If you think Italian has been around forever, you'd be wrong: up until 1871 when the Kingdom of Italy was formed, the Italian peninsula consisted of multiple independent city states...and lots of local dialects!  And each and every city state was strongly influenced by diverse cultures that impacted each area culturally. Think northern Europe, the Arab influence, trade going through Venice. Each and every one of these impacted the Italian language, its history and the creation of its many dialects. This episode delves into some of the quirks of the Italian language, the dialects and the rich history of Italian. And then, of course, some anecdotes and stories and tips on learning Italian. Tomorrow, along with Italian with Davide, I'm running a free live class on learning the Italian language with a special focus on food and drink at 6 PM Italian time, noon EST, and 9 AM PST. Head to the website to reserve a spot for this special free live class, or sign up right here!. See you tomorrow!