School Parola - Good reasons to study and learn Italian in Florence

Why Study Italian Language in Florence

Some Great Reasons to Choose an Italian Language Course in Florence

Florence has always been a point of reference, with its language schools, to take Italian language courses in Italy. Florence is still considered nowadays the Italian city where a correct and elegant Italian is spoken, especially as far as pronunciation and vocabulary are concerned.

An Important Art Center in Europe

One great reason to choose Florence as a city for a language vacation in Italy is definitely the fact that this city, with its fantastic Renaissance center, offers a remarkable variety of historical sites, an effervescent and lively street life, a vivacious night life and fantastic Italian restaurants.

Taking an Italian language course at the school Parola also means that one can enjoy Florence with its history, its art and its lifestyle: a student of Italian can definitely learn a beautiful language and study a fascinating culture.

An Unforgettable Experience in the City of Renaissance

Taking Italian language courses in Florence is a significant and memorable experience, not only because students appreciate learning Italian but for many other interesting and appealing reasons as well:

Florence is an outstanding place to visit if a student is interested in the Renaissance, in art and Italian. There are some of the finest art works in the world and the most important art museum in Italy: the Uffizi Gallery.

Centrally located, Florence allows students to reach all the other art sites in Tuscany such as Siena or Pisa, the Chianti Tuscan country side and Tuscan sea resorts in the Tyrrhenian Sea without difficulty.

From Florence, students can also reach other beautiful places in Italy easily: Mediterranean beaches, great cities of art such as Rome or Venice, and some of the most important skiing facilities in Europe.

Some Information about Florence: Location, Population and History

Florence is centrally located in Italy, in one of the most important regions of the country, a region called Tuscany. Italian language courses have always been favored by this location and on top of that education and art in Florence have always been renowned all over Europe. Students and cultural institutes are present in great number in Florence.

Population and Size

Florence has a population of about 400,000 people and its area is about 102 square kilometers, which corresponds to 39 sq miles. Its elevation is 50 me (164 feet) above see level.

Praton Saint of Florence

Its Patron Saint is San Giovanni and he is celebrated on June 24rd .

Something About the Ancient History in Florence

Florence was settled by Julius Caesar in 59 BC for his veteran soldiers. Its name Florentia derives from “flourish” because it was a very fertile land, covered in flowers.

Thanks to the Via Cassia, an important road that connected Rome with the North and within the fertile valley of the Arno, Florence became a relevant trade center. In the third century AD, the city became capital of an area called Tuscia.

Charlemagne conquered Florentia in 774 and annexed it to his tuscan territories, which had Lucca – another city Parola School visits for the its school activities - as capital. Commerce became bigger and bigger and Florence and Fiesole (location visited while schooling) were united in the middle of ninth century AD.

Something About Modern Florentine History

Between 1865 and 1870, Florence was the capital of the just unified Italy. The city is located on the Arno River and it is not that far from all the most important Tuscany cities. From Florence, you can reach Rome in less than 2 hours and Milan in about three hours.

Florence is renowned for its culture and history during the Middle Ages, but in particular in the Renaissance, when arts had an outstanding flourishing. Florence was also a European trade and financial center during medieval times and in the fourteenth and fifteenth century. Florence gained so much power during that period that the ruling family invested much money on arts, as a matter of fact, Florence is considered the place of birth of the Italian Renaissance.

In 1982, the historic and celebrated historical center of Florence was admitted in the World Heritage Sites by the UNESCO.

Some Information About the Golden Years of Florence

In 1013, construction of the Basilica di San Miniato al Monte. Parola School goes with students to the church that is now dedicated to San Miniato, who was the first Christian martyr in Florence and where, according to legend, the saint picked up his head and after crossing the Arno River climbed up a Florentine hill to die on top of it. First example of first examples of great art in Florence. Students, go with a professor to the beautiful Basilica di San Miniato al Monte. From the Basilica di San Miniato, students can also admire a fantastic outlook of the city of Florence.

The Medici Family

In middle of the fourteenth century, the Medici Family starts ruling the city with trade, commerce and ideal political agreements. Medici were bank trader to popes and this also increasingly contributed to the family rise. In particular, Lorenzo de Medici, known as Lorenzo il Magnifico, was a great patron of the arts paying for works by Leonardo Da Vinci, Michelangelo, Botticelli and many other artists.

School Parola with students, for extracurricular activities and for some courses such as the drawing course, visits the Uffizi Gallery where some of these outstanding art works are displayed.

Girolamo Savonarola is another character of the great period of Florence. He became famous for his sermons and he harshly criticized the morality of those times. After criticizing and denying the pope, the Florentines grew tired of his severe statements. As a consequence, Savonarola was declared heretic and burned at the stake on the Piazza della Signoria in 1498. At the school, in our History of Florence included in the supplementary courses, we study the events that led to the accusations against Savonarola and students learn the reasons why he became popular in Florence.

Machiavelli was another great character of the golden years of Florence. Niccolò Machiavelli’s prescriptions, for a sort of rebirth of Florence during those years, were strong power and, whenever it was necessary, apply the rule that in politics everything was acceptable. Machiavelli’s thoughts are written in the outstanding book that some students at Parola School may want to read, which is called "Il Principe".

In our course, on Renaissance Florence, we discuss about “The Prince” (Il Principe), which is still a benchmark for today’s political issues all over the world. Macchiavelli also wrote a book called "the Florentine Histories" and an important history of Florence.

Modern Times in Florence

Medici line extinguished in 1737 and after years of Austrian presence in the region, Tuscany became a province of the United Kingdom of Italy in 1861. One of our courses cover Italian society and it deals with all the issues concerning Italian history and the Italian way of living. This Lesson implies that students know already something about Italy.

Florence was capital of the United Kingdom of Italy in 1865, During World War II, there was a German occupation and after the war, Florence was declared an open city. During the sixties, Florence had a big expansion and became one the richest city in Italy: from commerce and agriculture to tourism and culture.

Nowadays, Florence is a trade capital of fashion, one of most visited cities in Italy and in the world and a great cultural center. It is a city of art - this is the reason why we have art courses and also a city of modern events such as concerts and contemporary exhibits. In the extra-curricular activities the school may visit some exhibits and to attend some nice shows in the city with the students.

Florentine Climate

See updated data on weather conditions in Florence.

During Italian language courses, students are always asking us about the weather and the temperatures during the yearly seasons. Below is a list t that may help participants to be better oriented about their choice to take an Italian language course in Florence.

Even though, climate in Florence is usually perceived as Mediterranean, the city may experience hot and humid summers, with rain and damp winters.

Average High Temperature and Average Low Temperature [°C](°F)

Jan. 10 (50) - 2 (35)

Feb. 12 (54) - 3 (37)

Mar. 15 (59) - 5 (41)

Apr. 19 (66) - 6 (42)

May. 23 (74)- 8 (46)

June 28 (82) - 11 (52)

Jul. 31 (88) - 15 (59)

Aug. 31 (87) - 17 (63)

Sep. 27 (80) - 17 (63)

Oct . 21 (70) - 14 (58)

Nov. 15 (59)- 10 (50)

Dec. 11 (51) - 2 (36)

Year Average 20 (68) - 9 (49) in Florence

Florence has a small quantity of rain in the summer, while rainfall is predominant in the winter, with some snow occasionally. Students enjoy Florence in the Spring and in the early months of the academic year.

School Home Page

School Parola - Italian Language Courses - Borgo S. Croce, 4 - 50122 Florence - Italy - Tel. 055/242182 - Fax 055/241914- info@parola.it