	Claudio Guarnuccio: Director Claudio has been involved in the teaching of Italian for over 25 years and has extensive experience in a variety of schools in both Australia and Italy. He is co-author of the 'Complete Italian Verb Book' and the 'Ci Siamo' course which has been widely used throughout Australia and in Italy. Claudio has also served as president of VATI (Victorian Association of Teachers of Italian) and been a VCE Examiner. As Director of CIS, Claudio is dedicated to creating a genuine Italian atmosphere for students and giving them a taste of Italy, its language and culture. He loves travelling with his family and returns to Italy whenever possible. He is also a keen collector of ancient Roman coins and artifacts.

	Rita Muzic: Director Born in Cres (Cherso), a charming Croatian island in the Adriatic Sea, Rita moved to Australia when she was 6. Frequent travels as a child have fuelled a life-long passion for other people and places, and her love for languages. She graduated from La Trobe University with a BA in English, Italian and Spanish, and has taught in a number of schools. Rita has also served on the Accreditation Panel for Teachers of Italian and was Treasurer of VATI for several years. Whilst studying at "La Sapienza" University in Rome, Rita met Claudio, her husband, and they now have two lovely daughters. They travelled extensively throughout Italy and Europe before settling down in Melbourne and taking on the task of directing CIS which has been like their third child, requiring just as much TLC. Rita is an avid reader, loves going to the theatre and to concerts and has an eclectic tastes in music, but travelling with her family is her favourite pastime.


	Nancy Cozzo: Manager/ Teacher Nancy has taught Italian for many years and is one of CIS's most experienced and dedicated teachers. She has taught at a variety of language centres and has also lived and taught in Florence and Milan. Nancy juggles working with taking care of her beautiful daughter, Serena. Although Nancy has a Graduate Diploma in Secondary Education, she would much rather share her knowledge in a fun and meaningful manner with children and adults at CIS! Currently, Nancy teaches adults during the week and children of all ages on Saturday mornings as well as working in administration. She has a great passion for teaching and loves working here at CIS.


	Carola Scatizzi: Manager/ Teacher Carola originally comes from Milan, one of Italy's biggest and busiest cities. Since she was young, Carola has had a passion for travelling and adventure so when she was 18, she decided to come to Australia, the furthest country she could think of. Well, she loved this country so much that in 2006 she decided to move here permanently. In 2008 she graduated in Languages and Applied Linguistics at Griffith University and while studying she started her teaching career at the Dante Alighieri Society in Brisbane. In late 2009, she moved to Melbourne together with her partner, seeking more opportunities and new excitement. Carola is interested in languages, travel, photography and she loves cooking. She loves to meet people from all over the world and, most importantly, she is very passionate about teaching her own language, both to adults and kids.

	Antonietta Anello: Teacher Antonietta has worked and travelled extensively in Italy including with Alitalia in Milano - the perfect opportunity to indulge her love of travel! Her family originates from Abruzzo and Calabria, and she was born and raised in Melbourne.She has completed a Bachelor of Arts with Honours in Italian and English Literature, and a Postgraduate Diploma in Editing and Communications. She worked for an Italian language newspaper for five years, taught Italian to adults during this time and currently works in the publishing industry. Antonietta is passionate about passing on her enthusiasm and love for the Italian language to her students. In her spare time she enjoys running, social soccer, reading ... and walking her sister's dog, Phoebe:-)



	Simone Bettoni: Teacher Simone comes from a beautiful town at the foot of the North Eastern Mountains of Italy, Bassano del Grappa. He is a happy-go-lucky person who loves to travel and experience different cultures. After graduating in Translating and Interpreting at the University of Udine in 2007, he was looking for an opportunity to come and discover Australia, a country that had always fascinated him. He received a scholarship from his University to work as a Language Assistant in Melbourne. He jumped at the chance and arrived in April 2008. He worked for a year at Mont Albert Primary School and then decided to extend his stay by pursuing his passion for teaching languages. In his free time Simone likes going to the beach and looking for niche movies otherwise unknown to the public. He also tries to keep fit by swimming as much as possible and always enjoys a delicious homemade Italian meal!




	Mariangela Caligiuri: Teacher Born in Calabria in Southern Italy, Mariangela grew up in Piemonte before migrating to Australia where she has been an Italian teacher for over 20 years. A high school teacher by day, Mariangela has been an important member of CIS's teaching staff for the past five years. She returns to Italy regularly and her great passion for all things Italian make her popular with her students. She has two sons who keep her very busy and she enjoys making jewellery in her spare time.

	Carmel D'Andrea: Teacher One of our longest-serving and most respected teachers, Carmel has been teaching with CIS on and off since 1983! She has lived in inner city Melbourne all her life and has an Arts Degree from Melbourne University, majoring in Italian and Linguistics. She also teaches English, Italian and French at a high school and has been a VCE Oral Examiner. She loves grammar, reading and politics...and hates sport!



	Giovanni Di Fabrizio: Teacher Giovanni was born in Penne, a beautiful village overlooking the Adriatic coast. He moved to Melbourne 2 years ago to be with his lovely wife Sandra whom he met in Florence where he completed his studies and worked on and off for many years. In fact, Sandra went to Florence on a CIS study holiday! He still thinks it was a strategy to recruit Italian teachers. He has travelled extensively and has always been interested in different languages and cultures. He is also an accredited tour leader and used to lead bus tours around Italy. He loves cooking, eating, travelling, playing guitar or piano and listening to music. He remembers visiting CIS after only a few days in Melbourne and today he is honoured to be one of its teachers. He says that this school is a little window to his past which takes him home like a time machine.

	Emily-Rose Guarnuccio: Teacher's Assistant/Administrative Assistant Emily has literally grown up at CIS, beginning as a student in the children's classes for 3 year olds and working her way through to her current position. She has always had a passion for the Italian language and anything Italian, so she considers herself extremely fortunate to have grown up surrounded by Italian teachers in an amazing environment like CIS. She has travelled to Italy several times and her favourite destination is Scoglitti, a small seaside town near Vittoria in the extreme south of Sicily, which is where her family originates.



	Maria Liuzzi-Scalpelli: Teacher/ Administrative Assistant With extensive teaching experience in both Melbourne and Italy, Maria joined CIS 8 years ago and is one of CIS's most valued teachers. Maria's family originates from Basilicata, in the south of Italy. Maria is currently taking a break from teaching to look after her new baby, Stefano.

	Maria Masini: Teacher Maria has been teaching Italian and English for over 20 years. She has taught all levels from kindergarten to adult education and in a variety of settings from the United States to rural Zimbabwe. Maria has been at CIS since 2000. She thoroughly enjoys her classes here, and doesn't see it so much as work, as an opportunity to have a break from managing her children's needs, wants and demands. But when Maria visited Italy in 2007, she rekindled her great love for Italy, its language and culture, and this comes through in her teaching. When she's not teaching, Maria enjoys spending time with family and friends, travelling and going to the theatre and cinema. She is also an avid walker and has recently completed her second Oxfam Trailwalker 100 kilometre challenge.

	Sara Miconi: Teacher Sara comes from Civitanova Marche, a small town in the centre of Italy. From the moment she met her teachers in primary school, she wanted to become one herself, and for this reason she studied at the Faculty of Education and graduated in Primary School Education at University of Macerata. In 2010 she finished a specialisation course in Special Needs teaching in the primary school branch at the Faculty of Education.She travelled a lot around Europe, she visited Spain, France, Austria, Belgium,Holland, Greece, Croatia but most of all she loves Lisbon in Portugal. In 2010 she and her boyfriend come to Australia to find "a new life". They love Melbourne and Australia and they want to remain here for a long time!During her free time, Sara likes reading, especially Agatha Christie's books. She loves cooking and since she is in Australia she loves surf!!

	Eleonora Morelli: Teacher Eleonora was born in Ferrara, a beautiful medieval town in North-East Italy. She decided to pursue her dream of travelling the world by studying foreign languages. Her degree "cum laude" from Ca' Foscari University in Venice repaid her for months of winter hibernation spent at Moscow University doing research and translation of a controversial Russian contemporary writer. She came to Australia as a Language Assistant in 2005, and then the following year Eleonora was awarded two scholarships by Monash University, thanks to which she is still in Australia, currently completing her PhD in Russian Literature. In May 2006 she embraced CIS, where today she still engages in the daily challenge of taking her students on a journey through Italian contemporary literature, cinema, music and society. Eleonora is currently teaching adults and children of different ages. Her interests outside work? Her weakness is a glass of buon vino, accompanied by stimulating conversations with friends. And why not spice up the night with a bit of Salsa dancing?

	Elena Pegoraro: Teacher Elena P is from Padova, North-East of Italy. This pretty and elegant city is famous for its old University where Galileo Galilei used to teach, and for the gorgeous Giotto's paintings. Elena came to Australia in 2009 and her plan was to travel and work for only one year. However, she was astonished by how different Australia is from home, so she decided to stay longer and get to know more about this country. Elena loves teaching because it combines her passion for languages, her culture and understanding people. She is currently studying Bachelor of Psychological Sciences at La Trobe University, she co-ordinates La Trobe Community Garden, she is the captain of an Ultimate Frisbee team (yes! frisbee is a team sport!) and volunteers in other activities related to community development and mental health.Elena enjoys cooking and rinking a few coffees a day like a real Italian, but also drinking a beer over a barbie like a real Aussie... better if all accompanied by some live music!

	Cristoforo Perino: Teacher for his students and friends just Cris, comes from one of the most beautiful island of the Mediterranean Sea: Sicily. He is a smiley person who loves travelling and meeting people from other countries. After graduating in Translation and Interpreting from Università degli Studi "G. D'Annunzio" of Pescara, he decided to go to Barcelona, Spain, where he lived for 4 years and worked as a translator and an Italian teacher. Through this, he found his passion for teaching Italian, as well as other languages like French and Spanish. Consequently, in 2010, he completed a course in teaching Spanish as a second language at International House in Barcelona. He says that he can remember the day in which he told his mother that one day he will come to Australia. It was 22 years ago and now his dream has come true.

	Salvatore Rapisarda: Teacher Born in Sicily, Salvatore, aka Sam, moved to Australia with his family when he was only 10. He has been back to Italy quite a few times, mainly to visit, but also to complete a refresher course for teachers at 'La Sapienza' University in Rome. He has 25 years teaching experience, and has been teaching here at CIS for 11. He loves to teach adults here because it is a break from teaching teenagers which is what Salvatore does as his day job. In his free time, Salvatore likes to garden and renovate.

	Paolo Testaguzza: Teacher Paolo was born and grew up in Umbria, a magic unspoiled region in the heart of Italy. He moved to New Zealand ten years ago where he taught Italian language at the University of Auckland, and has now relocated to Melbourne with his wife to enjoy the incredible multicultural feel this city has to offer. Well travelled and curious, Paolo loves to share his extensive experience and genuine passion for languages, and is now completing a MA in applied language studies.

	Sabrina Torretti: Teacher Sabrina was born 30 years ago in Civitanova, in the nice and peaceful region that borrows its landscapes to our book "CiSiamo": the Marche region. She took a degree in Foreign Languages and Literatures in 2005 at the University of Perugia. Then she attended the course at the International House of Rome to be a "Teacher of Italian as foreign language". After that she attended another courseto teach Italian as foreign language at the department ITALS of the University of Venice. After her studies Sabrina started to travel: she lived and worked in London but she had to leave England to go to Spain for a training ship at the Italian Institute of Culture of Barcelona. In 2008 she came back to Italy and worked for three years as a teacher and as administration employed in a languages school in Civitanovathat gave her a temporary leave for enjoying Melbourne and CIS! She plays saxophone but unfortunately it is too heavy to be brought in Australia, therefore she can't spend her free time in Melbourne playing it but just listening to the music and discovering new places.

	Barbara Vincenzi: Teacher/Administrative Assistant Originally from beautiful Venice, Barbara (aka Barbie Girl) has been teaching at CIS for 4 years. She graduated in Foreign Languages and Literature at Ca' Foscari University and then was able to spend one year in France studying French Literature. Barbara won a scholarship to Australia in 2005, and worked for one year as a Language Assistant. During this experience she discovered her passion for teaching and so, while teaching at CIS she did her Graduate Diploma in Education at ACU. As of January 2008 Barbara is the very proud owner of a cute apartment in the city which she shares with her hamster Jake. When she's not teaching Barbara likes to read books, take ballet classes, drink no less that 4 cappuccini a day, listen to rock music and wear pink gloves in her Boxing Classes.