Istituto Barbarigo is the Catholic diocesan school of Padua, founded by Bishop Luigi Pellizzo in 1919; all its sections are paritaria. It has a scuola media, a liceo classico, a liceo scientifico (including applied sciences) and an istituto tecnico economico in administration, finance and marketing. The school occupies the Renaissance Palazzo Genova in the historic centre, and students come from some fifty municipalities. It is a Cambridge School: the middle school offers an optional Opzione Cambridge on the Cambridge Lower Secondary framework, with about a third of lessons in English, including science, ICT modules and Global Perspectives. In upper secondary students can also earn an American High School Diploma through an online dual diploma programme. The main language of instruction is Italian. The school is open to all who share its educational project.
Key facts
Tuition
≈ $5 762–6 326 a year
510–560 EUR a month
The year is counted as ten payments: the school does not say how many payments it takes.
Programmes
Cambridge · Lower Secondary · American programme · National programme
Languages of instruction
Italian, English
Languages taught
Spanish, German, Russian, Latin
Registration fee
≈ $429
380 EUR
About the fees Fees for the 2026-2027 school year are paid over 9 months: 510 euros per month in the scuola media and 560 euros per month in upper secondary, invoiced quarterly. First-year students can get a reduction of up to 200 euros per month based on family ISEE, and in later years based on ISEE and grades. On top of fees there is an enrolment fee of 380 euros and lunches at 5.30 euros.
Admissions Enrolment in first years is online through the state platform using the school codes (for 2026-2027, from 13 January to 14 February 2026), followed by an internal form at the office; parents must meet the head before enrolment is completed. Late enrolment is possible if places remain. New students in higher years are admitted if places are available, with priority for siblings and then in order of application; mid-year transfers follow an interview with the head and approval by the class council, usually by 31 January. The school says it is open to all who share its project, without ethnic, cultural, political, economic or religious discrimination; according to the PTOF students are mostly Italian citizens with fewer students of foreign origin. The website states no specific conditions for foreigners.
Stages and year groups Lower secondary school (years 1-3, 30 hours a week, five days) with the standard curriculum or the Opzione Cambridge: Cambridge Lower Secondary framework, about 33% of lessons in English - science, ICT modules and Global Perspectives, English Day, UN simulations; the end-of-middle-school exams are taken at the school. Upper secondary ending with the esame di Stato: liceo classico, liceo scientifico and its applied sciences option, istituto tecnico economico (AFM). For upper secondary there is an Italy-USA dual diploma programme (American High School Diploma, 24 credits, partly online). In the licei science in English is offered as a compulsory or optional subject; Spanish in the scientific liceo from the 2026-2027 school year. The website names no Cambridge IGCSE or AS/A Level courses in upper secondary; the PTOF only mentions gradual preparation for continuing the Cambridge path.
Address Via Rogati 17, 35122 Padova (PD)
Accreditations and programmes verified against official registries
Cambridge · Lower Secondary · authorised programmeThe Cambridge register names the school as its centre; it teaches Cambridge Lower Secondary. Middle school families can choose the Cambridge option based on Lower Secondary, with about a third of lessons in English including science, ICT and Global Perspectives; there is no Cambridge in upper school.
school is in an official registryconfirmed by a school document, by membership or by taking part in a networkclaimed by the school, no confirmation, not counted in the scoreGuide to all organisations → What stands behind each entry
CambridgeCambridge International Education
Part of the University of Cambridge. It allows a school to teach the Cambridge programmes and to enter pupils for the exams. There are four stages and they are authorised separately: primary, lower secondary, IGCSE and A Level. If the stages are known they are named in the line below; if that line is missing, the school does not publish them, and the Cambridge registry does not show stages either - it gives only the name of the centre, the country and whether private candidates are accepted. Cambridge calls what it does registration rather than accreditation, and the network holds about ten thousand schools.
What the badge means for this school. The school is allowed to run this programme and to award its certificate. This is a confirmation of the programme, not a judgement on the school as a whole. The entry stands in the organisation's public register - anyone can check it. At this school: Lower Secondary (ages 11-14). Lower Secondary is the middle stage, ages 11 to 14, with the same optional Checkpoint test at the end.
Register to check for yourself, and the full guide →American programme
The American school programme, with the High School Diploma at the end. It usually comes together with AP courses, which the College Board stands behind, and with an American accreditation - MSA, NEASC or Cognia.
What this means for this school. The diploma is written out by the school itself: the American programme has no common leaving exam, and the content of the senior years is set by the school. Outside checking therefore rests on two things here - the accreditation of the school, and the AP exams if the school runs them.
National programme
The state school programme of the country the school stands in: it is set by that country's ministry of education, which also licenses the school and awards the leaving certificate. That certificate is used for entry to local universities, and abroad it is matched to the local one.
What this means for this school. This entry does not count towards the score, and that is deliberate. Every lawful school in a country works to the national programme, so on its own it tells one school apart from no other - unlike the French, German or Russian programmes, which are carried abroad and confirmed by the register of their organisation. We show it because a parent needs to know what programme their child is taught and what certificate the child will get. Counting it would lift the whole ranking at once and still tell nobody apart.
Exams and destinations from the school's official website
The school publishes nothing about where its leavers go: no share going on to university, no exam results, no list of universities.
Facilities from the school's official website
·Swimming poolnot stated on the website
·Sports hallnot stated on the website
·Laboratoriesnot stated on the website
·Theatre or assembly hallnot stated on the website
✓Library
✓Catering
·School transportnot stated on the website
·Boardingnot stated on the website
Clubs and activities: Debate · Robotica (robotics) · Theatre in English · Model United Nations · Minibasket with Virtus Basket Padova · Qwan Ki Do · Music Education · Erasmus+
Teaching staff from the school's official website
·Teachers listed by namenot published
·Teacher qualificationsnot stated
·Number of teachersthe school does not say
·Students per teacher or class sizenot stated
The head is Maria Pia Vallo. The school uses native-speaker experts and language assistants for conversation; teachers are assigned to classes with attention to continuity. The school does not publish teacher numbers or qualifications.
Safety and wellbeing from the school's official website
·CCTVnot stated on the website
·Security staffnot stated on the website
·Access controlnot stated on the website
·Nurse or medical roomnot stated on the website
✓Counsellor
·Child protection policynot stated on the website
·Staff trainingnot stated on the website
·Anti-bullying policynot stated on the website
A psychological counselling service (Sportello di Ascolto Psicologico) is available to students, parents and teachers by appointment on Wednesdays from 15:00 to 17:00, confidentially; if a student's health is at risk the psychologist informs the parents. Children are supervised at lunch with attention to food issues.
Reviews
No reviews yet. The community rating counts towards the score once a school has five verified reviews - until then we do not show a zero, so as not to mislead.
Criteria breakdown criterion weight in brackets
Academics and programmes (16%)74 Community rating (16%)no dataparent reviews are needed: the criterion switches on at the fifth verified one Exams and destinations (12%) scored on disclosed data55 Safety and wellbeing (12%) scored on disclosed data60 Accreditation and verifiability (10%)85 Teaching staff (10%) scored on disclosed data55 Facilities (10%) scored on disclosed data65 Clubs and activities (8%) scored on disclosed data78 "Scored on disclosed data" stands where we count only what the school has written about itself on its own site: exams and destinations, safety and wellbeing, teaching staff, facilities, clubs and activities. A low score here means the school does not write about this, not that the school does not have it: a school with good security and a sparse site will score low. A school can fill in its profile, and the score will be counted again.
The score is counted from 8 of the 9 criteria.Only those with checkable data count: programmes and accreditations from official registers, the fee from a published price list. Where it says "scored on the median", the school has no data and the middle of the list is put in its place, so that a gap gives no advantage. Admissions, teaching staff and reviews come in as their data arrives.
The full methodology → Similar schools in the country
Padua, Italy · est. 1919 · Private