It's a state school for adults. CPIAs offer free or very cheap Italian language courses (A1 to B2), the licenza media exam, and other diploma routes for adults. For many immigrants it's the first place they learn Italian.
The CIL A2 certificate from a CPIA is one of the main ways to meet the language requirement for the EU long-term permit. Courses are recognised by the Ministry of Education and count towards integration agreement points.
"Within a month of arriving in Belluno, Bao enrolled at the local CPIA for an A2 course. The classes were two evenings a week, free, and the exam at the end gave him a certificate he later used for his long-term permit."
CPIA classes are real state-school courses with attendance requirements. They're not just drop-in conversation groups, so plan around the schedule.
Official source
Ministero dell'Istruzione
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