Italy's 2025‑26 Maturità exam prompts draw mixed reactions from educators

Two Italian educators offered contrasting assessments of the essay topics for the 2025‑26 high‑school state exam (Maturità). Cimino argued that the prompts showed a cultural bias and lacked a broad historical perspective, despite references to post‑war reconstruction, democracy and figures such as Cesare Pavese and Giuseppe Saragat. He suggested the texts were more emotive than rooted in Italy’s literary‑philosophical tradition.

Ricci, in turn, described the topics as generally strong and relevant for building a more humane society, highlighting themes of democratic values, creativity in science, adult responsibility and the meaning of effort. He praised the human‑centred approach but noted that the literary analysis component was limited, especially regarding works by Pavese and Vitaliano Brancati. Both pieces illustrate the ongoing debate over the direction of Italy’s national exam.