I started to organize my first courses of Italian language and culture for foreigners way back in 1986 with the original and exclusive formula "small courses in a small town". This was my idea, really courageous and innovative at that time and which afterwards proved to be a winner. As a base for the courses I have chosen Urbania, in the Marches, equidistant between the Adriatic sea and Tuscany. Very close to Urbino but not in Urbino.

Urbania is a delightful town, immersed in the greenery of its hills, rich in history, art and culture, but small and made to measure for all tastes, quite the opposite to a big city invaded by mass tourism.

As Prof. F. John Willett (founder and first chancellor of Griffith University, Brisbane, Australia), our first illustrious visitor was able to point out, in Urbania "a student does not feel lost amongst 10,000 other foreigners as in summer courses in big universities. And it is precisely for this reason that every student is able to receive individual attention". Also "those attending the courses can participate in the local life of a very pleasant community.

There is no doubt that students will receive a warm welcome in Urbania and no doubt whatsoever regarding the quality of the study programmes".
So the town offers the most favourable environmental conditions together with the high quality level of our courses. This explains the success of our formula and the fact that at least ten other schools, near and far (in the Marches, in Emilia-Romagna, in the Venetian region and in Tuscany), have attempted to imitate it, more or less faithfully, more or less happily. And this constitutes our greatest success: we are a school with followers!