526,000 students in Italy to sit maturità this week.

More than half a million final-year students in Italy will start the maturità state exams, the Italian public high-school diploma, on Wednesday 19 June.

The maturità kicks off at 08.30 with a written Italian exam, with students given up to six hours to write an essay providing analysis or critical reflection on one of seven different literary texts.

• Notte prima degli esami: Italy's pre-exam anthem

The maturità comprises two written tests assessing students' comprehension of the Italian language and another subject - which depends on the type of school they attend (classical, scientific, technical etc) - followed by an oral test based on the courses taken by the student.

Students are given a score out of a maximum of 100 points, with 60 points needed to pass the exam.

Antonello Venditti returned to his old school in #Rome to sing Notte prima degli esamipic.twitter.com/B9muPjglyF

— Wanted in Rome (@wantedinrome) June 9, 2022