7 Best Italy Summer Programs for High School Students
Italy is all the things you think it would be—fashion, gelato, beaches, pizza, beautiful people, ancient ruins—and all of these shine a little bit brighter in the summer sun. A carefully planned summer in Italy can be equal parts education and total blast. While living la vita bella, you’ll immerse yourself in one of the world’s most influential cultures and soak up centuries of history, art, literature, and architecture, but it won’t feel like work.
Italy awaits!
Yes, getting your folks on board to spend the summer abroad in high school might take some convincing, but it won’t be without payoff. The average Italian teenager in high school enjoys quite a bit more autonomy than high schoolers in the English-speaking world, so a summer here is a great stepping stone to the independence that awaits you in your college years. Making new friends and learning a new language will also make you resilient and diversify your skill sets. You may even be able to amp up your self-sufficiency with some cooking classes or a pre-professional experience while you’re at it.
What makes high school experiences in Italy the GOAT is that they are versatile. These top-rated summer programs for high school students in Italy are a great place to start your search:
The 8 best Italy summer programs for high school students this year
*Editor’s note: This information was accurate at the time of publishing. Please refer to each individual program for current data.
1. SPI High School Italian Language Immersion in Tuscany—10.0 Rating
Study Italian in Tuscany this summer while living with a local host family. Your home away from home, Siena, is a smaller city not far from Florence which features historical traces of Etruscans, Romans, and renaissance art and architecture. Another plus—it’s known for its baked goods and sweets! Summer is the best time to study in Siena, because it means you’ll get to take in the annual Palio horse race around the old city, one of the region’s most important local festivals which traces its roots back to medieval times. Over the course of two weeks, take classes each morning, participate in cultural activities each afternoon, strengthen your language skills, build your knowledge and awareness of Italian culture, and go on group excursions to other parts of Italy. The program provides an official transcript of your 40 contact hours of Italian study, which may be enough to earn you up to two college credits before college even begins.
2. Florence, Italy Summer Cultural Experience by World Class Experience—10.0 Rating
If you’re looking for summer art programs for high school students abroad, Florence should be on your shortlist of destinations. World Class Experience offers two, three, and 4-week options for your summer in Italy. Choose between courses on Italian language, art history, photography, fine arts, architecture philosophy, and Tuscan cuisine. Test out dorm life in student apartments just steps away from the Piazza del Duomo (sorry—campus life back home might not feel quite as glamorous after this!). Weekend adventures will take you and your new friends to other fabulous destinations around Italy.
3. University of Dallas Shakespeare in Italy Program—10.0 Rating
Using Rome as your home base, in this program you’ll study Shakespeare in the actual locations where many of his plays took place. Over the course of three weeks on the University of Dallas campus in one of Rome’s most attractive suburbs, you’ll sample dorm life and earn three college credits in a class taught by actual college professors. For that reason, this summer high school program in Italy is a great option if you’re thinking of studying literature or theater in college so you can get a taste of what that’s like. It could also help beef up your reading comprehension and writing skills before your first year begins. In addition to field trips all over Rome, excursions to Padua and Venice will bring you even closer to the bard’s inspiration.
4. Italy: Italian Language & Culinary Training with The Experiment in International Living—9.67 Rating
Anyone who says food isn’t a factor in their decision to do a summer high school program in Italy is kidding themselves; but if food is your primary motivator, this is the program for you. It’s also a great option if you’re looking to cover a lot of ground during your summer in Italy. Start with orientation in Rome. Spend time practicing Italian with your homestay family in Tuscany. Shop for fresh ingredients at the local markets, and then learn to cook with them from an actual Italian chef in Asti. Wrap up the experiences on the canals of Venice. While everyone else is eating mac ‘n cheese in college, you’ll be wowing your new friends with some serious pasta skills.
- Where? Turin, Florence, Rome, Venice, and more
- When? 4 weeks
- Cause? Language Immersion
- Read EIL reviews here
5. Forum-Nexus Pre-College Summer Study Abroad in Europe—9.0 Rating
Spend a month on the road with one of the summer programs in Europe for high school students that covers the most ground. Forum-Nexus’s pre-college program is jam-packed with visits to nine cities in just one month, but Italy is well-represented with stops in Como, Milan, and Rome. Professors traveling with your group will teach courses each morning, sometimes in your hotel, and sometimes on a local campus in France, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, and Greece. By the end of one month you’ll have visited five countries and earned nine college credits with options available in a variety of subjects including business, art, healthcare, and hospitality. Don’t think nine cities is enough? Choose their 2-month option to add destinations in Japan, Hong Kong, and Thailand.
6. ACA Pre-College Enrichment Program Florence—Be the first to review!
The description of this program seems focused on comfort and luxury, but there’s some learning to be done, too! Study Italian language, art history, or business at the Santa Reparata International School of Art (SRISA) on this summer program in Florence. Not ready for dorm life? No problem! This program puts students in hotel accomodations for the duration of the trip. Weekend trips will give you a taste of Venice, Rome, and other cities and towns around Tuscany. If four weeks of living the good life in Tuscany has been too much for you, add on the optional one-week extension trip to the Greek isles to catch some golden rays.
- Where? Florence
- When? 4 weeks, with optional 1-week extension to Greece
- Cause? Language Immersion
- Get more program info
7. Earn High School Credits with the Blyth Academy—Be the first to review!
This “Canadian high school in the heart of Italy” offers high school juniors and seniors three weeks in Firenze studying a subject of their choice intensively. Choose from classes ranging from photography to sociology, and anthropology. While sharing a dorm with your new best friends, you’ll also have the opportunity to participate in optional weekend excursions to Siena, Rome, Venice, the beach, and more. The credits you earn here will be some of your most memorable, and the best part is you can take them home with you!
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You’ll have a blast in Italy!
The hard part about choosing what to do with your summer isn’t choosing to spend it in Italy, it’s about choosing how to spend it in Italy. Looking for a big city experience or something a little more quaint? Trying to stay in one place and really immerse yourself, or would you rather check a few stops off your bucket list? Is college credit important to you, or are you just trying to expand your horizons? No matter what you choose, a few weeks on a high school summer program in Italy is a great way to make new friends, explore your educational and professional interests, and take a deep breath before your next semester begins.
The Italian way of life values family, good food, fine art, and taking your time. While you’ll learn a lot and be forever changed by a summer there, it’s safe to say that your time in Italy probably won’t be totally exhausting. Enjoy the time to be thoughtful and reflective, to explore, and to get to know yourself. Make new friends you’ll actually keep in touch with and start planning your return trip. You may leave Italy, but Italy never leaves you.
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