Istituto Galilei
An EU citizen? For a language course your ID card is enough: no visa, no residence permit for stays under three months. The same applies to Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein.
Istituto Galilei is an Italian language school for foreigners in Firenze (Toscana): intensive courses of about 20 hours per week plus lighter options, usually starting every Monday. The school also helps you find accommodation. Below you will find the key facts, a mini guide to Firenze to plan your stay, and a form to write to the school directly.
The school
The course
Also offers themed courses in: art, cooking, literature, painting, art history, wine
More info
Prices
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Ciao gentile staff di Istituto Galilei, I'd like to know the price of your Italian courses. Could you send me the total cost including enrolment fee, materials and accommodation, and the available start dates for the coming months? Grazie infinite del vostro aiuto e ci vediamo presto!
Arrive ready.
With the ti app you read graded stories with support in 14 languages. Five minutes a day between now and departure.
Half of the A1 path is open, no sign-up
€5,83 a month on the yearly plan
★★★★★(7)by Alessio, a teacher since 2018
Start with A1 ↗︎Search for amo Italian
Why choose this school
- 41 years of experienceteaching since 1985, without a break
- Classes of no more than 4 studentsbelow the industry average, so more time to speak
- 60-minute lessons: 20 real hoursmost schools count 45-minute lessons · here an hour is an hour
- Quality checked by an independent bodyBildungsurlaub accreditation
- The school arranges your accommodationfree service
- Course materials included
Where you'll be
schoolsnot to be missedairport
Tram lines T1 and T2, with the T2 linking the airport to the centre in about twenty minutes.
From the school to the three places above it is usually a short walk: the schools are in or near the centre.
Firenze Peretola (FLR), 5 km away · Pisa Galileo Galilei (PSA), 67 km away
What is worth knowing before you book
Prices, enrolment fee, real lesson hours, accommodation and cancellation: the same questions apply to every school. Read the full guide →
Day trips nearby
At the weekend, without a car:
- San Giovanni Valdarno32 km
- Siena50 km
- Bagno di Romagna57 km
- Arezzo61 km
Trenitalia regional trains from Firenze station. Autolinee Toscane buses for towns without a railway station.
Distances are as the crow flies.
Weather right now
Write to the school
Firenze at a glance
Istituto Galilei is in Firenze (Toscana). Outside the classroom this is where the language gets practised: at the coffee counter, in the square, at the market.
More schools in Firenze
Scuola Leonardo da Vinci FirenzeABC FirenzeCentro FiorenzaIstituto MichelangeloEuropass Italian Language SchoolCentro MachiavelliEvents this year
The city's big festivals, food fairs and cultural seasons through the year. They're not just entertainment: they're the best training ground for your Italian. At a local festival you end up ordering, asking directions, chatting with locals: the real language, the kind books don't teach. If you can, line up a week of your course with one of these.
Scoppio del Carro On Easter Sunday, in Piazza del Duomo, a centuries-old cart erupts into fireworks lit by a mechanical dove. Pure Florentine tradition: ideal for the vocabulary of festivals and customs. | Easter |
Maggio Musicale Fiorentino One of Europe's oldest music festivals brings opera and concerts to the city for weeks. If you are studying in Florence it combines language with high culture, plus the vocabulary of music and theatre. | April–June |
Pitti Uomo Twice a year Florence becomes the world capital of menswear. The streets fill with insiders: useful for fashion vocabulary and for hearing the Italian of business and style. | January and June |
Firenze Rocks In June Italy's biggest rock festival brings international stars to the Cascine park. Young, informal crowd: great for colloquial Italian, concert slang and meeting people your own age. | June |
Festa della Rificolona On 7 September children parade with lit paper lanterns. A poetic neighbourhood festival, perfect for traditional vocabulary and for seeing the most authentic Florence, far from the tourist circuit. | 7 September |
Frequently asked questions
When do Italian courses at Istituto Galilei start?
How many lesson hours per week are there?
How much does an Italian course in Firenze cost?
Does the school help with accommodation?
Can I prepare for or take an official exam (CILS, CELI, PLIDA)?
How do I get to Firenze?
Good to know before you enrol
What not to miss in Firenze
- Galleria degli UffiziBotticelli, Leonardo and the Renaissance in a single building, built in the sixteenth century to house the grand-ducal administrative offices, hence the name. Always book ahead.
- Cupola del Brunelleschi e DuomoThe climb between the two shells is a lesson in fifteenth-century engineering: Brunelleschi built it without wooden centring, using over four million bricks laid in a herringbone pattern.
- Oltrarno e Ponte VecchioArtisan workshops, San Frediano and sunset from Piazzale Michelangelo. Above the bridge runs the Vasari Corridor, the private passage the Medici used to avoid the streets.
Planning your Italian course in Firenze: fly into Firenze (FLR) or Pisa (PSA), book the course 2–3 weeks ahead (classes fill up faster in high season, June–September) and, if you can, match your study week with one of the city events listed below: using your Italian at a local festival is worth a week of lessons.
Before you leave for Firenze, start from home.
With the ti app you arrive in Firenze already understanding what you hear: graded stories with translation in 14 languages, exercises and an A1–C2 path.
Half of the A1 path is open, no sign-up
★★★★★(7)by Alessio, a teacher since 2018
Start with A1 ↗︎Search for amo Italian
