In the interest of full disclosure, I've taught here on and off since 1990 and know the director as…read morea friend. This is a very different and interesting learning environment. It started as a noncredit workshop for printmaking and over the years has grown to include painting, fashion, design and photography (my field). Classes in the summer usually run a month and there are options for language classes as well. Most of the students are Americans but the staff is mostly Italians and are top notch. The people who run the place are excellent and a great resource to help you make the most of your time in Florence. My university sub-contracts space from SRISA and its an excellent facility as well as having an on site gallery. If your interested in a summer, spring or fall class in the visual arts, this is a terrific place to start looking.

From the owner: Over the past 45 years, Santa Reparata International School of Art (SRISA) has become one of the…read moretop art and design schools in Italy. SRISA offers accredited programs of study including academic year, semester, and summer study abroad; Post-Baccalaureate Certificates; and internships. Courses are taught in the English language. Additionally, SRISA hosts a multitude of Faculty-Led and Customized programs throughout the year.

You cannot visit Florence without visiting Galleria dell'Accademia to see Michelangelo's David…read more Though I had a tour guide, I felt like the pace was too slow. It's a great museum, don't get me wrong, but I'd rather beat the crowds to see David, and then take my time strolling through all the other works of art. Seeing 17' of David in person is unreal-- a human made this out of rejected marble. The magnitude of David's height and attention to detail is incredible and the lighting under a skylight highlights every vein and definition of muscle even more so. If you're looking for a deep dive art history lesson, I'd recommend using AI. Note: try to book skip-the-line tickets in advance. If you're unable to, you can try to book through a third party booking system such as Viator, but you'll be paying more.

Over a million people visit the Galleria dell'Accademia every year, and they all go to see one…read morething: Michelangelo's David, arguably the most famous statue in the world. The David was sculpted between 1501 and 1504, then unveiled in the public square in front of the Palazzo della Signoria, where it stood for almost 400 years. It was moved to the Galleria dell'Accademia in 1873, and has been the museum's lifeblood ever since. €20 a ticket and more for merch, plus lawsuits for unauthorized use of the David. Pretty, pretty, pretty good. We only had about two days in Florence, one of them set aside for a Tuscan wine tour, but we weren't leaving without seeing the David. Our concierge booked us same-day tickets when we checked into our hotel, and we went at the appointed entry time, at 5:00. The museum was plenty busy, even on a Tuesday during low season, but I believe we visited under ideal conditions. We entered the museum and bam, there was the David, standing majestically in the heart of the Accademia. He was in his own domed alcove lined on one side with bench seating, where people could sit and look up at his giant marble ass. Like everyone else, I'd seen images of the David all throughout my life. But seeing it in person was a revelatory experience. I know size isn't everything, but when it comes to iconic statues chiseled from single blocks of marble, size certainly matters. The David is 17 feet tall and completely breathtaking. A beautiful colossus, every inch of his famously nude body sculpted in wondrous detail. We took advantage of the thin crowd and spent quite some time circling the statue, while also reading about it on Wikipedia from the comfort of the benches. An extraordinary, educational pleasure. The rest of the museum was nice, too, if entirely secondary to the David. There were several other statues and old religious paintings, as well as the Hall of the Prisoners, featuring four unfinished Michelangelo sculptures. These cut a path to the David and were fascinating in their incompletion. Michelangelo apparently saw the work of a sculptor as freeing the forms lying inside each block of stone. This sounds like something an artist would tell a reporter, but looking at those unfinished sculptures, I could see the figures trying to make their way out. The Galleria dell'Accademia is small, and we were in and out in about 40 minutes. If you're a tourist in Florence and have €20 and 40 minutes, I can't imagine a better way to spend them than at David's enormous feet.

I would like to share my opinion about my own experience with this school. I came there several…read moretimes to do sculpture, and this is just a confirmation that the school and teaches are really good and professional! There is always a spirit of art and feeling of inspiration of doing something new and creative! The teachers are attentive and always help you to understand the way you should do the sculpture - in order not to have problems at the end! You have to be attentive to all given advice, especially at the beginning, as if you do something wrong - the sculpture could be destroyed later, as you need not only to empty properly your sculpture before putting it in oven, but also to press quite strongly the clay while doing your sculpture - to avoid air bubbles in clay! Over several years of my studies in this school, I noticed that teaches, and all who work for school are like one, big family! They smile, joke; help the pupils in their studies, treating them with great respect! Many pupils who have passed this course used to return and continue their studies, some, who became professional - just returned as teaches, is not is inspiring enough? The atmosphere in the school is warm, and all became friends, having fun of creating their own sculptures)) I plan to return and do another sculpture there, and now in marble! I strongly recommend this school - to feel yourself free, happy and creative! To gain new experience and develop new skills; to meet new friends in the beautiful art city of Florence!

I did an intensive one month sculpture course there in february 2016. I must say that I have very…read moremixed feelings about the school and would as a whole not recommend it. At face value, it seems professional and with a lot of experienced teachers. However they do not really have a teaching methodology. They just let you work on the clay and if something needs improvement, the teacher will often proceed to change it himself. I had to insist in the first week that they let me redo the parts that needed to be redone and that they explain why and how to do it. Now what really disappointed me is the way they handled the sculpture once it was ready to go into the oven. I had to leave by then, but paid the school the 30 Euros so that the sculpture can be put into oven.They then asked me to get in touch with a shipment company CARATELLO in order to have it shipped. First they did not want to put it in the oven claiming it was not properly emptied. I said that at no time before leaving did the teacher tell me this was the case. So then after several weeks they agreed to empty it and put it in the oven. Then however, when i received it, the sculpture was broken into many pieces, so the shipment company was obviously not a good one. I brought this issue to the attention of both the school and the shipment company and have heard nothing from them. In short, I do not think the attitude is professional. A pity really. So if you can find yourself a better school then do!

My daughter has been taking Isabelle's art class now for 18 months and she loves it! We feel this…read moreis such an incredible opportunity for her to learn fine art in the city of art! Thank you isabelle!

From the owner: Corsi di disegno e pittura per bambini e adultiread more

I agree with Beatrice above me, I went to SACI for a term while abroad and was promised a…read moreprofessional art school. Unfortunately, most students there merely took art as an elective a few times- with some exceptions. The teachers WERE great but the amount you paid vs what you got was not worth it. Not to mention since there was no food meal plan- and you're in a VERY expensive city- the amount they told you you would need for food everyday wasn't even close. The studio closes at like 7 I believe- so if you thought maybe you could work there on your art despite the fact that they gave you your own studio space in some classes- nope. Lorenzo is awesome though. If all classes were like his I wouldn't even complain.

SACI offers undergrad and master's degrees. It is notable for its location in Florence. In fact,…read morejust as a tourist, by doing your research, you can gain access to many of the same private collections, spaces and exhibits that you would if you had paid an exorbitant tuition. The facility is rather small and dingy just like any other art school, with classrooms so close to each other that noise is often an issue. There is a rather lackluster and empty student gallery despite the facility being in a relatively well-designed building. The library is considered the crown jewel containing many art publications which the faculty expect you to use rather than depending on their knowledge. They will also expect you to be fluent in Italian, while boasting a rather poor grasp of the English language. /edited to stay within Yelp guidelines

Don't go there please! Learn from the real ex-student that dropped out on time. You will waste…read moreyour time and money, The master in graphic design program costs 18000 euros and it's definitely not worth the price. I ended up in a hospital because business administration didn't want to give me the correct documents based on the actual schedule students get when the school starts - the actual classes lasts 6,5 months - not 11 months as advertised which was upsetting, Once you pay for the classes, the business administration will start making your life miserable as a student and won't answer any of your questions / concerns. Professor didn't show up for a lesson after 30 minutes and business staff laughed about students waiting. The worst private university on the planet.

Was there for a One Year course in Fashion marketing and Communication, everything went really…read morewell, professor are very skilled and staff is really friendly. I found a job after that and I would go back to IED tomorrow if I could

I studied at this school for a good chunk of time while living in Florence, and your personal…read moreexperience can vary a lot here - mine was not so great. They offer studies in the fine arts and in the Italian language, and I only studied art, so I have no idea how the Italian education was. The school's art 'curriculum' is very misleading, seeing as they actually have none, and a lot of the 'subjects' they supposedly had only exist if you bring it up to the teacher yourself. I think that the only redeeming quality about the school was the very dedicated teacher at the time, who was very knowledgable, pushed his students to do better, and clearly loved art. Two out of three of the people who run the school didn't seem to care very much about the students nor their experience at the school, which is probably why some students were unhappy with the structure of the school if they were studying there long-term. I'm not sure who the main art teacher is right now. This very tiny school is a good option if you want a very simple and basic experience in Florence and in the arts, because you do get a lot of freedom to just study whatever you feel like doing. In that case it's really nice, and a great option for people who want to learn art basics! Also, they'll provide very, very basic art supplies if you need them. However, I would not recommend staying there longer than 3 months at the most -- any more than that would be repetitive and the certificate in the fine arts that they offer doesn't seem to be very official. If you want a long-term study look into another school or even better, a university! So to summarize, good for less than three months of study, and think about what you want for your school experience.

I want you to know that I almost never write reviews but felt an obligation to protect others here…read more This school was the place that we chose to make a huge investment of time and money, studying cooking with them for a whole month. What we did not know was that the school had been purchased by a Japanese company and was run very poorly. Friends who stayed in the suggested housing got it worst- commutes of more than an hour to class (triple the maximum promised on the site), showers that were unsanitary with crumbling stucco, apartments beside construction and noise where no one could sleep. And no refunds for any of these issues nor were solutions found quickly. We loved our teacher as a person but: We are all displeased in this class where: We do not have individual stations so there is not enough work to go around. Much of the day we just sit and watch. We cooked in a toaster oven and therefore can't broil, grill, roast or bake anything significant. The pastry and desserts are far too simple for any of the students to learn anything new- far less complex than on posted sample menus. We then toured other local programs with beautiful professional equipment and environments for significantly less than the price we paid. At these programs, all students have individual stations and build skills instead of watching one person take turns doing tasks. They also provide recipes for all dishes cooked instead of asking us to type every afternoon. I suggest you look elsewhere.

The shoemaking teacher Mr. Angelo was really amazing. We studied in a small group so I could ask…read moreseveral questions to the teacher. Furthermore, the school is located in an excellent location near the Duomo of Florence. Although the course was not really cheap, I would highly recommend this class if you have an interest in learning the traditional Italian shoemaking process. Totally worth it!!!