If you are coming to Italy for more than four weeks, the classroom is only half of the experience. Where you sleep, how you eat, what you do on weekends, what your daily rhythm looks like — those decide whether the year you spend in Italy actually changes your Italian, or whether you go home with a certificate and a foreign accent still intact. This page covers what living in Italy actually looks like from the inside, in our four cities.
Accommodation — four practical options
On-campus residence
Available in Florence (top floor of the Padri Scolopi building — mini-apartments, five minutes from the classroom). Simplest possible logistics: no rental contract negotiation, no commute, no housing search after arrival.
Italian-family homestay
Room with an Italian family that cooks dinner with you and speaks Italian at the table. The fastest single way to push your Italian forward, especially A2 → B2. Available in all four cities.
Shared student flat
A room in a flat shared with other students (Italian and/or international). More autonomy than homestay, more social. We pre-vet options in each city.
Independent apartment
Your own studio or one-bedroom. Most expensive option but right for older students, students with partners or family, and longer stays. We help with the search, the rental contract review, and registration with the comune.
Cost of living — by city
Italy's four cities sit on very different price tiers. The tier you choose has a real impact on whether your long stay is financially sustainable. Milan is the most expensive, Mantua the most affordable; Florence and Turin sit in between.
Milan — high
Most expensive Italian city. Centre rents and daily life run noticeably higher than the national average. Most international students live in the periphery (well connected by metro and S-line trains) and budget conservatively for eating out, gym, and social life.
Florence — medium-high
Tourist-driven prices in the historic centre, more reasonable in our Via Bolognese area. Comparable to Milan on food and transport, somewhat lower on accommodation, especially outside the tourist core.
Mantua — low
Significantly cheaper than Milan or Florence. The financial case for a long stay: a year in Mantua costs meaningfully less than the same year in Milan, and the small-city scale means you walk almost everywhere.
Turin — medium-low
Cheaper than Milan, comparable to Mantua but with a real-city profile (metro, larger student community, more international air links). A practical balance of cost and city-life depth.
Approximate price reference (Italy national average)
The figures below are indicative national averages — useful for budgeting but not city-specific. Local variation applies (Milan tends to sit at the high end, Mantua at the low end). Source: practical-information reference compiled with our partner Unicollege SSML for international students.
Groceries
Milk: €1,20/litre · Bread: €4/kilo · Pasta: €0,80–1,20/kilo · Rice: €1,70–2,50/kilo · Chicken: €8–10/kilo · Beef: €9–19/kilo · Mineral water: €0,50–1/litre · Butter: €1,70 / 250 g.
Eating out & social
Pizza at a pizzeria: €15–20 · Eating out (full meal): €20–35 · Fast-food menu: €6,50 · Cinema: €9–11 · Happy hour / aperitivo: €8–12 · Clubs & bars: €10–20 · Concerts: €40–50.
Transport
Public transport monthly pass: ~€22 (city-dependent) · Taxi short ride: €15–20 · Bike sharing per use: ~€9 · Regional rail discounts available for students.
Gym & well-being
Private commercial gym: €40–50/month · University gym: €15–20/month. Plenty of free outdoor running and cycling options in every city.
Daily-life logistics we help with
On arrival
Codice fiscale (Italian tax code), residence permit application within 8 days, registration at the comune where required, opening an Italian bank account if you need one.
Healthcare
Guidance on whether to register with the Italian SSN, take private insurance, or rely on your home-country coverage. Help with SSN registration if you opt for it.
Connectivity
Recommendations for Italian SIM cards (cheap, prepaid, work everywhere) and home internet if you have your own flat. Codice fiscale required first.
Transport
Monthly transport passes for each city, regional rail discounts for students, bike-share where relevant (Milan, Florence, Turin). Mantua is fully walkable.
Weekend cultural programming
We do not run mandatory cultural programmes — they tend to attract the students least interested in actually using Italian. We do offer an optional weekend schedule each city builds around its own strengths:
Florence
Guided art history walks (in Italian, scaled to level), Uffizi / Bargello / Palazzo Pitti dedicated visits, Renaissance day-trips (Siena, San Gimignano, Arezzo).
Milan
Design district tours (Brera, Tortona), Lake Como / Lake Maggiore day-trips, opera at La Scala (when scheduled), contemporary art (Hangar Bicocca, Fondazione Prada).
Mantua
Palazzo Ducale / Palazzo Te in Italian, day-trips to Verona / Sabbioneta / Cremona, food and wine programmes (this is mantovano country: tortelli di zucca, Lambrusco, Grana Padano).
Turin
Egyptian Museum, Mole Antonelliana / Museo Nazionale del Cinema, day-trips to Langhe wine country, Alps for skiing/hiking by season, Slow Food day-programmes.
Talk to us about your move to Italy
Tell us your dates, your budget, whether you want immersion or independence, and any constraints (partner coming, dietary requirements, accessibility needs). We respond with a concrete city + accommodation + daily-life plan.
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