Florence, declared by UNESCO a World Heritage Site in 1982, is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with about half a million inhabitants.

The city spreads on the banks of the Arno River, between the Adriatic and the Tyrrhenian seas, almost in the middle of the Italian Peninsula. The Chianti area, between Florence and Siena, is one of the most beautiful landscapes in Italy and famous wine production area.

Often considered the birthplace of the Italian Renaissance, Florence is known for its history and its importance in the Middle Ages, especially for its art and architecture, and as medieval European trade and finance centre. The historic centre of Florence continues to attract millions of tourists each year.

Florence bustles with industry and craft, commerce and culture, art and science. Being on the main national railway lines, it is easily accessible from most important places both in Italy and abroad.

Furthermore, in Florence, a standard, dialect-free Italian is spoken, making it a wonderful city for a language learning holiday. The Centro Machiavelli Italian School will help you get the best of Florence while learning Italian!

Practical Art Courses

In the historic centre of Florence, off the mass-tourism beaten track, lie the neighbourhoods of Santo Spirito and San Frediano, which preserve their original character, traditional economic structure, and art and artisan workshops with products of refined workmanship and techniques handed down for centuries.

In the interest of promoting this heritage, the Centro Machiavelli Italian School, in collaboration with Florentine artists and artisans, offers a vast range of courses for you to learn or refine artistic techniques.

The Practical Art Courses provide individual and group courses from one to six months, and they complement the school’s Italian courses.

Available Practical Art courses

• Fresco, Painting, Drawing, and Painting reproduction
• Trompe l’oeil
• Sculpture and Pottery
• Florentine mosaic
• Leather bags, belts and shoes
• Wood carving
• Glass, textile and wood decoration
• Florentine marbled paper
• Antique paper and book restoration
• Furniture restoration
• Restoration of paintings
• Window dressing and interior design
• Glass work
• Gilding
• Picture framing, costume jewellery and book binding

Music and Singing Courses

Through a Music and Singing course you will learn about Italian opera, about opera arias performance and more! You may choose from three programs according to your needs:

• 'A' Diction Course: Pronunciation, analysis and classification of Italian phonemes. Performance of opera arias (with piano accompaniment): diction and interpretation of lyrics and characters
• 'B' Course of the history of Italian opera: From Monteverdi to Cilea, 400 years of history of Italian opera focusing on the major Italian composers (Rossini, Bellini, Donizetti, Verdi, Mascagni, Leoncavallo and Puccini)
• 'C' Singing course: Technique and vocal emission. Performance of opera arias (with soprano or tenor)

Other Special courses offered by the Centro Machiavelli Italian School are:

• History of Art Courses
• Latin Language Course

Centro Machiavelli – TANDEM Firenze

The Centro Machiavelli Italian language school is located in the historic centre of Florence, close to Palazzo Pitti and Ponte Vecchio in the area of Santo Spirito. This neighbourhood is home to artisans and artists.

The Piazza Santo Spirito, where the Italian school is located, is one of the finest squares of Florence. With its bars and outdoor cafés, its daily market, workshops and restaurants, it is a favourite haunt of Florentines and an excellent opportunity for students of Italian to mingle with the locals.

The Centro Machiavelli – TANDEM Florence was founded in 1978 in order to provide an adequate response to a growing world-wide interest in the Italian language and culture. Amongst the many teaching methods available, Centro Machiavelli chose from the very start the «communicative approach». One of the principal objectives is to promote interaction between the students and real day-to-day life in Florence and in Italy, providing linguistic and cultural tools and creating the opportunity for exchange.

In 2003, Centro Machiavelli obtained official recognition by the Ministry of Education and in 2005 it obtained a certification of quality according to the standards set out by ISO 9001:2000. It also has the patronage of the Town of Florence for the participation in the project for language instruction to non-European citizens.

Centro Machiavelli – TANDEM Firenze
Contact: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Piazza S. Spirito 4, 50125 Florence, Italy
Tel: + 39 0552 396966 / Fax: + 39 0552 80800
Web: www.centromachiavelli.it
TANDEM International member school since 1989

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