NABA is an international Academy focused on arts and design: it is the largest Academy of Fine Arts in Italy, and the first one to have been recognised by the Italian Ministry of University and Research (MUR), back in 1981. NABA was selected by the QS World University Rankings® by Subject Art & Design as the first Italian Academy of Fine Arts worldwide and 41st among the Top 50 institutions in the world. With its campuses in Milan, Rome, and from A.Y. 2026/27 also in London, NABA offers academic diplomas equivalent to first and second level university degrees in the fields of design, fashion design, graphics and communication, multimedia arts, new technologies, set design, visual arts, as well as PhD and Special Programmes. The Academy was founded by Ausonio Zappa in Milan in 1980 with the involvement of Guido Ballo and Tito Varisco during a first phase, later attracting to its faculty artists such as Gianni Colombo and many others, the idea being to abandon rigorous academic traditions and instead introduce new visions and languages closer to contemporary artistic and professional practice. Its teaching methodology is based on an interdisciplinary approach, oriented towards research, innovation, and experimentation on the most current topics, such as new technologies, AI, and sustainability.
Through Artistic Intelligence, we nurture people to design a new tomorrow.