Summary

Molfetta has a complete local education system covering early childhood, preschool, primary school, lower secondary school, upper secondary school, adult/evening education, and private/paritary early-years provision. The municipality’s Istruzione topic groups education, teaching, school organization, nursery services, school transport, meals, and right-to-study planning.[1]

Molfetta has 64 public and private school entries across all levels in the current overview. This count includes both autonomous institutions and dependent school sites or courses, so it describes the city’s education network rather than 64 separate administrations.[2]

The city’s school system is important beyond families with children. It shapes neighbourhood rhythms, morning traffic, municipal spending, sports facilities, youth culture, adult requalification, technical labour supply, hospitality training, maritime identity, and the relationship between Molfetta and nearby towns.

Education as a City System

Molfetta’s education network has three main layers:

1. Local civic services — nursery, school meals, school transport, disability transport, right-to-study notices, forms and municipal communication.
2. First-cycle neighbourhood schooling — five public comprehensive institutes distributing preschool, primary and lower-secondary sites across the city.
3. Upper-secondary and adult education — licei, technical institutes, professional institutes, nautical, industrial, artistic, commercial, hospitality and evening/adult pathways that draw students from a wider area.

This means schools should be read spatially. Primary and lower-secondary sites are close to neighbourhood life; upper-secondary schools are mobility nodes; municipal services connect education to welfare, transport and digital administration.

How the System Is Organized

Municipal Services and Family Interface

The municipality provides or links services for:

• asilo nido registration and withdrawal;
• scuola dell’infanzia registration;
• school transport registration;
• school meals documentation;
• right-to-study programming;
• school-network planning and dimensioning documents.[1]

The municipality is therefore not just a building owner or passive background institution. It is the interface for family services, subsidies, transport, meals and annual notices.

School meals

Payment for the Servizio Mensa Scolastica must be made through the PagoPA system via the municipal payment portal. Parents paying through post offices or other outlets should print the automatically generated payment slip from the PagoPA portal, rather than using manually completed postal slips.[3]

This is an example of the shift from traditional paper payment to digital civic administration. Families need to monitor municipal notices and school communications because meal-payment rules, portals, contractors and assistance points can change.

School transport

The school-bus service provides daily transport to and from school sites according to fixed timetables and stops, based on an annual transport plan prepared by the service operator in agreement with the Comune. Parents or guardians are responsible for taking and collecting minors at programmed collection points.[4]

There is also a dedicated procedure for transport for students with disabilities. Institutions must make transport available to ensure school attendance for students with disabilities; the service supports inclusion and social participation. The online procedure requires digital identity tools such as SPID, CIE or CNS and the prescribed documentation.[5]

Books and right-to-study support

For the 2026/2027 school year, a regional call offered free or semi-free textbook support for lower- and upper-secondary students resident in Puglia. Eligibility used ISEE thresholds; applications were required through the regional Studio in Puglia portal, and the benefit was provided as a digital book voucher usable with participating booksellers/stationers.[6]

This is important because the right to education is not only school placement. It includes costs: books, transport, meals, digital tools, after-school needs and access to information.

First-Cycle Education

Molfetta’s public first-cycle education is organized around five istituti comprensivi. These group scuola dell’infanzia, primary school, and lower-secondary sites under one administrative institution.[7]

The municipality has 24 preschool entries, 10 primary-school entries, and 5 lower-secondary entries in the referenced school directory.[2]

School Geographies and Catchment Logic

First-cycle schooling is closest to everyday neighbourhood geography. Molfetta’s comprehensive institutes are distributed so that preschool, primary and lower-secondary sites cover different residential areas: central streets, Levante, Ponente, planned expansion zones, inland residential districts and older neighbourhoods.

Families often experience school choice through practical questions:

• walking distance from home;
• traffic and parking near the school gate;
• whether younger and older siblings can remain in the same institute network;
• availability of school meals and extended-time arrangements;
• school-bus eligibility and stop locations;
• proximity to grandparents or caregivers;
• accessibility for disability or special educational needs;
• transition from preschool to primary to lower secondary.

The formal school network is administrative, but the lived school geography is social. School entrances are daily meeting points for families, local shops, traffic flows and neighbourhood identity.

Upper-Secondary Education

Molfetta’s upper-secondary offer is broad for a city of its size. It covers all three major Italian tracks:

• Licei — academic preparation, including classical, scientific, linguistic, human-sciences, economic-social, artistic and applied-sciences options.
• Technical institutes — technology, economy, logistics, IT, chemistry, electronics, mechanics, construction, administration and tourism.
• Professional institutes — hospitality, commercial services, cultural services, health/social assistance, maintenance, industry and artisan production.

The upper-secondary network includes 16 entries/courses, including ordinary and evening courses.[2]

Upper-secondary schools are not only for Molfetta residents. They attract students from nearby municipalities, making them part of a wider north-Bari educational catchment.

Main Upper-Secondary Institutions

Academic Licei

The Licei Einstein - Da Vinci offer scientific and classical pathways, including scientific STEM, Cambridge IGCSE and biomedical curvatures, and classical options with communication, biomedical and Cambridge emphases.[8]

This cluster gives Molfetta a strong academic path for university-oriented students. It also helps keep high-performing students in the city rather than sending all academic demand to Bari or other larger centres.

Technical and Industrial Education

The I.I.S.S. Galileo Ferraris offers pathways in:

• chemical materials and biotechnology, environmental-biotech articulation;
• electronics and electrotechnics;
• informatics and telecommunications;
• mechanics, mechatronics and energy;
• applied-sciences liceo.[9]

Ferraris is closely aligned with Molfetta’s industrial, ASI, logistics and service-technology economy. It supplies skills relevant to manufacturing, maintenance, energy, IT, digital systems, labs and technical services.

Services such as ICDL test centre, PNRR-related activities, school documents, PTOF, improvement plan and RAV show how upper-secondary schools are increasingly institutional actors with digital certification, planning and accountability functions.[9]

Maritime and Professional Identity

The I.I.S.S. Amerigo Vespucci is especially important for Molfetta’s maritime and technical identity. Its pathways include Tecnico Nautico, Moda, Istruzione per Adulti, applied-sciences liceo, electrical/electronic and mechanical areas.[10]

The nautical pathway connects directly to Molfetta’s port history, fishing culture and seafaring identity. Even when graduates do not all enter local maritime work, the presence of a nautical institute keeps the city’s sea-facing identity visible in education.

Professional and technical pathways also connect to maintenance, industrial production, mechanics, electronics and fashion/artisan skills, which fit the broader economy of the Molfetta-Giovinazzo-north Bari area.

Commercial, Artistic, Social and Tourism Pathways

The I.I.S.S. Mons. A. Bello - G. Salvemini offers a wide mix of pathways: commercial services, cultural and entertainment services, health and social assistance, graphics and communication, Liceo Artistico, AFM, SIA, tourism, CAT, 4+2 AFM and tourism, and evening adult courses.[11]

This institution reflects Molfetta’s service-city character. It connects to:

• commerce and administration;
• tourism and cultural promotion;
• graphics and media;
• social and health-service support;
• construction/environment/territory skills;
• adult requalification through evening courses.

The separate Mons. Antonio Bello central seat is at Viale 25 Aprile and includes school services, families/students sections, anti-bullying material, school documents and digital administration links.[12]

Hospitality and Food Economy

The hospitality pathway is important in a city where food, restaurants, seaside leisure, religious events, tourism and regional mobility all matter. Molfetta’s IPEOA / hospitality offer supports the practical labour market for:

• restaurants and pizzerias;
• cafes and pastry shops;
• catering;
• hotels, B&Bs and event venues;
• visitor-facing services during summer and feast periods.

Hospitality education is therefore part of the local economy, not just a school specialization. It supports the same urban system described in the restaurants, tourism and annual-events pages.

Adult and Evening Education

Molfetta includes adult and evening provision: a Centro Territoriale Permanente connected to CPIA1 Bari “Alessandro Leogrande,” plus evening courses in technical, professional, hospitality and nautical pathways.[2]

The Sede Associata Giaquinto – Molfetta is one of 13 associated sites of CPIA 1 Bari “Alessandro Leogrande.” The Molfetta site is at Viale Giovanni XXIII and provides services such as online enrolment and electronic register access.[13]

Adult education supports:

• adult literacy and basic education;
• Italian-language and integration pathways;
• second-chance lower-secondary completion;
• evening upper-secondary diplomas;
• workers who need reskilling or formal credentials;
• migrants, unemployed adults and people returning to study.

This layer is often invisible in family-focused school guides but is essential for social inclusion and labour-market adaptation.

Inclusion, Disability and Support

Inclusion runs through several parts of the school system:

• disability transport through the municipal telematic desk;[5]
• social and school-service offices;
• right-to-study supports such as textbook benefits;[6]
• school-level anti-bullying, registry/electronic communication and family-service pages;
• CPIA adult education for learners outside ordinary school age;
• professional and evening pathways for students who need flexible routes.

For families, inclusion should be checked at multiple levels: school secretariat, municipal services, ASL/social services where relevant, transport procedures and current annual notices.

Private and Paritary Provision

Private/paritary provision is concentrated mainly in early childhood and preschool, with names such as Alice, Fratelli Attanasio, L’Isola di Peter Pan, Santa Maria Goretti, SS. Nome di Gesù, Orion, Raggio di Luce and Il Giardino dei Colori.[2][14]

These providers matter for work-family balance, nursery availability, early-years choice, religious education preferences and proximity to home or grandparents. Families should verify authorization status, paritary status where relevant, hours, fees, meal arrangements and admission rules directly with the provider.

Spatial and Practical Notes

Education is part of Molfetta’s urban geography:

• first-cycle sites are distributed across central, Levante, Ponente and inland residential districts;
• upper-secondary schools draw students from Molfetta and nearby municipalities;
• the Via Togliatti / Viale 25 Aprile / central-city school cluster creates morning transport pressure;
• nautical, industrial, hospitality and technical pathways connect directly to the port, ASI/logistics, tourism/food economy and service labour market;
• school transport, meals, books and right-to-study services should be checked through current municipal notices before each school year.

For relocation, schools should be read together with neighbourhood choice, housing availability, healthcare access, rail/bus mobility, sport/leisure facilities and commute patterns.

How to Use This Page

• Use municipal pages for services: meals, transport, disability transport, textbook benefits, forms and deadlines.
• Use each school’s official site for current curricula, open days, books, contacts, PTOF, electronic register and annual calendars.
• Use public directories as a cross-check for codes, sites and school levels, but confirm live information with the institution.
• For upper-secondary choice, compare not only subject labels but also commute, laboratories, internships/PCTO, evening options, certifications and university/work outcomes.

Keeping School Information Current

School names, codes and broad pathways are relatively stable, but addresses, principals, opening hours, admission procedures, online services, textbook lists, transport routes, fees, school meals and right-to-study deadlines change frequently. Always verify operational details through the Comune, school websites, regional portals and official annual notices.

Related Concepts

• Governance and Civic Services
• Neighborhoods and Districts
• Housing and Real Estate
• Transport Detail
• Economy and Labor Market
• Healthcare and Social Services
• Sports, Culture, and Leisure
• Arts, Music, Media, and Local Personalities
• Restaurants and Food
• Tourism Practical Guide

Citations

[1] Istruzione — Comune di Molfetta [2] Scuole Molfetta — Tuttitalia [3] Avviso Servizio Mensa Scolastica — Comune di Molfetta [4] Andare a scuola con lo scuolabus — Comune di Molfetta, Sportello Telematico [5] Trasporto scolastico per studenti con disabilità: iscrizione al servizio — Comune di Molfetta, Sportello Telematico [6] Libri di testo a.s. 2026/2027 Scuole secondarie di I e II grado — Comune di Molfetta [7] Istituti Comprensivi di Molfetta — Tuttitalia [8] Licei Einstein Da Vinci Molfetta — sito ufficiale [9] I.I.S. Galileo Ferraris Molfetta — sito ufficiale [10] I.I.S.S. Amerigo Vespucci Molfetta — sito ufficiale [11] I.I.S.S. Mons. A. Bello - G. Salvemini — sito ufficiale [12] Sede centrale I.I.S.S. Mons. Antonio Bello — sito ufficiale [13] Sede Associata Giaquinto – Molfetta — CPIA 1 Bari Alessandro Leogrande [14] Scuole Molfetta pubbliche e private — Comuni Italiani