Getting wind of enigmatic CLIL in Italy - on the way towards Ithaca.

"These are the days of the curriculum vitae, rather than the dolce vita" (Coughlan, 2012). Under the echo of this philosophy, Italy is making a revolutionary shift towards the institutionalisation of CLIL, which is both a groundbreaking and popular practice in the country. This article aims to probe into CLIL's identity and its current state in Italy by pinpointing strengths and flaws in a long journey towards exploration. The study at its inception considers CLIL as rather "enigmatic" given its manifold profiles and characteristics in different countries. Attaining therefore a lucid understanding of CLIL emerges as a pivotal goal for an effective in situ implementation. This action research aims to cultivate both conceptual (general) and empathetic (attitudes, feelings) understanding (Allwright, 2015) that constitute the basis for exploration and action. In this framework, the study comes up with a new perceptual model, i.e. CESL (Content and Language Shared Learning) which brings about a fresh understanding of CLIL's form and function. The research scrutinises the impact of this new approach, as well as the typology of competencies and attitudes developed throughout a full -CLIL procedure. The overall goal is to stimulate the implementation of innovations from a bottom-up vision, which is intrinsic to action research philosophy and contributes to reflective and critical insights. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]