Italian language
Art courses
Art History
School Group Courses

About Accademia del Giglio
Since 1995
Accademia del Giglio is a private school which is specifically aimed at
helping international students to gain proficiency in the Italian
language, understand the many aspects of Italian culture, as well as
learn several drawing and painting techniques. Our school is accredited
by:
- The Italian
Ministry of Education through the “presa
d’atto”;
- The Swedish National Board of Student Aid “CSN”;
- The American university Bard
College as its Italian base for its abroad
study programme.
- The University
of Kansas as its Italian base for its abroad
study programme.
In addition:
- Accademia del Giglio has received the “European Label 2007”
. This Label is awarded each year to the most innovative language
learning projects in the European Union. The Label is coordinated by
the European Commission, and managed by the Ministry of Labour and the
Ministry of Education.
- Accademia del Giglio is the Italian base for the Flora Tristan High
School (France), participating in the scheme
of the Leonardo
da Vinci Programme, whose aim is to support
improvements in quality and innovation in vocational education and
training systems.
- Other occasional but intensive co-operations have also been arranged
with other institutes in the past few years (please visit our page on Courses for school groups).
The teaching staff of Accademia del
Giglio:
- have contributed to the
editing of the June 2007, September 2007 and June 2008 Itals bulletins,
official review of the University Ca' Foscari
of Venice;
- have been organizing training courses for teachers of
Italian as a foreign language;
- are currently endeavouring to make use of modern teaching
technologies both with school students and with distant
learners
Some pics of AdG
The reception.
Italian language class.
Art class.
Italian language students.

Main entrance of the school in Via Ghibellina 116 (black number).
Letter of presentation
written by Professor Joseph Luzzi, from Bard College.
Dear Colleagues:
It is my pleasure to write a letter of support on behalf of the Accademia del Giglio (...). I have worked closely with the administrators of the Accademia-Cecilia Pontenani, Lorenzo Capanni, and Roberto Balò (...) and I can say that this collaboration has been one of the most productive and enjoyable of my professional life. The Accademia del Giglio has been the site since January 2004 for our Bard-in-Florence program, an intensive immersion in the study of Italian that incorporates course work in language, literature, culture, art history, music, and film. My students take this intensive one-month, multifaceted course at the Accademia after completing the equivalent of a one-year intensive Italian language program in the United States at Bard College; upon successful completion of their course work at the Accademia del Giglio, my students receive four academic credits (the equivalent of a complete university course) that are then transferable to Bard College.
The academic and personal benefits of the Accademia del Giglio's program have been immeasurable for my students. Many of them come to Italy never having traveled abroad, let alone having been in Italy, and the caring, attentive, and thoroughly professional guidance of the Accademia del Giglio staff helps ease their transition to life abroad and prepare them for what many of my students describe as one of their most rewarding academic experiences. When taking my students to study at the Accademia, I immediately notice that the interdisciplinary approach to language teaching at the Accademia--which utilizes a multitude of media and other contemporary forms of expression--deeply improves the Italian skills of my students in their conversation, reading, and writing. The Accademia also makes extensive use of the city of Florence itself as a "classroom," for my students visit many museums, churches, and monuments as part of their studies, especially in art history. Overall, I am impressed by the innovative and progressive curriculum of the Accademia and its accomplished roster of local Florentine faculty members, who teach my students not just the usual canonical aspects of Italian culture but also include to great effect the study of specialized subjects in a host of fields ranging from language and literature to music and cinema. Moreover, the Accademia goes to great lengths to organize informative weekend excursions and events for my students, including day trips to local museums and sites in Lucca and Siena as well as visits to historical abbeys and churches in the Tuscan countryside. All in all, my students and I have been immensely satisfied by both the high and exacting academic standards that the Accademia maintains while simultaneously providing its students with an unforgettable journey through both the storied past and the vibrant contemporary culture of Florence, Tuscany, and Italy.
As I have endeavored to convey in this letter, the Accademia del Giglio is a place that combines a thorough commitment to excellence in teaching with an energetic devotion to making the Florentine experience of its students and colleagues as memorable as possible. Based on this extensive professional contact and collaboration of mine with the Accademia, I recommend it most strongly to you (...).
Sincerely,
Joseph LuzziAssistant Professor and Chair of Italian Studies
Bard College
Education
April 1992
Received a “Laurea” with full marks in Modern Languages and
Literature (Italian Degree) from the University of Florence.
July 1980
Awarded a “Diploma di Maturità” in sciences with full marks.
Employment
history
June 95-present
Director at "Accademia del Giglio" (Florence, Italy).
June 95-present
Italian language teacher for foreign students at
"Accademia del Giglio".
April 93-May 95
Italian language teacher for foreign students at
"Società Dante Alighieri".
June 92-March 93
Private tutoring to Italian students in English;
translations from Swedish into Italian for several companies.
Languages
Mother language: Italian
Good English
Good Swedish
Other interests
Travelling, reading, bird-watching, skiing and going to the cinema.
Education
June 1995
Received a “Laurea” with Honours in Modern
Languages and Literature (Italian Degree) from the University of
Florence.
July 1988
Awarded a “Diploma di Maturità” in Languages with full marks
(60/60).
Employment
history
July 97-present
Assistant Director at "Accademia del Giglio" (Florence,
Italy).
July 96-present
Italian language teacher for foreign students at
"Accademia del Giglio".
Oct 95-June 96
Italian language assistant in 2 French secondary schools.
Spring 95
English teacher for the employees of an Italian company.
1994-present
Private tutoring to Italian students in French and
English; translations for Italian companies.
Languages
Mother language: Italian
Fluent French
Fluent English
Good German
Other
interests
Travelling, reading, swimming, biking.
April 1997 Received a “Laurea” with full marks in Italian Literature (Italian Degree) from the University of Florence.
July 1989 Awarded a “Diploma di Maturità Commerciale” with full marks.
Employment history
July 97-present Italian language teacher at "Accademia del Giglio" (Florence, Italy).
June 89-Aug 96 Tutor for Italian students taking summer English courses in the U.K.
Languages
Mother language: Italian
Good French
Good English
Other interests
Reading, poetry, tennis and going to the cinema.
February 2010- present Teacher of Drawing, Painting and Fresco at "Accademia del Giglio" (Florence, Italy).
2009 Teacher of Drawing and Painting.
2008 - present Artist at the "Laboratorio Creativo" of Palazzo Strozzi, Florence.
2008 - present Graphic designer.
Exhibitions
2009 Triennale Architetti: Graphic design, Florence, Italy.
2008 "Disegni fatti nell'Osservatorio di Arcetri", collective exhibition, Festival della Creatività, Florence, Italy.
2008 "Sconfinamenti", Alexander Alvarez Gallery, Alessandria, Italy.
2007 Collective Exhibitions in Italy.
2006 Collective exhibition at Iowa Biennal Exhibition of Contemporary Miniature Prints, USA.
2003 - 2005 Solo and collective Exhibitons in Serbia, Romania and Italy.
Languages
Mother language: Serbian
Fluent English and Italian
Good French and other Slavic languages
Other interests
Biking, studying languages, cinema.
1999 - Master in Art Therapy (The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Illinois).
1996 - Master in Fine Arts (Stanford University, California).
1994 - Diploma in Fine Arts (Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah).
Employment history
2010 - present Instructor of Art Therapy at "Accademia del Giglio" (Florence, Italy).
2007 - present Instructor at Florence New Renaissance School, Italy.
2006 - 2007 Artist in residence and Art Director at Marin School of Arts and Technology, Novato, California.
1994 - 2006 Art Therapist and Teacher of Fine Arts in US and Italy.
Exhibitions
2007 "Word/World", Solo performance, Art Space, Florence, Italy.
2006 "We are family", group show, San Jose Museum of Art, California.
2005 "Pattern", Museum of Art Studios, group show, Wendl Center Gallery, San Jose, California.
2003 "Toward a New Vocabulary", Opening night of Vagina Monologues, Kresge Auditorium, Stanford, CA.
2002 "Butoh with Mitsuru Sasaki", group video, Teatro di Behemot, Florence, Italy.
1992 - 2001 Solo and collective Exhibitons in US.
Languages
Mother language: English
Fluent Italian
Good German
Other interests
Reading, music, trekking.
AdG Courses
- Italian small classes
- Italian one-to-one
- Italian crash courses
- Specific Italian
- Home tuition
- On-line Italian
- Italian for teachers
- Art classes
- Long Term Art course
- Life Drawing
- Fresco
- Summer Workshops
- Winter Seminars
- Art in the weekend
- Art Therapy
- Art History
- Cooking classes
- Training course for Fine Art Academies
