Pasta, pizza and gelati - Italy is a country of great food, great weather, and is fast becoming an ever-more popular study abroad destination with some of the world's top universities.
Country overview
For centuries, Roman culture and language influenced the Western world - without them you would be reading an entirely different language than you are now. In the 15th and 16th Centuries, Italy became the hotbed of the Renaissance, several decades that shaped how the western world thinks, creates and lives today. Dozens of Italian names reverberate in history: Michaelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Garibaldi, Galileo.

But it's not just art, language and history that Italy is well known for: there's also the cuisine. Dozens of regional types of pizza, pasta andsauces exist that are world famous alongside other traditional foods. Italy is a centre of gastronomic excellence.

Aboot-shaped peninsula in the Mediterranean Sea much of Italy is covered by the Dolomites mountains across the north and theApennine mountainsthrough the centre, stretching from north to south. They divide the east and west coasts, where most of the major cities are located. The Po Valley, just south of the Dolomite mountains, is the basin of the Po River consisting of very fertile farm land.

Italy includes two large islands: Sicily and Sardinia. Sicily is the largest island in the Mediterranean, with active volcanoes and earthquakes, while the largely undiscovered gem of Sardinia basically consists of mountains rising out of the ocean. Italy also has two independent countries within its borders. Vatican City is the center for the Roman Catholic Church, and is the world's smallest country, while San Marino, on the north east coast of Italy, is an independent republic.

Culture shock for foreigners is less of an issue than in some other countries. Italiansare warm andfriendlyand will bend over backwards to help you. However, there are some cultural differences that students may notice: Italian families are close knit groups and are oftentogether especially on Sunday;the Catholic religion is very important; and it's not a cheap place to live.Italians arealso very serious about their fashion and don't take kindly to being teased about their clothing!
Education overview
There are 15 Italian universities ranked in the 2010 QSWorld University Rankings, two of which are in the Top 200 in the world.

Italy's higher education system is strictly evaluated by the state to ensure that legal, budgetary and educational standards are met. There arefive great subject areas covering the whole of university education: health, humanities, sciences, social studies and technology.

The Italian undergraduate degree has a 'First Cycle' or Laurea, a three-year undergraduate degree characterized by both theoretical and applied studies, and accessed by a general school-leaving certificate. It requires 180 ECTS credits. There are 47 degree classes identified by the Ministry of Education.

The 'Second Cycle' or Laurea Specialistica, is a two-year equivalent to a postgraduate course and requires 120 ECTS credits. It is strongly theoretical with specialist studies in a given subject field. There are 109 such degree classes to choose from in Italy.

State Universities (Universit' statali) The 58 state universities are public bodies involved in scientific research and higher education. They have complete autonomy and full legal capacity and each may draw up its own regulations to define institutional, teaching and research structures.



Private Universities (Universit' non statali) The 17 non-state universities have to be accredited after an evaluation process by the Ministry of Education. The degrees awarded by private universities have the same legal value as those from state universities and have to comply with the same legislation.

Technical Universities (Politecnici) In the Italian system "Politecnici" (technical universities) concentrate exclusively in the subject fields of engineering and architecture and adopt the same institutional model as state universities.

Universities for Foreigners (Universit' per Stranieri) Thetwo Universities for Foreigners are state institutions specializing in teaching and research for the development of the Italian language, literature and culture.

Higher Schools (Scuole Superiori) There aresix higher schools regulated by special legislation. These are institutions specializing in postgraduate studies and scientific research and offer research doctorates.

Telematic Universities (Universit' telematiche) Thesix Telematic universities are non-state universities specializing in e-learning. They provide distance programs accredited by the State.
Pros and cons

State of the art infrastructure Interesting and varied culture, climate and geography Good transport links to Asia and the rest of the world	English less widely spoken than in some countries Fairly expensive country to study in Very exam-based system

International student accommodation
Although most universities in Italy do not have halls of residence, universities usually have a housing office managing student accommodation, and can also provide information on renting student apartments, which are generally cheaper than the cost of accommodation on the private market.

Renting an apartment in cities and large towns will be more expensive and can range from 500 euros to 1,000 euros a month, depending on the size and the area where you choose to stay. Student accommodation will give you the option to rent a room rather than the whole apartment.

If you wish to make your own arrangements, housing for rent appears in local newspapers or you can go to a real estate agency. These can be very helpful but they will charge a fee for finding the accommodation. The minimum rental period is usually one year, but furnished rooms in university towns tend to be available for shorter periods. Click here for more information, tips and advice on international student accommodation and university housing.
Weather/Climate
Italy has a largely temperate climate with regional variations. In summer the north is warm with occasional rainfall, the central region is humid and the south scorches under the dry heat. In winter, conditions in Milan, Turin and Venice are dominated by cold, damp and fog and Tuscany's winter temperatures approach freezing, while temperatures in the south of the country are more favourable averaging 50-60'F (10-20'C). Most people visit Italy between June and August, however, the best time to visit is in spring (April-May) and autumn (September-October) when the weather is good and the tourists are few! The sea is warm enough for swimming between June and September. Most Italians take their vacation in August and many shops and restaurants are closed during this period. The ski season runs between December and April.
Transport
Italy is very well-connected by air to the rest of Europe and the world with Rome, Milan, Naples and other cities providing flights regularly. Internal flights are also frequent. Closer to the ground, Italian drivers have acquired their dangerous reputation for a reason. If you are a nervous driver,our advice is to leave your car at home. Parking, petrol and motorway tolls are also quite expensive.

On public transport it is usually more expensive to buy a single ticket, so find out about the cost of weekly or monthly tickets for transport in your town. Bus tickets are NOT sold on board and need to be purchased beforehand, usually at tobacconist's and newsstands. All tickets must be stamped before boarding.

Major cities have extensive bus and tram networks but these can be slow during peak hours when the towns become very congested. In addition, Rome, Naples and Milan have an underground network known as the Metropolitana. Rome has two lines and Milan three. Naples also has funiculars (cable cars) and a commuter line. The Metropolitana and Funicolari are a much faster form of travel especially at busy times of day.

Most Italian cities and towns have very intense traffic during working hours and bicycle lanes are practically non-existent, but buying a bicycle (new or second hand) is an option worth considering in smaller towns. For a nation that loves cycling as a sport, Italians do not cycle a lot in the large towns (perhaps because of the nature of the car drivers!) but you will see many cyclists out on the roads enjoying the countryside at the weekends.
Cost*
Considering accommodation, food, telephone, local travel and leisure costs, students studying abroad in Italy should consider a monthly budget of 1200 / 1500 euros depending on the location.

Item	Price (Euro)
litre of petrol	1.40
souvenir t-shirt	10.00
can of soft drink	0.80
litre of bottled water	1.00
litre of milk	1.40
slice of pizza	2.00
bottle of Peroni	2.00
CD Euro	15.00
basic 'Serie A' football ticket	15.00

*WorldGuide Index from Lonely Planet


Useful info
Dialing code: 39 rrency: Euro () Time zone: GMT/UTC +1 (+2 in summer) (Central European Time)