Dante Alighieri University Reggio Calabria: Italian, linguistic mediation and languages at the heart of the Mediterranean
The University for Foreigners "Dante Alighieri" of Reggio Calabria is one of Italy's three universities for foreigners, specialising in teaching Italian as L2 and in linguistic and intercultural mediation. With 2,000 students, 15% foreign and a campus on the Strait of Messina overlooking Etna, it is the Mediterranean gateway to the Italian language.
Dante Alighieri RC: Italian L2, intercultural mediation and languages on the Strait of Messina
The University for Foreigners «Dante Alighieri» of Reggio Calabria is a small private university located at the southernmost tip of mainland Italy, overlooking the Strait of Messina with views of Etna, with a mission dedicated to promoting the Italian language and culture and linguistic and intercultural mediation. With approximately 2,000 students and 10 degree programmes, the Reggio Calabria university offers pathways in Italian language and culture, linguistics, cultural mediation and social sciences.
The university stands out for a high proportion of international students — approximately 15% of enrolled students — coming mainly from Mediterranean basin countries, the Balkans and North Africa, attracted by the university to learn Italian in one of Italy's southernmost cities. The name «Dante Alighieri» evokes the father of the Italian language and the universal symbol of Italian literary culture worldwide.
Linguistic and cultural mediation courses train professionals capable of working as translators, interpreters and mediators in a wide range of contexts: public offices, healthcare facilities, NGOs and international companies. Reggio Calabria's geographical position — gateway into Italy for many Mediterranean migrants — makes these pathways particularly meaningful. The employment rate is 65%.
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Dante Alighieri RC by the numbers
From 2007 to the Mediterranean: Dante Alighieri and the mission to spread Italian in the South
The University for Foreigners «Dante Alighieri» of Reggio Calabria was founded in 2007, inspired by the model of the major universities for foreigners in Perugia and Siena, with the aim of promoting Italian language and culture in the Mezzogiorno and the Mediterranean basin. The name — Dante Alighieri — evokes the father of the Italian language and the universal symbol of Italian literary culture.
Founded as a private institution recognised by the MIUR, the Reggio Calabria university developed its own identity based on cultural mediation and the welcome of foreign students in an authentic southern Italian context. Reggio Calabria's geographical position — at the margins of continental Europe, with a long history of contact with the Greek and Arab worlds — gave the institution a natural Mediterranean perspective.
The university has developed collaborations with Calabrian cultural institutions and provincial immigrant communities, offering Italian courses for foreign adults and linguistic mediation services. In a territory facing important integration challenges, Dante Alighieri plays a significant social role.
FAQ — Università per Stranieri "Dante Alighieri" – Reggio Calabria
Dante Alighieri Reggio Calabria is the Mediterranean gateway to Italian as L2 and cultural mediation. For Italian universities and everything about living and studying in Italy.
