from the Università degli Studi di Siena) and fluent in English, French, and Spanish.

ELISA BUZZONI teaches drama, movement, puppetry, clowning, and dance for children. Originally from Brescia (home to Garda Lake, the longest lake in Italy), Elisa studied acting at Teatro Primo Studio in Milan and recently completed a one-year program in acting for film at the New York Film Academy. In addition she holds a master’s degree in filmmaking from the International Film School Sydney (IFSS). Both actress and modern dancer, Elisa was a member of the contemporary dance company "No Frills" and performed in short films, theater pieces, and music videos in New York, Australia, and Italy. With experience in education from her undergraduate days, Elisa has been working forever with children’s programming.

LAURA CAPARROTTI, TEATRO ITALIANO teacher, has a doctorate in Performing Arts from the University "La Sapienza" in Rome, Italy. She studied with Dario Fo (Nobel Prize for Literature 1997), Annie Girardot, among others. In New York Laura performed in several Off - Off - Broadway productions. She is the artistic director of KIT - Kairos Italy Theater Inc www.kitheater.com. She has directed and performed several K.I.T. productions such as The Papaleo Case — Il Caso Papaleo by Ennio Flaiano, A, B, C (a one-woman show), and Philosophically Speaking by Eduardo De Filippo. Laura has been teaching Italian Theatre to adults and children for many years.

Creative Consultants

ROBERTA FINEBERG, creative consultant, collaborates on a wide range of projects with clients in education, publishing, the arts, business, and advertising. Based in Paris and New York over the last 20 years, Ms. Fineberg has contributed writing and photography internationally to both print media and online.

ELISA BOSCO, award winning and internationally recognized photo artist (www.elisabosco.com) and writer lives in Tuscany and New York. She is currently contributing to several publications and media covering a range of commercial and editorial topics including travel, architecture, interior design, and fine art.