Liceo Farnesina is a state scientific and music liceo in northern Rome, in the Vigna Clara area. It became independent in 1982, separating from the Pasteur scientific liceo, opened a music liceo in 2010-2011 and later added Cambridge sections and scientific liceo options with extra physics and computing. About 1100 students attend in 48 classes across three buildings. Lessons are taught in Italian. In the two Cambridge sections the scientific liceo curriculum is supplemented with extra English hours and subjects on Cambridge syllabuses in English: English as a Second Language, Business Studies, physics, mathematics and English literature; IGCSE exams are compulsory for students in these sections. Admission to the music liceo requires a music entrance test.
Key facts
Programmes
Cambridge · IGCSE · National programme
Languages of instruction
Italian, English
About the fees The school is a state school and tuition is free. The voluntary contribution for 2026-2027 is 100 EUR for the first child and 80 EUR for each additional child, with reductions for families meeting the school's criteria. Students in the Cambridge sections pay 350 EUR a year in grades 1-4, a fee for each IGCSE exam (110.90 EUR per subject in the spring 2026 session) and buy Cambridge textbooks.
Admissions Grade 1 enrolment is online via the state UNICA platform, in 2026 from 13 January to 14 February. If places are oversubscribed, priority goes to siblings of current students, then to those living closer to the school (residence of at least 6 months), then by lot; the building is assigned by chosen option and balanced distribution. The Cambridge section requires an English certificate of at least B1 (Preliminary English Test); if applicants exceed the places in the two classes, a ranking is drawn up: a B2 or higher certificate scores 25 points, B1 15 points, a lower secondary Cambridge course 12 points, an international English-medium lower secondary school 25 points plus 5 if primary too. The certificate must be submitted by 31 May 2026. The music liceo admits students after a compulsory music test. For students whose first language is not Italian the school runs free Italian as a second language courses.
Stages and year groups Grades 1-5 scuola secondaria di secondo grado. Five-year liceo on the Italian curriculum with the esame di Stato. Tracks: liceo scientifico tradizionale, liceo scientifico with a Cambridge course (two sections, D and E), liceo scientifico Fisica+ and Informatica+, liceo musicale. Cambridge IGCSE course: English as a Second Language and Business Studies with exams in grade 2, Physics and Mathematics with exams in grade 3, Literature in English with an exam in grade 4; lessons are taught by the school's teachers together with selected expert teachers, with extra English hours. IGCSE exams are compulsory for Cambridge students; they are held at the school and marked in the UK.
Accreditations and programmes verified against official registries
Cambridge · IGCSE · authorised programmeThe Cambridge register names the school as its centre; it teaches Cambridge IGCSE. Two Cambridge sections of the science liceo take IGCSE English as a Second Language, Business Studies, Physics, Mathematics and Literature in English, with compulsory exams in years 2-4.
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: IGCSE (ages 14-16). IGCSE means exams at around Year 10 or 11, the British counterpart of a lower secondary leaving certificate.
Register to check for yourself, and the full guide →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
·Librarynot stated on the website
·Cateringnot stated on the website
·School transportnot stated on the website
·Boardingnot stated on the website
Campus: Three buildings in northern Rome: the main one on Via dei Giuochi Istmici in the Vigna Clara district, housing the head's office, administration, some scientific liceo classes and the music liceo; a second on Via Gosio and Via Serra and a third on Via dei Robilant. The Cambridge section is taught in the main building and on Via Gosio. A psychological counselling service operates in the buildings. The school does not give a detailed description of its labs, gyms or library on the website.
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
Cambridge subjects are taught by the school's teachers together with selected expert teachers; the school trains its teachers and course coordinators. The counselling service is run by a psychologist and psychotherapist. The school does not publish staff numbers.
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 policy
·Staff trainingnot stated on the website
·Anti-bullying policynot stated on the website
A psychological support service for students, families and staff operates in the liceo's buildings; since 2026 students can also use the free state online support service AscoltaMI. Individual plans are drawn up for students with special needs; there is a whistleblowing procedure.
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%)72 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 data65 Accreditation and verifiability (10%)85 Teaching staff (10%) scored on disclosed data55 Facilities (10%) scored on disclosed data60 Clubs and activities (8%) scored on disclosed data55 "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
Rome, Italy · est. 1982 · State