Italian Language Courses in Florence, Italy

Istituto Michelangelo, Florence:
The Istituto Michelangelo is a school of Italian language for foreigners / international students conveniently located in Florence in Tuscany, Northern Italy. The school is open all year round and Italian language courses are offered on six levels, according to the student's knowledge of Italian. Besides these, the school also offers history of art, applied art courses, Italian culture courses, Italian cooking courses, as well as organising free-time activities, such as city visits and out-of-town excursions. Accommodation is offered in families, flats and studios.

The teaching of the Italian Language is the principal activity of the school organising, all year round intensive programmes for different types of learning needs. Besides this programme, and as its necessary complement, the Michelangelo school wantsstudents to learn about Italian culture, art and customs.

- The Italian Language Courses in Florence, offered in six levels, all year round, permits the progressive learning of Italian. The courses are intensive, favouring everyday Italian.

- The Individual Intensive Courses in the Italian Language (one to one courses), offered in several ‘options’, are full immersion courses addressed to those who must, in a short time, have a good command of Italian. Their reasons to learn Italian may be professional or just personal interest.

- The Specialisation Italian Language Course which is available every year to teachers of Italian in schools abroad, to those in possession of the Michelangelo Diploma, and to those who, having complete mastery over the language, wish to take a ‘refresher course’.

- The Art History Courses - held in Italian (and in English for absolute beginners) - aim to outline, analyse and offer an historical overview of the Italian artistic heritage, from the days of Greece and Rome up to the High Renaissance and Baroque periods in Italy. Every course provides for regular visits to the main museums, to art galleries and to monuments in Florence.

- The Supplementary Courses in Italian Culture, held in the afternoons twice a week, offer a wide range of subjects to be examined under the guidance of teachers specialised in the various fields proposed.

- The Italian Cooking Course - held in the school’s fully-equipped kitchen - is a pleasant and interesting way to learn about and to prepare some of the most typical dishes in the gastronomic tradition of Italy. The cooking course is also an informal conversation course, giving the possibility to practise the Italian language.

- The Art Courses offerred by Michelangelo schools are open also to Italian students. The courses are held in the ancient and original studio at the ground floor of the school. They are totally practical in nature, inviting participants learn to develop and to improve their artistic aptitudes. The Art Courses are open also to absolute beginners.

Traditionally, the school has always offered its students, together with regular courses, every opportunity to learn about Italian life and culture. Besides regular courses, the school makes available a series of extra-curricular activities, both cultural and recreational, which help students to enjoy and appreciate, in the best way possible, their stay in Florence, in Tuscany and in Italy.

Visits to museums, participation in concerts, excursions in Tuscany and to other art towns in Italy, showings of films, towns of cultural and artistic interest conferences about Italian culture, dinners in restaurants, meetings with Italian students, visits to markets, and evening entertainment are organised by the school staff, who, besides teaching, give a special attention to student ‘get-togethers’.

A city of great historic cultural and artistic tradition, Florence offers the best opportunity one may expect from a period abroad to learn the Italian language in Italy. In order to start to learn or to improve Italian in Italy, Florence is the best choice for a number of reasons:

- The purity of the language.
- The liveliness and authenticity of everyday life.
- The charm of its inhabitants.
- The great number of museums and monuments. 
- The city's unique position in Tuscany in the centre of Italy.

These are some of the reasons that make Florence the best choice to spend the time set aside for this programme: to learn Italian.