Learning Italian in Rome: courses that actually get you talking

You can get by in Rome on English for a month. After that, every Questura queue, landlord call and school email is in Italian.

The short version

• Public CPIA adult education centres run Italian courses for foreigners at A1 and A2 level, open all year, for a small voluntary contribution [1].
• For the EU long-term residence permit, you need Italian at A2 level, shown by a certificate or a Prefettura test [2].
• For Italian citizenship by residence or marriage, you need a B1 certificate from one of four recognised bodies: CILS (Siena), CELI (Perugia), Cert.it (Roma Tre) or PLIDA (Società Dante Alighieri) [3].
• Citizenship by descent doesn't require a language test.
• Real progress comes from mixing a structured course with daily practice: the bar, the market, the condominio meeting.

Why Italian matters more here than you'd think

Australians are used to everyone switching to English. Romans in the tourist zone will, but the systems that run your life won't. The Anagrafe, the ASL for health, the Agenzia delle Entrate, your commercialista, the school segreteria and your landlord mostly work in Italian. Forms are in Italian. Phone lines are in Italian. Letters from the Comune are in a very formal Italian that confuses Italians too.

Plenty of Australians arrive with some Italian from school or a nonna. Italian is widely taught in Australian schools, and many families have Italian heritage. That head start helps with pronunciation and basics, but family dialect and school Italian rarely cover bureaucratic language. Expect to relearn some things.

The levels the law asks for

Italy uses the European framework (CEFR): A1 and A2 are beginner, B1 and B2 intermediate, C1 and C2 advanced. Two levels have legal weight for foreigners.

Some details:

• The A2 rule dates from December 2010. Children under 14 and people with certified serious learning disabilities are exempt [2].
• If you don't have a certificate, you can book the A2 test online through the Interior Ministry. The Prefettura then writes to you with a test place, which is usually a CPIA [2].
• The B1 rule came in with Decree-Law 113/2018 and applies to citizenship applications lodged from 4 December 2018 [3]. A certificate from a private language school that isn't one of the four recognised bodies won't do.

If you're on the Italian citizenship by descent path, our separate guide covers the 2025 rule changes. You won't need B1 for that, but you'll still want Italian for everything else.

Free and low-cost options: the CPIA

The CPIA (Centro Provinciale per l'Istruzione degli Adulti) is Italy's public adult education system. Rome and its province are split between several CPIAs, each with a main office and branch sites. CPIA 4 Lazio, for example, has its main office on Via Palestro near Termini and sites in other parts of Rome and in Ciampino [1].

What to expect, based on CPIA 4 Lazio's own rules:

• Courses run all year, subject to places. You enrol after an interview with a teacher, who places you at the right level [1].
• Courses are at A1 and A2. There are intermediate and final tests, and you get an attestation of your level if you meet the minimum hours [1].
• The A2 attestation is valid for the residence permit [1], which can save you from sitting the Prefettura test.
• Cost is low. Enrolment carries a voluntary contribution to cover insurance and materials, and there's no fixed fee in the rules [1]. Internationally recognised exams are paid separately [1].
• Attendance counts. An unexplained absence of more than 30 days can see you removed from the list [1].

Some CPIA courses funded by EU migration programmes are only for non-EU citizens over 16 [1]. Australians are non-EU, so that usually works in your favour. Classes are mixed: you'll be learning alongside people from all over the world, which is good practice in itself because Italian is the only shared language in the room.

The downside: CPIA classes can be big, places fill up, and the pace suits people who need survival Italian rather than fast progress. Demand has grown faster than staff and rooms in recent years. Use it as a base, not your only source.

Private schools, universities and tutors

If you want to move faster, Rome has plenty of paid options.

• Private language schools. There are many in the centre, especially around Termini, Prati and San Lorenzo. Intensive group courses of three or four hours a day, five days a week, are common. Prices vary a lot by school and course length, so compare the total hours and class size, not just the weekly price. Check whether the school is an official exam centre for CILS, CELI, PLIDA or Cert.it if you'll need a certificate.
• University-linked options. Roma Tre University runs the Cert.it certificate [3], and Rome's universities offer Italian courses for their international students. The Società Dante Alighieri, which runs the PLIDA exams, is headquartered in Rome [3].
• One-to-one tutors. Good for specific goals: preparing for B1, practising for a job interview, or getting through a commercialista meeting. Ask in local groups for recommendations.
• Language exchanges. Romans learning English are easy to find. A weekly tandem swap over a spritz costs you only the spritz.

Before you leave Australia

The Italian Cultural Institutes in Sydney and Melbourne, run by the Italian government, offer Italian courses and in some cases certification exams. Many Australian community and Dante Alighieri groups run classes too. Getting to A2 before you land makes the first Questura and Anagrafe visits far less painful.

A plan that gets you talking

1. Take a placement test at a CPIA or private school in your first fortnight.
2. Do 3–4 months of structured classes, CPIA or private, aiming for A2.
3. Sit an A2 exam if you'll want long-term residence in five years. Doing it early is one less thing to sort out later.
4. Add one conversation habit a week: a tandem partner, a choir, a sports club or volunteering.
5. Learn the bureaucratic words on purpose (below). Don't wait to stumble on them.
6. Book B1 only when practice tests are comfortable, especially if citizenship is the goal. Check exam dates early, as sessions are only held a few times a year.

Bureaucratic Italian: a survival list

Italian offices have their own vocabulary. These words will come up again and again.

A few tips:

• Use the formal Lei. In any office, address people as Lei, start with buongiorno, and say grazie, gentilissimo/a on the way out. It makes a difference.
• Write, don't just call. An email or PEC (certified email) leaves a record. Draft in Italian with a translation tool, then check it with a friend or teacher.
• Bring a written list. Showing your question on paper saves misunderstandings at a busy sportello.

The Australian angle

• Getting Australian qualifications recognised happens in Italian. If you need a degree or trade qualification recognised in Italy, the paperwork goes through Italian bodies, in Italian.
• Language costs aren't usually claimable on your Australian tax. If you're still an Australian tax resident, the ATO only allows self-education costs that relate to your current income-earning work. Our tax residency guide explains when you stop being a resident.
• The embassy works in English. The Australian Embassy in Rome on Via Antonio Bosio handles consular matters in English [4], but it can't do Italian paperwork for you.

The fastest way to practise is with people who've been through it. Join Cooee Italy, our Facebook group for Australians in Italy, to find tandem partners and ask which course worked for others. Join the community.

Sources

1. Regolamento di Istituto 2024–25 – CPIA 4 Lazio
2. Permesso di soggiorno CE per soggiornanti di lungo periodo – Città metropolitana di Bologna
3. Certificato di conoscenza della lingua italiana – Prefettura, Ministero dell'Interno
4. Italy travel advice – Smartraveller

Keep reading

• Italian citizenship by descent: what the 2025 law changed for Australians
• Schools in Rome: Italian state school, bilingual or international?
• Moving to Rome from Australia: the complete guide
• Are you still an Australian tax resident once you move?