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How to Choose the Best Florence Art School
- Follow your dream, feed your talent: Dream of becoming an artist, a painter, a designer? Longing to indulge your creative talent while learning the know-how from real pros? Every Florence art school has got its specifications – let’s discover their offer.
- Just picture it: Imagine studying at a Florence art academy. Picture yourself sitting on the Ponte Vecchio sketching the line of bridges before you. Sipping a hot cappuccino on your way to an inspiring fashion design class held by a pro. Or attending a class at a Florence design academy where you can learn how to design your own shoes like Salvatore Ferragamo did.
Why study art in Florence?
Oh magical Florence, crowned by red-tiled cupolas. A vibrant cultural legacy, spectacular vistas and an appealing lifestyle make Florence the answer to many a dream.
World-class masterpieces and centuries-old traditional craftsmanship. Glorious fashion and life-like ancient and contemporary sculpture. The rich heritage and numerous excellent art schools in Florence turn the world-beloved Cradle of the Renaissance into an unrivalled learning experience!
Florence Art
Just think: Michelangelo, Leonardo, Brunelleschi, and then again Enrico Coveri, Ermanno Scervino and Guccio Gucci perfected their artistry here. So there has to be something in the air. Right? More than the air, it’s the environment. There are few cities in the world at once so small in size and so crammed with breathtaking art, architecture and creative talent.
Plus, art schools in Florence offer a lot of diversity thanks to the enrolled students’ different cultures and nationality. Each school offers a medley of nationalities, hence an open-minded environment.
Becoming an Artist in Florence
Dream of drawing, sculpting, painting, designing or a career in fashion? Be inspired by excellent teachers at an art school in Florence Italy. Discover your muse in the city’s Renaissance palazzi and marble churches. Prowl the designer haunts and jewellery artists, painting studios and sculptors and you’ll find your way in life!
A maze of Awesome Art Schools in Florence
Yes, it’s kind of a maze. Because of the high demand coming from both students and tourists, the number of art schools in Florence over the last years is baffling. Confusing.
Well, all you need to do is take your pick, because we’ve done the homework!
We’ve gone through the reviews and the info, and selected the
Top 11 Leading Art Schools in Florence (Download the Pdf)
Find your abode among the best art schools in Florence!
Accademia di Belle Arti di Firenze
The Accademia di Belle Arti di Firenze is the most ancient, and possibly most renowned, of all art schools in Florence. Dating back to 1563 it was founded by Cosimo de’ Medici to include the artists’ guild and a group of select artists that worked for the Medici.
It is an art instruction academy managed by the Italian Ministry of Education and Research. It comprises three main educational paths: Visual Arts, Design and Applied Arts, Art Communication and Didactics. Each of these leads to obtaining an Academic Diploma equivalent to a short Italian University Bachelor’s Degree.
Accademia di Belle Arti di Firenze added value: the Accademia prepares and trains students to become excelling professionals. The diplomas achieved grant access to a variety of professional fields ranging from art to scenic design, interior design and art education.
Historical premises right next door to the Accademia Gallery (i.e. where the David is housed)
Accademia Italiana di Firenze
Founded in 1984 the Accademia Italiana was the first private fashion and design academy in Tuscany authorized to award degrees equivalent to Bachelor’s degrees and legally recognized European Bachelor’s Degrees.
Students enrolled in the Accademia Italiana’s three-year degree programs can obtain a double degree. All courses – Fashion, Industrial Design, Interior Design, Graphic design and Photography – are taught by high-end professionals.
Accademia Italiana di Firenze added value: classes are held in a historical palazzo in Piazza Pitti.
Need Help with Legal Issues Abroad? Find your Attorney in Florence
As an international student or young expatriate living under the Tuscan sun, your adventure should be about discovery, not red tape. That’s why we’d like you to consider ILF – Italy Law Firms as Your Legal Compass in the City of Art.
Navigate with Ease with Italy Law Firms Florence
Moving to a new country brings enough challenges without having to navigate complex legal and bureaucratic issues in a foreign language. At ILF – Law Firm in Florence, we offer a helping hand to students and expats in Florence. Our English-speaking lawyers have years of experience assisting foreigners with all their basic legal needs.
From document translation and legalization to tax code intricacies, our specialized legal services are designed to align with your unique needs. We understand the challenges of adjusting to a new country, and our mission is to turn those challenges into simple, manageable steps.
Whether it’s your ‘codice fiscale’ or a complex employment contract, benefit from our deep understanding of Italian bureaucracy tailored for the international community. We’re not just lawyers; we’re cultural translators, bridging the gap between local laws and your global lifestyle.
AD’A Accademia d’Arte
Founded in 2003 by a group of professional artists from the prestigious Accademia di Belle Arti.
Located in the heart of Florence, AD’A offers short, medium and long-term courses in Painting and Drawing, Sculpture, Engraving, Mosaic, Fresco, Art History, Fashion Design, Photography, Italian Language and Culture.
AD’A Accademia d’Arte added value: classes comprise lectures by visiting artists, museum visits and lessons taught by professional artists.
Florence University of the Arts (FUA)
With its wide range of internship programs, summer workshops and experiential learning projects year-round, FUA – Florence University of the Arts is the most popular and well-known art school in Florence among American students.
It presents short, medium and long-term courses in Digital Imaging and Visual Arts, Fashion, Interior Design and Environmental Architecture, Business, Hospitality, Arts and Sciences, Journalism, Italian language and Culture.
FUA added value: offering a wide range of hands-on experiences FUA encourages students to blend with the local culture and people
IED – Istituto Europeo di Design Firenze
“Designing the future in the heart of the Italian Renaissance” is the motto you read on the school’s website. Yes, this is the Florence design academy to go to if your heart is set on diving into the varied world of Design head first!
It offers a polychrome range of undergraduate courses, semester and one-year courses from furniture and interiors to fashion and graphics – with classes and lectures held by world-class teachers.
IED added value: leading edge (cool!) facilities just steps away from the Florence Cathedral and Piazza Santa Croce
Istituto Marangoni
The Milan Marangoni Artistic Clothing Institute, a school for fashion designers and professionals, was founded by Giulio Marangoni in 1935, and has never stopped training world-class pros since.
Today the school provides preparatory courses, masterclasses and undergraduate courses in Design, Fashion Design and Styling, Art Management and Visual Multimedia Arts in eight different schools and seven different countries.
Istituto Marangoni added value: A’ la mode students will appreciate the swanky headquarters in stylish Via de’ Tornabuoni.
Istituto per l’Arte ed il Restauro (Institute for Art and Restoration) – Palazzo Spinelli
Founded in 1976, the Institute for Art and Restoration provides professional training in the field of conservation and restoration and operates as a restoration centre for public and private companies.
40 years of activity, more than 4,800 postgraduate programs, 7,500 graduate students and 18,000 restorations, prove its excellence.
It offers a full range of masterclasses and medium to long term courses on the restoration of paintings on canvas and wood, frescoes, archaeological artifacts, glass, ceramics, paper, stone and mosaic.
Institute for Art and Restoration added value: legally recognized by the Italian State and European Union, the school provides 3-year vocational restoration courses which issue the qualification of Technician of Restoration of Cultural Heritage. The diploma grants access to the position of Assistant Conservator.
Classes are held in the historical Via Maggio headquarters (Pitti area). 2 different locations house the paper, paintings, frescoes and stonework restoration labs where students attend their workshops.
Alchimia – Contemporary Jewellery School
Alchimia is a Contemporary Jewellery School based in Florence since 1998 and founded by Lucia Massei. It is in the Oltrarno San Frediano district, where craftsmanship still pulses. Alchimia’s school offers many courses and its team operates to study, respect, and transmit traditional techniques, especially those linked to the Italian cultural heritage and connected to goldsmiths.
If you are looking for a complete jewelry school or you just want to attend some classes, Alchimia contemporary jewelry school in Florence is what you are looking for.
Many international students come to Tuscany to attend Alchimia’s intensive one-year programs. Those classes provide basic and advanced training, offering highly technical skills in contemporary jewellery and jewellery design.
Polimoda
Founded in 1986 by two fashion industry pioneers: Shirley Goodman, former Executive VP and President Emeritus at FIT in New York and Marquis Don Emilio Pucci, founder of the famous Florentine brand Emilio Pucci.
The idea behind Polimoda Florence was that of creating “a centre for excellence in fashion education” in Florence. True to its goal the school provides undergraduate courses, masterclasses and seasonal courses in all the fields of the fashion business, from Design to Merchandising.
Courses include significant (and somewhat glittering!) first-hand experiences: wanna-be designers sew up their creations, future merchandisers go to the Paris fashion week.
Polimoda added value: alumni who have completed an undergraduate or master course can apply to Polimoda Talent, a special program of grants, business incubation and tutorship meant to foster creativity and offer funds to promising pupils.
SACI College of Art & Design
Accredited institutional member of the National Association of Schools of Art and Design (NASAD), affiliated with BGSU Ohio, and authorized by the Delaware Department of Education and NASAD to confer an MFA in Communication Design, MFA in Photography, MFA in Studio Art, and MA in Art History.
Many colleges and universities throughout the United States and elsewhere grant credit for course work completed at SACI. Graduate and undergraduate programs comprise Traditional and Contemporary Studio Arts, Photography, Design, Conservation, Art History, and Italian language and culture. Thanks to the Academic Credits SACI is a favorite among US students.
SACI added value: classes and workshops are held in two different Renaissance palaces.
Sacred Art School Florence (Scuola di Arte Sacra)
The ideal school for catholic art students desirous to pursue art with and via a spiritual vision. A prestigious Catholic Art School founded to promote creativity in art and artistic craftsmanship, and dedicated to the world of what is sacred.
Offers master, quarterly and summer courses as well as summer classes in Painting, Drawing, Sculpture and Goldsmithing, all in the perspective of sacred art.
Sacred Art School added value: the 3-year specialization courses (painting, sculpting and smithing) aim to prepare a new generation of professionals capable of creating works of excellence for the cult (i.e. altarpieces, pictorial cycles etc) and for private devotion. The Florence Sacred Art School is located in the charming premises of Le Pavoniere, in the Cascine Park.
Take care and continue reading here if you want to know the best art schools in Italy.
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