The Academy of Fine Arts of Catania was founded on 17 December 1967 and inaugurated its first academic year in 1968-1869. It is part of the Italian state university system and therefore operates under the authority of the Ministry of Universities and Research (MUR), within the AFAM sector (Higher Education in Art, Music, and Dance). The first-level academic diploma programmes are designed to provide students with a solid command of artistic methods and techniques, as well as the acquisition of specific disciplinary and professional skills. The second-level programmes offer advanced training aimed at achieving full mastery of artistic methods and techniques, together with a high level of professional competence.
The Academy’s mission is to tell stories, convey ideas, and share them with students, enabling them to acquire a working method, develop a personal style, and embark on a professional path. To train individuals capable of facing the rapid changes of contemporary life and of entering the professional world while embracing its challenges. To deepen the understanding of the various facets that shape our reality and define all forms of art through continuous study, critical inquiry, and research. To produce artistic and cultural activities, moments of exchange, events, exhibitions, and publications, with the aim of creatively analyzing contemporary life and proposing new and alternative perspectives. To work with and for the local community in pursuit of development that represents mutual enrichment. To actively promote a culture that supports egalitarianism, gender equality, pacifism, and environmental awareness.