The Italian Language
As far as languages go, Italian is without a doubt one of the most beautiful. But it's also, contrary to what many Italians believe and will tell you, fairly easy to learn. (Just don't tell them that you think so).
If you speak one of the other romance languages Italian will be fairly easy to pick up. For example, if you're a native or fluent Spanish speaker you'll find that Italian often seems to be the same language.
If you don't have much of a language background it's still a good idea to pick up a few phrases before going to Italy. First, it's not that difficult and second, if you're heading to a destination off the tourist paths of Rome, Venice, Florence, etc., you'll find that English isn't always spoken much, if at all. A few key phrases and a phrase book will work wonders.
And if nothing else you'll find that people will really appreciate that you took a bit of time to learn some basic phrases before arriving.
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