Il Centro – Centro di Lingua e Cultura Italiana Per Stranieri – Milan

Dynamic interactive Italian language classes, intensive courses plus internships, and more in downtown Milan

Learning a foreign language in the country where it is spoken is an enriching experience like no other, but not necessarily an easy task. Being taught by skilled, experienced, and committed teachers who use time-tested learning methods and pioneering techniques, and being able to practice the language one is learning hands-on, definitely makes the difference.

Since 1986, Il Centro – Centro di Lingua e Cultura Italiana Per Stranieri – has been supplying students from all over the world with exemplary Italian language classes and enlightening insight into the local culture and lifestyle. Founded by two teachers, Enrica Cavo and Luisa Turolla, with the aim of providing foreign students with a pleasant, warm, and friendly (hence, quintessentially Italian) learning experience, the school has grown and thrived for 35+ years, becoming one of Europe’s leading academic hubs.

A wide and diverse range of study programs – including group, individual, intensive, and customized courses, as well as business Italian and special-focus lessons – all based on CLT (Communicative Language Teaching) with a humanistic approach, alongside small-sized classes, a familiar ambiance, and a team of talented, proficient professional teachers are the school’s distinctive assets. At Il Centro, students are the main focus, and each one is at the core of the learning process.

Il Centro’s faculty and learning methods are indeed remarkable. All the school’s teachers are devoted to their profession and ever-delighted to get to know their pupils, share their knowledge with them, and design exercises and activities suited to their needs. Endeavoring to provide students with engaging learning opportunities, Il Centro staff burns the midnight oil to prepare brand-new pioneering study materials and plans classes that include enactments of real-life situations, games, and role-playing. The innovative teaching materials used at Il Centro also include diverting, and highly instructive, in-house crafted audio files and videos, specifically created to enhance student interaction and understanding. 

The school also offers a leading-edge Italian and Internship program that pairs intensive Italian language courses with internships in influential Milanese companies. Internships are available in the fields of fashion marketing and business, interior design and architecture, communications and digital marketing, and business administration and start-up, i.e. those most representative and most developed in the city and its surroundings. Crafted to provide a highly rewarding all-round educational experience, the program allows attendees to fine-tune their command of written and spoken Italian and practice using the language daily in a stimulating environment while adding to their professional know-how and enhancing their skills and professional talents. 

Each of these “different” teaching activities is carefully designed to enable students to participate firsthand at all times, whilst allowing the teacher to introduce specific grammar and syntax issues. When required, lessons are custom-built to accommodate the specific needs of that particular class, always keeping the single individuals in mind. 

Il Centro rises on the premises of a charming 18th-century building in one of downtown Milan’s most fascinating areas, Brera. Iconic, and intrinsically artistic, this cobblestone-paved neighborhood studded by charming trattorias and literary cafés houses the world-acclaimed Pinacoteca, a star among Milanese museums. All in all, a lovely area to explore, enjoy and experience during weekends or time off from classes.

Il Centro’s preeminent credentials speak for themselves. See them here.

Learn more about Il Centro