ALCE Marks 25 Years

IALC Accredited School, ALCE, Bologna celebrates 25 years of excellence in language education and cultural exchange, offering students an authentic Italian experience.

What the future holds for ALCE

As ALCE celebrates this remarkable milestone, we spoke with Director, Luca Armaroli to discuss the school’s journey, its impact on students, and what the future holds.

What does celebrating 25 years in the language education industry mean to you?

“This is perhaps the most important question and answering it now, in 2025, seems almost unreal, thinking about when we started in 1999, almost for fun and games with a very small school of less than 30 square meters. A lot of water has passed under the bridge, sacrifices and efforts have been made but the successes achieved are just as many, and the satisfactions are countless.

We have moved three times, we have increased the spaces for our students, we have continuously improved resources and we have always had the search for quality as a guideline.

Achieving this goal is truly a source of pride.”

Looking Back

Looking back, what are some of the most memorable milestones in your school’s journey?

“I can only mention, without flattery, what for us seemed like a mirage, for a small school, even if dedicated to excellence, compared to the great “monsters” of the sector: the choice to try to be part of the great “family” of IALC. Without a doubt of contradiction, I can say that this was the greatest and right decision of our entire career. We chose a quality international association even before thinking about the Italian national ones. We wanted to compare ourselves with the best, to grow and improve. And so it was. After 25 years we have brought home an invaluable wealth of experience, sharing, information and above all cultivated friendships and collaborations with the protagonists of world language education. Priceless

I have to repeat myself: the second milestone was the challenge of competing to host our Workshop. After 2 attempts, on the third tenacious “assault” 🙂 we finally managed to make our city of Bologna known to the world in 2018. 10 years have passed now, but it is a huge satisfaction to still hear friends, colleagues, and partners, talk about that event that will remain etched in our memory forever.

And finally, last only in time, the choice to acquire our permanent headquarters. ALCE’s new home: “Villa Samvise” “

How has the school evolved since it first opened?

“I believe that the true and only recipe is to never consider yourself arrived and satisfied.

The real distinction between a quality school and others is precisely the daily challenge to offer our customers and partners ever-better services, strive for innovation, think about what to add or change to aspire to the best. We have done it constantly, or at least we have tried tirelessly.

But what has never changed and what has always been a distinctive sign, in addition to the desire to strive for excellence, has been our passion, the desire to welcome our students as if they were at home and to give unique and authentic experiences of a lifetime.”

What do you think has contributed most to your school’s success over the years?

“The question is very interesting, but I would say that the main factors have been: the constant and motivated presence of a Director, Rossana, who has dedicated 25 years of her time to the work, the choice, already expressed,to compare and take examples (there is always something to learn, without copying) from the best in the sector, a staff of long-standing, loyal, motivated and involved teachers and finally, a lot of sincere enthusiasm.”

About the New Premises:

Tell us about your new facilities — what can students look forward to?

“We are really very proud of it. I’ll tell you an anecdote. Our last location was already beautiful, but it was in a historic building on the second and third floors without a lift. We had been eyeing this new location for at least 5 years, just a 3-minute walk away, but it seemed unreachable. It was too beautiful. Then in January / February 2024 we tried to start negotiations to try to take it and we finally succeeded with a huge commitment and now we have been here since February. First of all, it is a beautiful historic building, an Art Nouveau villa from the early 1900s. Furthermore, the ground floor, one of a kind, is built with “a section” of the old medieval walls of the city of Bologna dating back to the year 1000!! In short, a unique piece of history.

The interiors are finely decorated, with very high walls and artistic stucco, huge windows, wooden parquet floors, air conditioning in the whole spacer and custom-made furniture. There is no shortage of cutting-edge technological aids in the comfortable spacious classrooms and a sound system everywhere. But what really makes the difference is our independent access and the private park with splendid green spaces and centuries-old trees for breaks and free time for students and teachers. Finally, 2 receptions, one on each floor, through which we are always in contact with guests, a comfortable tavern and the renovated kitchen of double the size of the previous one which will also serve as a refreshment point and “club” of ALCE.”

What inspired the design or features of the new space?

“Quite simply the idea that has always accompanied us: that of recreating “a home away from home”, a truly welcoming and comfortable environment, for those who want to participate in the Italian experience of Alce… and there are many who testify their attachment to the school, to us, to the city, returning even several times, year after year.

Do you remember the phrase from The Lord of the Rings “SAY FRIENDS … AND COME IN” written in Elvish on the door of Moria? Well, this is the philosophy of ALCE, our friendly “open doors policy”

Then we entrusted some furnishing and design accessories to imaginative professional craftsmen to give a touch of originality and novelty… we are pleased to see the “wow” reaction when our agents and students set foot in our new headquarters. here you can already get an idea with the 360° virtual tour“

Are there any standout additions that you’re especially proud of?

“Certainly two above all, the kitchen / tavern (Our internal club will be called “the Prancing Pony”  – “al puledro impennato”  in Italian, as a tribute to the great master J.R.R. Tolkien and his brilliant idea of ​​hospitality) and, of course  the large garden. A splendid oasis of peace and relaxation for which we have many new things in mind”

Looking Ahead:

What’s your vision for the next 25 years?

“We had actually thought about retiring between home, vineyard, puppies and trips to the Maldives… but now I think we will have to look ahead for a few more years and think about how to optimize our creature even more. Seriously speaking, the next steps will be to “refine” the experience at Alce even more. Soon we will also be ISO certified and will complete the EAQUALS quality accreditation.

And then an extra novelty that we are very satisfied with and we hope our students are too: the new exclusive app dedicated to our students (on IOS and ANDROID platforms) is in an advanced stage of development, with which they will be able to interact with the staff, consult their courses, take tests, express evaluations and book activities and excursion services directly with one click. In short, a direct and intuitive tool created specifically for ALCE that will make the immersive experience of our guests even easier.”

Any new programmes or initiatives planned to match this exciting new chapter?

“After this gigantic challenge, let’s think about feeling good and making our students feel good, or better and better! Some of you may remember the world of food and wine among my passions. They are an integral part of the lifestyle and heritage of Italian culture. Here, I would like, together with the language, to also transmit this message to all the passionate foreigners of my country. For this reason, we have thought, among others, of a one-of-a-kind course, dedicated to an exclusive immersion in this way. For true passionate food & wine lovers: https://studyitalian.it/italian-fwc.html

And then we will also multiply the initiatives at the theater, evenings at the cinema at school, aperitifs, convivial events, etc.”

How do you see your school’s role in the evolving world of international language education?

“Well, very well indeed. I hope that at the end of these years of madness, we will return to travel everywhere and resume relations with an European brother country like Russia and its splendid people.”

Congratulations to ALCE on celebrating 25 years and the opening of your impressive new school! Thank you, Luca, for taking the time to speak with us.