School Year Abroad - Italy

Italy

Since it opened its doors in 2001, SYA's Italian program has been housed in a 16th- century palazzo in the city of Viterbo in Lazio. SYA Italy students attend classes in a beautifully restored and quintessentially Italian palazzo, where parquet floors and freshly painted walls serve as the perfect backdrop for a collection of 16th- century frescoes. The school’s classrooms and offices feature beamed ceilings 15 feet high and come fully equipped with modern conveniences. A spacious common room with plush couches and Internet access, known as the salone, provides a comfortable place for our students to study and relax between classes.

SYA Italy offers a unique approach to understanding the culture of modern Italy through the lens of its deep and multi-layered past. Both inside and outside the classroom, SYA Italy actively engages students in the study of ancient languages, history and art, while facilitating the mastery of Italian. On school trips, which have included journeys to Sicily, Florence, Umbria and Campania in the past, SYA students are given the opportunity to experience firsthand some of Western civilization’s most important cultural, historical and archaeological sites.

All SYA Italy students must complete six credits over the course of the year. The curriculum requirements are as follows: one credit of English; one credit of math; at least two credits of language, one of which must be Italian; at least one credit of history; and one elective. In order to fulfill SYA Italy’s two-credit language requirement, students may choose one of two options: to enroll in Italian Language and Culture, a two-credit Italian course;or to enroll in Italian I or Italian II and a one-credit course in another language (Latin or Ancient Greek). Those who pursue the second option may not enroll in Medieval and Modern History.