Liceo Classico
A tradition of excellence renewed for 500 years
The characteristics of Liceo Classico
The Formative Offer
A liceo tailored to the talents of today's young people
The Licei project at Gonzaga Campus combines the Italian National Guidelines (DPR n. 89/2010) with the distinctive features of Jesuit pedagogy, leveraging the opportunities of school autonomy. This integrates the Ignatian pedagogical tradition with the challenges of modernity.
The underlying perspective: a liceo tailored to the talents of today's young people. All programs adopt a common framework that emphasises the importance of orientation throughout the journey, as students' talents emerge, creating spaces of choice where they can be cultivated within the solid structure of Italian liceo programs.
The liceo becomes an itinerary that, with its progression, follows the growth of the student towards autonomy, effectively guiding them towards future commitments in study, work, and life:
Beyond this fundamental perspective, we have also focused on how to help students in the concrete transition towards their future academic and professional choices. We believe that school can do much to aid preparation for university admission tests — certainly with basic preparation but also by integrating the curriculum with preparatory subjects such as "Logic" or curricular extensions such as "Science and Models."
The first biennio serves to lay solid foundations — to "build the edifice of letters," as the Ratio Studiorum (the first pedagogical document of the Jesuit order, 1589) stated. Without solid foundations, a good edifice cannot be built. The biennio is a period that requires time to strengthen the tools of the "craft" that will then be needed to set sail during the subsequent triennio years.
After the biennio of solid foundations, we propose a triennio that aims to prepare students for their personal future. The triennio serves to discover, rediscover and promote one's personal inclinations, to know and recognise one's intellectual personality, following and supporting one's interests for further research and deepening. The idea of personalisation of studies begins to take shape.
We intend to encourage inclinations and interests through the introduction of options within which students can begin to choose, thus practising a concrete education in choice and discernment. This aligns with the desire of Ignatian pedagogy to give ever-growing space to the personalisation of studies, approaching the trends in Europe that focus on flexibility and personalisation of educational paths.
The final year is the crowning of the entire project and its philosophy: discovering one's personal originality to give the best of oneself, acquiring academic and human excellence placed at the service of building the world. The goal is to form a person who lives as a protagonist in their own existence in the world and at the service of the world.
Liceo Classico
The attention to humanistic and classical formation has been, for almost five hundred years, the inspiring motive of the Jesuit educational tradition. The Liceo Classico of the Gonzaga Campus renews this tradition in the awareness that it is an effective key to interpreting today's society. The dialogue with the classics still stimulates confrontation with the great questions of all times, demonstrating their powerful relevance.
This capacity to promote the formation of a unified way of thinking that, starting from the knowledge of the classical world, helps the critical re-elaboration of the present is particularly relevant in the face of complex future challenges. In this sense, the liceo classico constitutes a unique offering in the international education landscape.
In a complex world, the skills that the classical path offers are in high demand: flexibility, creativity, the ability to orient oneself in complexity. Classical studies therefore provide cross-cutting competencies for living the challenges of contemporary society, giving students the tools for a qualified and conscious access to university studies — both humanistic and scientific — and to progressive commitment to work and social life.
Liceo Classico Curriculum
| Subject | Statale | Gonzaga |
|---|---|---|
| Italian Language and Literature | 4 | 4 |
| Latin Language and Culture | 5 | 5 |
| Greek Language and Culture | 4 | 4 |
| Ancient Arts and Theatre | 0 | 3 |
| Geohistory | 3 | 3 |
| Mathematics (incl. Logic) | 3 | 4 |
| Natural Sciences (incl. Lab) | 2 | 3 |
| English Language and Culture | 3 | 4 |
| Spanish | 0 | 2 |
| Sports and Motor Sciences | 2 | 2 |
| Religion (+Symposia) | 1 | 1 |
| Total | 27 | 35 |
| Materia | Scuola Statale Biennio | Gonzaga Biennio | Scuola Statale Triennio | Gonzaga Triennio |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Italian Language and Literature | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
Latin Language and Culture | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 |
Greek Language and Culture | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 |
Ancient Arts and Theatre | 0 | 3 | - | - |
Geohistory | 3 | 3 | - | - |
Mathematics (incl. Logic) | 3 | 4 | - | - |
Natural Sciences (incl. Lab) | 2 | 3 | - | - |
English Language and Culture | 3 | 4 | 3 | 3 |
Spanish | 0 | 2 | - | - |
Sports and Motor Sciences | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
Religion (+Symposia) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
History of Art | - | - | 2 | 2 |
History | - | - | 3 | 3 |
Geopolitics | - | - | 0 | 1 |
Philosophy | - | - | 3 | 3 |
Mathematics | - | - | 2 | 2 |
Logic (University Test Prep) | - | - | 0 | 1 |
Physics | - | - | 2 | 2 |
Natural Sciences | - | - | 2 | 2 |
Optional Subject | - | - | 0 | 2 |
| Total | 27 | 35 | 31 | 35 |
Gonzaga Campus Courses
Ancient Arts and Theatre
An immersive course in classical culture where students explore the roots of artistic and theatrical expression, diving into the masterpieces of antiquity. Through in-depth study, practical workshops and the lived experience of theatre, students acquire not only a profound understanding of the cultural heritage but also fundamental competencies in performing arts and personal formation.
Logic
The Logic course, starting from the first biennio, focuses on the development of analytical thinking and abstract reasoning skills. It is structured in modules — symbolic logic, verbal logic and mathematical logic. Through the study of deductive and inductive reasoning, identification of logical fallacies and lateral thinking, students acquire essential tools for analysing and interpreting complex information. In the triennio, the course evolves with a more instrumental function towards university studies, integrating teaching with preparatory simulations for university entrance tests.
Symposia
Thanks to school autonomy, a formative container called Symposia is created. Half of the religion curricular hours are concentrated in a Symposia week, where students tackle formative and interdisciplinary themes involving various disciplines and the great ethical questions of our journey as men and women. • Biennio: An experiential laboratory discovering Planet Earth, acquiring keys to becoming aware and responsible citizens through active and ecological citizenship practices. • Year 3: Biblical dramatisation — through various biblical characters, questions about the meaning of life are explored. The Bible becomes, as Cardinal Martini said, 'the great book of humanity'. • Year 4: A Debate tournament. • Year 5: Autobiography and writing of the student's curriculum.
Customising Your Path Through Optional Courses
Optional subjects to choose for personalising the curriculum in view of orientation
| Subject | Statale | Gonzaga |
|---|---|---|
| Law and Economics | 0 | 2 |
| Science and Models | 0 | 2 |
| Spanish | 0 | 2 |
| Modern Greek | 0 | 2 |
| Materia | Scuola Statale Biennio | Gonzaga Biennio | Scuola Statale Triennio | Gonzaga Triennio |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Law and Economics | - | - | 0 | 2 |
Science and Models | - | - | 0 | 2 |
Spanish | - | - | 0 | 2 |
Modern Greek | - | - | 0 | 2 |
Triennio Courses & Personalisation
Geopolitics
Politics has its deep roots in the classical world where it retains a profoundly positive meaning. Giving space to the geopolitical dimension in the course of study means forming thinking and aware citizens, capable of connecting past and present, developing a critical understanding of the contemporary world and a sense of responsibility towards the future.
Optional Courses — Personalise Your Path
The formative offer is enriched with a strong orientative dimension towards the university choice. Through a system of optional subjects, students can personalise their study plan, choosing one subject in dialogue with their personal tutor: • Law and Economics — towards a humanistic-social university path • Science and Models — towards a medical-health or scientific-technological path • Spanish — towards a humanistic-linguistic path, also useful for study abroad • Modern Greek — a further linguistic bridge connecting the ancient to the contemporary, fostering reflection on languages and the interconnection between classical roots and the modern context.