Students who study at the School in Italy must live in host families or with at least one native Italian-speaker.

Students who study at the School in Italy must live in host families or with at least one native Italian-speaker.  Living with locals in a homestay or shared apartment is one of the best ways to learn Italian and to enter immediately into the Italian way of life. Living with Italians allows students to practice the Italian language in a safe environment, to learn what the locals like to do, to taste regional cuisine with home-cooked meals, to find a home away from home, and to learn through observation Italian culture, customs, habits, and to find a home away from home.

See details about housing in the Handbook.

Housing Process

The School in Italy offers a housing placement service to all students.  The housing service is not required and students are not obligated to participate in the Middlebury placement option. Please note that students who opt out of Middlebury’s housing process will be solely responsible for finding and securing their own accommodations. The Middlebury sede will only be able to give students general information to help them understand what is written in contracts or regarding locations. Keep in mind that the housing office is closed during the month of August, so no assistance will be available during that time.

In April (for Fall semester) and in October (for Spring semester), all students enrolled in the program will complete a questionnaire in which they will provide information about their housing preferences and any particular needs or considerations.

Students who choose the Middlebury housing placement service will be placed in homestays or apartments shared with Italians. After the match has been made, students will receive  information in order to confirm their accommodation.  Students will pay their landlord or homestay family a security deposit and first month’s rent by wire transfer to reserve their accommodation by the specified deadline.

Once the placement has been made and secured via payment of the deposit, students are expected to commit to their placement for at least two months.  Students should not expect to change their housing placement immediately upon arrival in Italy. Students who wish to change their accommodation after two months must give at least one month’s notice to their landlord or homestay family (months are calculated on a calendar basis, e.g. September 1-30).