Tucson may not seem like an ideal place to study Italian, but it actually has one of the top five university programs in the nation for people who want to study this European language which is spoken by about 70 million people worldwide.

The Italian program at the University of Arizona attracts students from all over the United States. According to Fall 2009 numbers, there are 38 Italian majors and 57 minors at UA, making it the third-largest program in majors after Notre Dame and Ohio State Universities.

The story is followed up in our studio by an interview with Professor Irène d'Almeida, Ph.D, Professor of French & Francophone Studies and the Department Head of French & Italian.