Overview
- The second written Maturità exam was held on June 19, 2026, and the classical track presented a passage from Quintilian’s Institutio Oratoria that asks students to translate, analyse language and style, and reflect in an open-response format.
- Scholars gave quick reactions to the Latin choice, with Federico Condello calling the passage relatively simple but noting its unexpected praise of music’s martial uses and Luciano Canfora saying a historian would have been a more engaging option.
- The liceo Scientifico paper included two math problems: a real-data modelling task using Lake Bracciano water-level figures and a traditional function study designed to test measurement, modelling and analysis skills.
- Newspapers published full texts and photos of the exam sheets on the same day, prompting coverage that emphasised the exams’ mix of accessible classical material and practical, present-day stimuli.
- Quintilian’s Institutio Oratoria is a twelve-book pedagogical manual dated to about 90–96 AD, and its selection underscores the exam’s aim to test both textual competence and the ability to connect classical ideas to broader civic or practical themes.