Italy’s leading Digital and Figurative Arts Academy, Scuola Internazionale di Comics, an international school of Comic Art, has chosen Chicago for its first location outside of Italy.

For 34 years, the school, headquartered in Rome, has trained artists who have gone on to work for creative agencies and leading comic book publishers in the U.S. and throughout Europe.

The Chicago location will join schools in nine major Italian cities including Rome, Florence, and Naples.

Dino Caterini founded Scuola Internazionale di Comics in 1979 in Rome.

An accomplished comic artist in his own right, he fell in love with Chicago hospitality and the vibrant cultural arena here and promptly dismissed Miami and San Diego as possible sites for his first-ever U.S. school.

“We were debating between different cities in the U.S., but then we chose Chicago. And we know we maid the right choice,” Caterini said.

Director of the Italian Cultural Institute of Chicago, Silvio Marchetti, said “Given the overwhelming enthusiasm and affection that Chicagoans showed for Maestro Muti, I am not surprised that Caterini had the vision to choose Chicago. Our city and cultural community will certainly benefit from this extraordinarily unique export of Italian culture. Most importantly, artists here and throughout the Midwest will have the rare opportunity to take advantage of a truly European art school.”

The school will be unique on the Chicago art school scene, with classes that highlight individual attention, and extremely rigorous training in illustration combined with a strong focus on the craft of storytelling. Among course offerings are: Basic and Advanced Illustration, Comic Art, Animation, Creative Writing and Storyboarding, Maya 3-D and Graphic Design.

The first International School of Comic Art in Chicago is a unique Italian art school from Rome that since 1979 has trained many prominent illustrators working today in the U.S. and Europe.

Students come to the school to find their “artistic soul,” in courses ranging from illustration and animation to graphic arts, creative writing and storyboard preparation.

Over the years, the school has also participated in numerous cultural and educational exchanges and presently offers special scholarships to third year students at the Escuela Internacional di Cine e TV (Havana) and Tokyo Animator College (Tokyo).

Scuola Internazionale di Comics is located at 1651 W. Hubbard St.

For more information, visit: www.schoolofcomics.us.