STUDYING IN SICILY
Sicily is the largest Italian island, located in the center of the Mediterranean. Throughout its history, diverse populations have occupied and conquered the island, thus bringing about a hybrid of cultures and traditions. Studying in Sicily therefore means working in contact with such a rich complex history which is a unique amount of inputs for our activities as designers.

Sicily offers a myriad of cultural aspects from which to take inspiration; designers can feed off of the island’s history, resources, traditions, religious festivals, food, nature, literature and theater. At the same time, Sicily is a place with a strong need for design, as designers can help enhance the island’s identity and put it in a contemporary light.

THE ACADEMY
Abadir Academy is located in Sant’Agata Li Battiati, a little town 10 km far from Catania downtown, and it is hosted in an ancient sicilian mansion built between the late XVIII century and the beginnings of XX century.

The Academy was founded privately in 1992 as an Academy of Fine Arts, with the specific purpose of training workers in the field of art restoration. In 2010 Abadir opened a new Department of Design directed by Vanni Pasca aimed at project-oriented training; soon after, in 2012, a three-year course in Design and Visual Communications were offered, allowing students to receive a Level I Academic Diploma equivalent to a three-year university degree. Abadir has also launched a post-graduate specialized training within this new department and has organized a series of activities, which aim to promote design culture in Sicily.

Abadir Academy Brochure

ACCOMODATION
The Academy is provided by a little guesthouse located 200 meters far from the main building: single rooms, double rooms and a fully equipped kitchen are available. To receive more information about our guesthouse, write an email to: foresteria@abadir.net.

Beside the accommodation offered by Abadir, there are several apartments located nearby the school, in Sant’Agata Li Battiati, which are available to be rent by students. Ask our staff for more information.

We suggest to the incoming students to live as close as possible to the school during the semester they’re going to attend in our academy. In case they prefer to live downtown Catania they can look for other solutions; in this case they will reach the school by public transport. Catania is one of the biggest city in Sicily and it is located in the east coast of the island. It’s a lively town on the slopes of Etna volcano and it is mainly renowned for the baroque style of its buildings and the vivid nightlife. For any help to find a good accommodation, incoming students are invited to ask support to our staff.

HOW TO GET TO THE ACADEMY
By car | If the incoming students prefer to move by car, they can use a car sharing service, Enjoy, which allows people to move in Catania and, paying an extra fee, also in the surroundings.

By bus | Most of our students or teachers use to take a bus to reach the Academy from Catania. From the airport, there’s a bus service called Alibus which stops at the Central Rail Station, where other bus services are available. The ticket can be bought on the bus and costs 4,00 €.
The company who manage the means of transport in the urban area of Catania is called AMT.
The first solution to reach Abadir from the city centre is to take the BRT line bus that needs 20 minutes to go from Catania centre (Piazza Stesicoro) to the stop Due Obelischi. Once there, there’s a free shuttle connecting the stop Due Obelischi to Piazza Chiesa Madre at Sant’Agata Li Battiati, very close to the school.
To check timetable and costs of BRT line visit the official website of AMT; to discover the specifics of the free shuttle visit the website of Sant’Agata Li Battiati district.
Another way, maybe the best, to get to our school is to take a direct bus from the AST line (Azienda Siciliana Trasporti) from the rail station to Sant’Agata Li Battiati centre, without any change. The specific line to take is the one called Pedara-Trecastagni.

Accommodation and how to get here

LIVING’S COST
There are some livings costs that international students have to consider before applying to our school, for example food, housing, social life, means of transport expenses, etc. We estimate that the student livings expenses average is about 350,00 € / 600,00 € per month.