About Italy

Italy has a long history of 3000 years and modern Italy or Italian Republic came into being
in the year 1946, soon after World War II. Italy practices parliamentary democracy and is
one of founding members of the European Union.
Reaching and travelling around Italy is easy. It has well connected air links with most parts
of the world; one can arrive to this country by train, by sea or by road also. There are about
150 cities and townships, out of which Rome, Milan, Naples, Turin and Venice are the major
cities of Italy. These major cities are connected with frequent daily flights and by rail and
road network. She, the Italy, has a mainland and a few islands around it. There are regular
ferry services from mainland to the islands.
Overall a typical Mediterranean climate manifests in Italy. Warm summer and mild winter
make it an ideal country to be visited in any time of the year. The summer is from June to
September with average temperatures of 25 to 30C and winter is from November to
February with average temperatures of 15 to 20C. There can be rains in any time of the
year.
With a valid identity card or passport, citizens of European Union can enter Italy, but
citizens from all other countries must carry and present a valid passport on the border /
point of entry; where a prior visa is required or visa entry must be made. The foreign
travelers not only must specify their length of stay but also their probable destinations
while entering the country.
Foreign visitors who are not staying in a hotel or similar commercial lodging must notify
their place of stay to local police headquarters within 8 days of their arrival. Those travelers
who are staying in hotels or other recognized tourist place will be routinely registered
through the hotel.
With respect to security, Italy is a safe country. But, if a difficult situation arises, it is better
to resort to the services of police in charge of safety for foreign nationals.
At present, euro is the currency used in Italy. It takes 100 euro-cents to make one euro.
Both, cash or credit card can be used to purchases within the country.
Italian is the widely used and the official language of Italy, but there are pockets where
French, German and Greek are predominantly used.
Italy follows Central European Time (CET) Zone, which is one hour before Greenwich Mean
Time (GMT). In certain seasons the clocks are adjusted to regulate to the light dark cycles.
Most of the Italians take three meals a day i.e. breakfast, lunch and dinner and their timings
are 7 am 10 am, 12.30 -2.30 pm and 20 -23 pm respectively.
Local Shops and Shopping malls follow different schedules of working hours. Local shops are
open from Monday to Saturday and from 9.30 a.m. to 12.30 and from 3.30 p.m. to 7.30 p.m.
While shopping malls remain open on all days of the week and remain open full day, from
10.00 a.m. to 10.00 p.m. Most of the pharmacies and drug stores follow the schedules of
local shops.
Italy and European Union follow the seven fundamental units used in SI system (meter,
kilogram, second, ampere, Kelvin, mole, candela). Sizes used in textiles, footwear,
innerwear shops are in centimeters.
Many interesting places and people together make Italy a rich experiential destination for
the tourists.

Education system in Italy

Irrespective of nationality and financial means, article 34 of the Italian constitution
establishes the principle of the right of individual citizens / residents to education. All
children living in Italy between the ages of six to sixteen are offered free education. There
are nursery, primary and secondary schools in Italy which are of good repute. Most of the
primary education schools give priority to rote memorization and obedience rather than to
creativity and innovation. Education is offered by both private as well as public bodies.
Education system in Italy is divided into five stages, they are:
1. kindergarten (scuola dell'infanzia) for 3 years between the age 3 to 6 years
2. primary school (scuola primaria) for 5 years between the ages 6 to 11 years
3. lower secondary school (scuola secondaria di primo grado), for 3 years between the
ages 11 to 14 years
4. upper secondary school (scuola secondaria di secondo grado) for 5 years between
the ages 14 to 19 years
5. University (universit) is a higher education component which includes Bachelors (34 years), Masters (2 years) and Doctoral degrees (3 5 years). For visual and
performing arts there is Afam system which is a high training in Art and Music (AFAM)
which includes teaching, production and research activities in the field of art.
In Italy, 10 years of education is compulsory i.e. from 6 to 16 years. Compulsory education
denotes that all children in this age group must enroll and attend a recognized school. But,
in the last two years of compulsory education (from 14 to 16 years of age) the students
have a choice to complete it in either in State run upper secondary schools ( i.e.
art, technical and vocational institutes), or through a three year vocational education and
training course.
In the primary and secondary schools, the students are taught Italian, English, history,
geography, social studies, natural sciences, mathematics, visual and musical arts and
physical education.
A typical higher secondary class will have about an average of 20 students in it. Some
higher secondary schools charge for tuition, but eligible students who have lower family
income get a waiver in fees.
At the end of higher secondary schooling, a student must pass a state examination. Only
students who have passed the State exam can move to university or Afam tertiary
education. When a typical Italian student enters a university he /she will be 19 years of
age.
Generally higher education in Italy consists of Bachelors, Masters and Doctoral courses. It
is provided by universities, technical universities, Institutes, academies, higher
institutes/schools and by a number of professional training institutions related to commerce,
e-technologies, fashion, industry, etc Most of the existing universities and institutions were
established by the State, while a few institutions were set up by private bodies. Degree
programs both bachelors and masters are structured in credits (crediti formativi
universitari-CFU at universities and crediti formativi accademici-CFA at AFAM institutions).
The major types of academic courses offered in universities and higher education institutes.

University Diploma (Diploma universitario)

Bachelor of Arts/Science (Diploma di Laurea)

Research Doctorate (Dottorato di Ricerca)

Diplomas of Specialization (Diploma di Specializzazione)

Italian universities offer degrees at bachelor's /masters/doctorate levels in various subjects

such as: Agriculture, Architecture, Economics, , Law, Engineering, Humanities, Political
Science, Modern Languages and Education, Biomedicine, Medicine, Pharmacy and
Veterinary Medicine, Natural Sciences, Physics and Mathematics. The university education
in Italy is highly specialized and competitive.