On Language Learning: How to Memorize Regions, Capitals, and Cities

As some of you may know, I have been studying Italian for over six years now. I am currently memorizing all the Italian regions, capitals, cities, and small towns. Whenever I speak to an Italian and they mention an obscure city that they grew up in and I happen to name its region, I see their face light up. It brings them joy to know that someone took the time to learn about their country. I believe studying Italian culture is just as important as studying the language itself because it helps one better understand cultural references.

There are cultural differences between northern, central, and southern Italy. It is not simply that one is Italian, but they can also either be romani, siciliani, napoletani, milanesi, sardi, pugliesi, and so on. Although Italy is united, every region has their own set of traditions and dialects. I will share with you my process of learning Italian geography and culture. If you are not learning Italian, this post can still be helpful because you can apply these memory techniques for any country. I will demonstrate how I memorized two of of the twenty Italian regions, namely, Lombardia, and Lazio.

Preparing the Memory Palace for the Italian Regions

Since Italy has 20 regions, I would choose a memory palace that has at least 20 locations. Then I would list out the 20 loci on a spreadsheet or notebook and assign each locus an Italian region in order to be encoded later. In my case, I chose a family member’s house. My first location is a basketball hoop for Lombardia, and my second location is a tree for Lazio. So, now that I have all the regions, it is time to memorize them through the use of imagery.

1. LOMBARDIA

Recognize Similar Sounds

The first question I ask myself is, “What does it sound like?” When I hear “Lombardia,” I am immediately reminded of the word, “lumber.” So, at the first location of my memory palace, I would imagine someone shooting a basketball made of wood into a basketball hoop. The ball falls to the ground and breaks into small pieces, leaving an indent on the pavement.

Add Contextual Clues

Notice how I tied the location itself to lumber, so that when I think of a basketball hoop, I think of lumber; and when I think of lumber, I think of a basketball hoop. Before moving to the next locus I ask myself, “Can I think of the locus and be reminded of the image, and can I think of the image and be reminded of the location?”

Add Movement

Add movement to your imagery in order to make it more memorable. Notice that I saw someone shooting a wooden basketball. I did not merely imagine a basketball on the ground, but there was action. When the ball hits the pavement, I hear a loud noise and see small pieces of wood flying in every direction.

2. LAZIO

Recognize Similar Sounds

When I hear “Lazio” and it somewhat reminds me of the word “Lasso.” Ask yourself, “What does it remind me of?” Do not think too hard and use the first thing that comes to mind. It is important to learn how to trust in your memory and intuition because your first associations are usually the most memorable. The second location in my memory palace is a tree. So, I can imagine someone using a “lasso” rope to whip the tree and I can see the tree splitting in half and the branches flying across the lawn.

Add Contextual Clues

As mentioned, I always try to create images in such a way that when I think of the image, I am also reminded of the region. So, I can imagine branches covered in small pieces from the lasso rope. Adding this small detail is helpful because there may be an occasion where I arrive at the 2nd locus but forget the main image. However, if I include contextual clues to the locus and its surroundings, I can be reminded of the “lasso” and consequently, “Lazio.”

Add Movement

I want to make sure that all my images are lively, and for this reason, I can add some type of movement. I can imagine the lasso rope whipping through the air, and the branches splitting into small pieces and flying at fast speeds. I also try to hear the sound of the rope, and the branches falling and chaotically hitting the lawn. When you add auditory elements, it can help enhance the sense of movement in your mental eye.

Recalling the Regions

In order to recall the regions, I can just imagine myself walking through the memory palace from location 1 to location 20. I can walk to locus 1 and see the wooden basketball to be reminded of Lombardia, and then to locus 2 and see a tree being whipped by a lasso rope to be reminded of Lazio. In order to review the regions, I do not need to use physical flashcards, but I can simply walk back and forth in my mind. I will explain more about review, spaced repetition, and the forgetting curve in later publications.

How to Memorize Capitals and Cities

So, after creating the 20 locations for each Italian region, I would create 20 more memory palaces to store the cities of each region. For example, the first region Lombardia has 12 cities, so I can create a Lombardia memory palace consisting of 12 loci. Then as I did with the Regions Memory Palace, I can create imagery for each city of Lombardia.

From the Region Memory Palace, you can select any locus or Italian region, and enter into another memory palace that stores the other cities. Perhaps, the best way for me to explain this concept is by illustrating it.

Another way of thinking about it is that the Italian Regions Memory Palace is the sun and the 20 region memory palaces are orbiting around it like planets. Each memory palace has a world of its own. You can travel to the planet Umbria and explore the cities Perugia and Terni. Or you can go to even larger region, Campania and explore Avellino, Benevento, Caserta, Napoli, and Salerno.

An Approach to Capitals

Milano is the capital of Lombardia. Notice how I put Milano in the 1st locus of my memory palace instead any locus afterward. For each memory palace that you create for a region, you can always insert the capital into the 1st locus to indicate that its the capital. Another thing I do is that I imagine colorful confetti exploding at the locus where the capital is stored. Then if I wanted to scan all 20 memory palaces, I can mentally query all the capitals, similar to a filter or query Google sheet formula. =QUERY(memoryPalaces!A1:T, “SELECT ‘city’ WHERE locus1 = ‘confetti’”). You can just think about “confetti” and you will be able to to recall only the capitals without referencing the other cities.

Memory Palace Structure for Encoding Italian Culture Facts

Let’s say I wanted to memorize not only the regions, but the monuments, music, art, traditions, dialects, historical events, and so on from every Italian region and city? You can create an index in conjunction with a number system. Each subject memory palace would be assigned a number. The first position can represent the region, the second position can represent the city, and the third position can represent the subject.

Organization of Information and Retrieval

So, if a person were to ask you, “What are some monuments in Como?” Your mind can immediately jump to the memory palace #141. Let’s say your 2nd subject was “Music.” If someone said, “Who are some famous musicians from Como?” You can jump to 142 (1 = Lombardia, 4 = Como, and 2 = Music). Or what are some of the most important monuments in Roma? You can jump to memory palace #221 (2 = Lazio, 2 = Roma, and 1 = Monuments). This will make more sense if you understand how to create and use a number system. I have published two lessons on number systems which can be read here: (Number Systems and Design & A Guide to the Major System).

There is so much more that I would like to say about indexing memory palaces for language learning but the post will be too long. So, I will plan to thoroughly explain how to create and use it for storing facts and retrieving information in my next post.

Conclusion

In the art of memory, it is not just learning how to memorize information, but how to structure it. Have you ever tried to search for something on the internet and you get a “loading” message with an ever spinning circle? The way you design a memory palace can determine how quickly you are able to access a piece of information.

It is one thing to be able to recite the cities of a country, it is another thing to be able to recite them in order of population from largest to smallest or any ranking upon command. It is one thing to know about music from a country, it is another thing to be able to know songs from every region and to recite their publication date in chronological order. It is not just how to know, but how to structure what you know. As in writing, it is not just about writing sentences, but composition. In the same manner, one may design their memory and give it thoughtful order.

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