meeting point for over 1200 students. Modern Days From the 1970s until present day, the liceo has experienced many variations from its traditional nature of humanistic high school in order to keep up with the national directives that gave more importance to sciences and foreign languages, particularly English. Today’s school’s motto is “innovation and tradition”, precisely because the liceo is interested in both educating students to be citizens of the modern, globalized, English-speaking, technology-oriented world, and maintaining the focus on those classical values that history, philosophy and ancient literature can teach. Notable alumni In Bari, the Flacco carries the reputation of the school that shapes the minds of tomorrow’s leaders. And if a look at the ruling class of the city is taken (consisting of successful entrepreneurs, freelancers like lawyers and doctors, and politicians), this statement is actually found to be true. Many of these individuals come from a Flacco secondary education. One of the Flacco’s most famous alumni is Michele Emiliano, president of Apulia and former mayor of Bari, important member of the Italian Democratic Party, and nationally known judge. Another is Luciano Canfora, classical philologist, historian and essayist with a particular interest in law and in the preservation of the Italian constitution. His parents were both teachers at the Flacco for a long time. Today the teacher’s hall of the liceo is named after his father Fabrizio Canfora, historian of philosophy. Luciano Canfora’s books have an international audience and they are translated in more than ten languages. Finally, there is Gianrico Carofiglio, former anti-mafia judge and successful novelist. In his books Né qui né altrove. Una notte a Bari (Italian for “Neither here nor anywhere else. A night in Bari”) and Il bordo vertiginoso delle cose (Italian for “The dizzy edge of things”) he mentions the Flacco as a city landmark of Bari. The second of these novels has actually the liceo as its setting. See also Bari Liceo Classico Latin Ancient Greek Gentile Reform Matura Horace House of Bourbon Domenico Cirillo Benito Mussolini Luciano Canfora Gianrico Carofiglio References External links - Official Website of the Flacco - Website of Fascist Art with pictures of the Flacco’s original building - Official Website of Gianrico Carofiglio - Official Website of the Italian Ministry for Public Education - Official Website of the city of Bari Bari Education in Apulia