Italian courses in Florence - at our 17th-century campus
Benvenuti a Firenze! Florence has dozens of Italian language schools - most are one or two floors of a palazzo in the tourist core, with classrooms shared between groups and a new turnover every week. Our school is different. Accademia di Italiano in Florence is a dedicated campus building from the late 1600s - the historic seat of the Piarist Fathers (Padri Scolopi), formerly the Istituto Pellegrini - on Via Bolognese, with over 8,000 m² of olive groves and gardens, multiple classrooms, a language lab, our beloved in-house café Unicafè, and a student residence on the top floor. The kind of place where studying Italian properly becomes a pleasure, not a chore. Bellissimo, vero?
What makes Florence at Accademia di Italiano different
A real campus, not a palazzo floor. 17th-century building, former seat of the Piarist Fathers, 8,000 m² of olive-tree gardens, soccer field, multiple classrooms, language lab with 36 workstations, Unicaffè, on-campus student residence. Students arrive in the morning and stay through the day. Built for stays of 4 weeks to 12 months. If you're in Florence for a week, take a school in Piazza del Duomo. We are built for the student who needs measurable progress: A1 to B1 in twelve weeks, B1 to C1 in a semester, CILS preparation, university enrolment readiness. Study-visa documentation, done properly. Our long-term courses are study-visa eligible. We issue documentation in the format Italian consulates expect, and we support you on residence permit, codice fiscale, and accommodation after arrival - as a documented process, not as an afterthought. Faculty-led ready. U.S. universities sending faculty-led groups to Florence work with us because we have the operational depth: dedicated cohort classrooms, approval-ready academic documentation, on-site student services, on-campus housing.
Choose your course format
Standard. 20 in-class lessons per week. Six levels (A1-C2), small groups, communicative method, native-speaker teachers with university qualifications. Standard format Light. Daily in-class lessons plus 2 hours/day of structured guided self-study. Documented and study-visa eligible. Light format Long-term (visa eligible). 3-month, 6-month, 9-month, and 12-month programs designed around the study-visa process. Long-term format
Why "outside the tourist core" is on purpose
The historic centre of Florence is beautiful and full of tourists. It is not where Italians live, and it is not where serious study happens at scale - a 60m² flat in Via dei Calzaiuoli rented to a different student every six days does not produce a learning environment. Our campus on Via Bolognese sits in a green, residential area with a panoramic view over the historic centre. You get the city as a backdrop, and a place to actually study at the centre of your day.
Florence-specific pathways
CILS preparation. Structured preparation for CILS B1, B2, C1 - used for citizenship, university enrolment, and professional registration. Ask about CILS dates Italian + art history. Florence is the natural city for it. Italian language in the morning, guided afternoon sessions on Renaissance art and architecture - in Italian, scaled to your language level. Ask about combined programs University enrolment readiness. 9-12 month pathways to a documented B2/C1 with the right certifications, for students planning to enrol at an Italian university. Long-term planning Visa renewal in Florence. For students already in Italy whose residence permit comes up for renewal: a course pathway that gives the Questura the documented continuity it expects. Renewal course
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