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Liceo classico (Classical Lyceum) is a secondary school type in Italy. The educational curriculum lasts five years, and students are generally about 14 to 19 years of age.

Until 1968, this was the only secondary education track that allowed a student access to an Italian university. Nowadays, it carries the reputation of a highly formative school, and it is one of the few European secondary school types where study of ancient languages (Latin and ancient Greek) and their literature are compulsory.

Subjects

A liceo classico offers a wide selection of subjects, but the central subjects are those related to literature. Several hours are also dedicated to the study of history and philosophy. The focus on scientific subjects is on the other hand minimal (at least compared to liceo scientifico): this is considered a flaw nowadays.

The liceo classico's distinctive subjects are Latin and ancient Greek. In Italy, Latin is taught in other kinds of schools as well, like liceo scientifico, liceo socio-psico-pedagogico and few linguistic specialization. However, ancient Greek is taught only in the liceo classico.

Another peculiarity of the liceo classico is how the years of course are called: in all the other Italian 5-years secondary schools, the years are referred to with increasing numbers from 1 to 5. In liceo classico the first two years are called Ginnasio; the name comes from the Greek gymnasion (meaning "gym"). The first year is called "4th year of Ginnasio", and the second year is referred to as "5th year of Ginnasio", because those years are seen as a completion of the 3 years of the scuola media inferiore previously attended. The remaining three years of Liceo Classico are referred as "1st, 2nd and 3rd year of Liceo".

This naming system comes from the Gentile reform, named after Giovanni Gentile, an Italian philosopher and politician, who had planned an 8-year school career (5 years of ginnasio and 3 of liceo) that could be accessed by passing a test after the fifth year of primary school. There was also another test between the Ginnasio and the Liceo. Several reforms changed the Italian school system in about 1940 and 1960; the first three years of Ginnasio were separated and became an independent kind of school. In 1968, the compulsory test which had to be taken at the end of the Ginnasio to enter the Liceo was abolished, so the liceo classico got the structure it has today - even though the names of the different years were never changed.

In the traditional version of the school, students follow a specific pattern of courses that covers a large range of disciplines:

• Italian language and literature (all five years)
• History (all five years)
• Latin and ancient Greek grammar and language (the two years of Ginnasio)
• Latin and ancient Greek literature and language (the three years of Liceo)
• Mathematics (all five years)
• Philosophy - Art history - Chemistry, Biology and Natural science (three years, during the Liceo)
• Physics (two years, during the Liceo)
• a foreign language, typically English, French or German (two years, during the Ginnasio)
• Catholic Religion Instruction (optional)
• Gymnastics (all five years)
• Geography (two years, during the Ginnasio)

Several variants of the school have been introduced in the years - like liceo classico sperimentale - and now are more common than the traditional version. In those variants, some subjects may be dropped in favor of others, some subjects are studied for more or fewer hours per week or years. For example, nowadays it is common to find a liceo classico offering courses in one or more foreign language and literature for all the five years or art history for two hours a week every year.

At the end, students must pass the Esame di Stato (until 1999 denominated Esame di maturità) to obtain their certificate.

References