Education
The education jazz system in Italy started by private associations and local schools at the end of the 70s. At the time jazz was actively discouraged at the Conservatory where also a hugely successful pilot course held by Giorgio Gaslini at the Conservatory in Rome was stopped after a year. After the year 2000 several of the private schools have received acknowledgement from the government, while the official Conservatory system slowly and not without contradictions and resistances opened to jazz.
The Erasmus and Erasmus + networks seem to be the most widely used exchange platforms, with some more international links provided by the Association of European Conservatories. Even today visiting the official websites it's hard to find a coherent proposal in the jazz field officially called School of jazz inside the Dipartimento Nuove Tecnologie e Linguaggi Musicali (Jazz ed Elettronica), and teaching in state schools for non-Italians is bureaucratically complex.
Some festivals promote summer jazz clinics with international faculties, some in collaboration with major jazz schools:
Berklee at Umbria Jazz Clinics:
http://www.umbriajazzclinics.it/mediacenter/FE/home.aspx
Orsara Jazz Summer Camp:
http://www.orsaramusica.it/summercamp.php
Established in 1977 as a Summer jazz workshops and its outlook has been decidedly international since the 1990s. After doubling the workshop with a Winter edition, it opened regular courses and organized the pilot experiment International Jazz Master Program in Improvisation Techniques (2008/2011) that had a major impact on the Italian scene. The courses are officially acknowledged by the State since 2011, the first in Italy. Now a relevant portion of the Siena Jazz University faculty is international, as 50% of the teachers in the Summer Workshop, where also about 25% of the students come from abroad. Siena Jazz also has a research branch, the Centro Nazionale Studi sul Jazz Arrigo Polillo, holding the most relevant specialized collection of books, magazines, dissertations, sound and video recordings, and promotional materials in the country.
Private schools with full (3+2 years) curriculum, regular diploma at the end.
Jazz department now directed by saxophonist Emanuele Cisi.
Dept. in charge of soprano saxophonist Roberto Ottaviano.
Same city as DAMS, the first Italian university course center about modern and popular arts now directed by drummer Stefano Paolini.
One of the first to introduce jazz courses and still very active.
The biggest in Italy. Jazz dept. in charge of saxophonist Tino Tracanna.
The city of opera. International outlook thanks to bassist and composer Roberto Bonati (Gaslini, Trovesi) and Parma Jazz Frontiere festival.
Jazz school voted best of Italian Jazz Conservatory for two years.
Among the teachers Ettore Fioravanti, Carla Marcotulli, Pietro Leveratto.
Well organized, strong popular music section.
Excellent faculty including Mauro Beggio, Pietro Tonolo, Roberto Bonisolo, Paolo Birro and others. Connection to Vicenza Jazz, since 1996 taking place in the historical buidings of the city of Palladio.
Association operating in Sicily with concert season, school and band
In Sardinia the major summer jazz camp is promoted by the Ente Musicale di Nuoro.