One excellent way of really emerging oneself into the life and culture
of a country is to attend italian language schools. In Rome there are
a number of Italian Language Schools, they are good for many reasons.
excellent introduction or way to improve your knowledge of the italian
language
classes are structured so that you study half a day, then have half
a day and the evening at your disposal for seeing the sights and socialising
many schools arrange meetings between the students and teachers, and
weekend trips to nearby sights.
many schools arrange accomodation for their students with real italian
families/individuals
a good way of meeting others who are in Rome for longer than a couple
of days.
a good way of meeting italians - many schools arrange tandem meetings
between their students and real life italians who want to learn other
languages.
on a personal note, through one of the teachers at one of the schools
I met a beautiful, charming, witty young italian woman who is now (ten
years later) my wife
The two italian language schools that I have had experience with are
Torre di Babele, which was near to the train station, but is now near
an area called Piazza Bologna. The other italian language school that
I attended was Leonardo da Vinci, which is very close to Largo Argentina
in the centre of Rome.