Italy Reads is a community-based English language reading and cultural exchange program that collaborates with 200 Italian high school teachers from over 60 high schools across Italy. Each year, one classic work of American literature is selected to read together.
Italy Reads began in 2009 as a National Endowment for the Arts "Big Read Rome" and the great success and demand for this program has now brought us to its 16th year as Italy Reads. The program has been recognized over the years by support from United States Embassy to Italy, collaboration with the English Theatre of Rome and faculty and staff of John Cabot University.
Italy Reads 2026-2027 will focus on the novel The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros, a poet, short story writer, novelist, and essayist whose work explores the lives of the working-class. Cisneros will deliver (online) the Keynote Address and the Master Class for Teachers.
Sandra Cisneros' numerous awards include NEA fellowships in both poetry and fiction, the Texas Medal of the Arts, a MacArthur Fellowship, the PEN/Nabokov Award for International Literature, the National Medal of Arts, the Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize, the Ambassador Richard C. Holbrooke Distinguished Achievement Award from the Dayton Literary Peace Prize Foundation, and the Harold Washington Literary Award.
Her novel The House on Mango Street has sold over seven million copies, has been translated into over twenty-five languages, and is required reading in elementary, high school, and universities across the nation. In 2024, The House on Mango Street was published in the Everyman’s Library Contemporary Classics Series in recognition of the 40th anniversary of its original publication. A new collection of poetry, Woman Without Shame, Cisneros’s first in 28 years, was published in 2022 by Knopf and also by Vintage Español in a Spanish language translation, Mujer sin vergüenza, by Liliana Valenzuela.
Cisneros is at work on a new novel, Infinito, to be published by Knopf in 2027. Cisneros is a dual citizen of the United States and Mexico. As a single woman, she chose to have books instead of children. She earns her living by her pen.
Each year, Italy Reads activities include:
All in English, in-person or online, and free of charge. See Italy Reads Events for details.
We welcome Italian high school teachers, JCU student volunteer mentors, Italian high school students and English language book club leaders to join in our read of The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros.
Teachers: Register here to receive details and include your students in this year's activities.
These workshops are aimed at providing the basis for teaching this book and an opportunity for teachers to share ideas and network. Teachers (Italy Reads Scholars) who attended the Professional Development Course develop and present Sample Lesson Plans prepared in culmination of the Professional Development Course held each spring. Online workshops are recorded and made available to teachers who register to participate in the program. Teachers of all subjects are welcome!
This course, an annual appointment with teachers, is offered in English and free of charge each Spring term in preparation for the subsequent academic year. Participants receive a Certificate of Completion for 30 hours of Professional Development. Qualified applicants to attend the course are teachers of English Language and Culture and their English-speaking colleagues in a high school in Italy who plan to include their students in the Italy Reads Program the following academic year. The outcome of this course is Sample Lessons prepared by these teachers and material to support all teachers and will be posted on Italy Reads Resources for Teachers.
Please note that participation in this course is not obligatory for participation in the Italy Reads program. All material is in English. Many teachers of English Language and Literature collaborate with their non-English-speaking colleagues for greater interdisciplinary approaches to the study of American literature.
Italy Reads 2027-2028 Professional Development Course (to be announced) will take place online, January-May 2027. Online seminars are recorded. High School teachers of any subject are encouraged to participate. The application form for the course will be posted here.
Formazione Scuola-Lavoro (FSL) ex-PCTO is for Italian high school students. Activities with Italy Reads can be certified in accordance with FSL (ASL/PCTO) (Dlg.No.107,13.07.2015). For details, contact [email protected].
In collaboration with their teachers, high school students across Italy:
JCU students:
All benefit from international in-person and remote teamwork!
See the Calendar of Events for dates and times of events this year. Events require registration to attend. To register as an official Italy Reads participant, or to receive more information about Italy Reads, please e-mail us at [email protected].
It's easy to become a JCU student volunteer mentor. You can a major in any subject. You’ll meet and work with Italian high school students. They practice their English and you get to know Italy a bit better. Everyone benefits from this international teamwork... in English!
Register to become an Italy Reads Volunteer Mentor. The activities you’ll do depend on which of the Programs for High Schools you chose to Mentor. An Italy Reads Mentor will read the book that has been selected as this year’s focus and go to Resources for Teachers for more information about the book and the author.
During the fall semester, volunteers also assist Italian students in producing a short English-language video on the work of literature as part of our Italy Reads Student Video Contest.
The minimum time commitment expected is about 6 hours during the semester – you are always welcome to do more!
All volunteers who successfully fulfill the requirements of the program receive a certificate of recognition from John Cabot University to include on their international resumes.
An Italy Reads volunteer is fluent in English and enrolled at JCU or at one of our partner universities (ask your Study Abroad Advisor). The curiosity and initiative that brought you to an international American university like JCU will be welcomed by the students and teachers you will meet. Students of all majors enjoy participating in the program for the added value it gives to the experience of studying at an American university in Rome.
The students and teachers you will meet share your interest in literature, history, getting to know people from other cultures, and they're anxious to practice their English.
Italy Reads provides you with international service-learning experience. Certificates of completion are awarded to those students who fulfill the requirements of the program and visits, and your participation in Italy Reads is recognized toward a Community Service Certificate.
Become part of a growing initiative. Hear more about the experience from past Volunteer Mentors like MacKenzie.
Questions? Write to [email protected].
