My dad was Napolitan and Abruzzese. He was fluent in Italian - in the dialect that he grew up with mostly which was Napolitan. That's because his mother spoke it to him. She was from around Naples. His dad didn't speak it much with him. BUT, my dad flunked Italian in school and not because he didn't try hard enough to learn.

I speak Napolitan (well, a version of it somewhat). Both my dad and my relatives can hardly understand my Italian because other dialects (from around the neighborhood) bleed in and my pronounciation is really bad. It's true. People from the mainland have a hard time understandng Sicilians.

I agree with a previous post. Try reading La Stampa. It's a real challenge. Italian can be difficult just like any language. If you have an affinity for learning languages, then it's easier to learn - not easy.