You may have lived here for years, read the textbooks, gone to the classes, even survived an Italian dinner party... but do you ever get the sinking feeling you'll never be truly bilingual?
Whether you're just getting started with Italian or approaching fluency, here are 21 odd, amusing and mildly interesting facts about a language known for its beauty, romance and musicality.
If you're planning to visit - or even settle down in - the Italian capital, you'll likely want to blend in as much as possible. But phrasebook Italian isn't going to cut it in the cobbled streets and crowded bars of Rome. To really impress, try learning a bit of the local lingo.
Italy's Griko dialects are classed as endangered by the European Union and Unesco. But could folk music be the secret to keeping them alive? Greece-born Italian student Constantinos Orphanos investigates the languages' past and perilous future.
The regional council in Veneto, northern Italy, has approved a controversial bill defining the Venetian population as a "minority", and which could be the first step towards independence for the region.
Italian is growing in popularity as a foreign language around the world - but why the appeal? We asked our readers, whose reasons for learning the language ranged from family old and new to an appreciation of the food and culture - as well as some more unexpected factors.
The regional council of Sardinia has approved a law banning 'sexist language', meaning official communication must use the grammatically feminine form of titles and professions when referring to women.
A young child has had his word endorsed by Italy's notoriously purist linguistic academy, while many others are on the waiting list. Take a look at Italian's newest words.
Despite an increasing number of Italians speaking excellent English, common mix-ups continue. The Local takes a look at the top ten linguistic mistakes.
Living in a bilingual family can be challenging, as The Local found out earlier this week by speaking to a mother and her daughter. Here our readers share their own experiences of balancing their multilingual lives.
British Prime Minister David Cameron on Monday made a linguistically challenged attempt to reach out to Italians, prompting one newspaper to ask whether he was using Google Translate.
