The school

Founded in 1889, the Società Dante Alighieri aims to safeguard and disseminate the Italian language and culture throughout the world. In carrying out its objectives through foreign and Italian Committees, the headquarters of the “Dante Alighieri” in Rome – among other things – organises Italian language and Italian culture courses and assigns awards and scholarships. There are some 500 Committees scattered over the five continents, with an overall enrolment of more than ……..students. The Scientific Committee of the “Dante Alighieri Italian Language Project” is operative on a linguistic level. Among other things it has established an L2 Italian language qualification certificate for foreigners (the PLIDA Certificate) which, in collaboration with the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, has made it possible for thousands of foreign citizens to receive a diploma.

The Florence Committee of the “Dante Alighieri” is the sole Committee of the Società Dante Alighieri resident in this city. Both the administrative department and the school are housed in a single location, in Via Gino Capponi No. 4. The school offers courses in the Italian language and culture that are authorised by the Government with Presidential Decree No. 1892 of 16 December 1960.

The other schools in Florence named for the Divine Poet are not representatives of the Società Dante Alighieri.

The Centre is a prestigious one, both for its great age (15th c.) and for the beauty and value of the magnificently-restored frescoes in its cloister, known as the “Cloister of St.. Pierino” or “Company of our Most Holy Lady of the Annunciation”.

The Great Hall - where cultural events and concerts take place - and the cloister with its discreet lighting and coolness, welcome students enveloping them in an atmosphere of another age. This Centre is located in the heart of Florence. On leaving the school after classes, students are immediately caught up in the rapid pulsation of Florentine life: the very crowded Piazza SS. Annunziata with its splendid Basilica and the famous “Portico of the Innocents” by Brunelleschi, the equestrian statue to Ferdinando I° by Giambologna, the two fountains by Pietro Tacca which rise in the centre of the square like two jewels; the nearby Pergola Theatre, Piazza del Duomo with the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, the Baptistery and Giotto’s Bell Tower; Piazza della Signoria with Palazzo Vecchio and the Open gallery of the Uffizi; places with tourists coming literally from the ends of the earth.