Italy - Stati Magia

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The Stati Magia School located somewhere in the remote Dolomite Mountains of Italy. It is the oldest magical education school, built in the times of Ancient Rome to school individuals thought to be Roman Gods but after revelations and theories were resolved to be witches and wizards. The school was always very continental, welcoming Greek students from the start and later students of many other Nationalities.

 Stati Magia survived the downfall of the Roman Empire by making itself unplottable, being one of the first areas to practice this spell. Today, the school is run headmistress Maria Stinolí and welcomes not only Italian Students but also Greek, Spanish, Portuguese, Mexican and some African students. French wizards have also been known to attend the school after Beaxbatons closed to male students once more.

Founding:

It is slightly unclear to who founded Stati Magia, but the school is thought to have been created head priest of Emperor Tiberius, Gaius Arinus, in mid 22C.E. This is supposed because a priest of this name haunts the old shrines that still stand and claims to have built the area himself. The ghost talks of nothing else and will not answer any questions, often keeping students for a long time. In the school, he is often used as an excuse for turning up late for classes.

Arinus also mentions his death as well as his accomplished building work, saying he died of strangulation by a snake that belonged to the next Headmaster, Janus Flaye, who was a renowned Parceltongue and first recognised leader of the school. Whether this information is true or false no one is certain, but Arinus is estimated to have died in early 23C.E.

Further History:

The History of Stati Magia is also slightly unclear, as after centuries of peace and secluded teaching when the Roman Empire fell and the state became unstable, the School withdrew into secrecy to stay protected. It stayed quiet until the mid 1400’s, when a student by the name of Leonardo Da Vinci was expelled for exposing secrets of the school’s existence. Da Vinci went on to become a renowned Muggle polymath, but was haunted by the guilt of his treachery, or so he claimed. When he died, a painting of him appeared on the wall in the main gallery where Magical Art was taught, as a sign of peace, it is thought.

After Da Vinci revealed that Stati Magia was existent, the school vanished again in order to keep students from being hounded in a dangerous age. However, ten years later the school did form an Alliance with the Balkan Magic School, The Eronmayervos Institution, and participated in a  competition a little like the Triwizard Tournament with the school, only it involved one task and five students from each school entering an underground maze of some sort and braving various creatures.

In 1518 a Stati Magia student by the name of Andrea Amati magically created an instrument that formed the basis for the Violin. Amati claimed that the Ancient Roman god of music, Apollo, had spoken to him at the ancient school shrine. Since the shrine was not used often and he wanted to create in his apparently holy place, Amati used some of the floor stones to carve his designs, decorating them always with ‘Apollo Swears’.

There were more notable members to follow, but the school was relatively quiet during muggle history – being remote and unknown of it was not particularly affected by the Second or first world wars and stayed secretive to most schools until the late 1970s when the headmaster of that time, Georgio Mintanae, participated in a meeting of the all the European schools to discuss protecting their pupils a from Lord Voldemort, who’s beliefs were rapidly spreading throughout Europe but halted when he withdrew from his horrors after the first defeat from British Wizard Harry Potter.

Despite having been concerned about it’s students and teachings when threatened, members of the Stati Magia generally avoid the wars of others and would not participate unless called upon to do so.

Education:

Students of Stati Magia begin education at the age of fourteen and are separated by six different houses in a vast collection of buildings (see below). Three of these houses are for witches, the other three reserved for wizards. This is to keep up old purity traditions.

The students are sorted based on their magical and practical capabilities, choosing from a set of questions and braving a simple task that requires little or no magic but a certain way of thinking. The six houses are themed with Roman gods and goddesses and the powers of these Ancient figures. Below is a list of the houses elements and qualities. Note that many contain the same elements but there may be different combinations:

Female Houses:

House of Juno – Leadership, bravery, defence and attack abilities, justice, ambition, resourcefulness, trustful, honest,

House of Diana – Mind, swiftness, quick thinking, agility, shrewdness, compassion, cunning, transfiguration, charms, honest.

House of Venus – Kindness, depth, shrewdness, warm, potion maker, plant knowledge, tenderness, loyalty.

Male Houses:

House of Jupiter – Leadership, bravery, defence and attack abilities, justice, ambition, resourcefulness, cunning, loudness, fiery spirit, loyalty.

House of Apollo – Mind, swiftness, music, agility, shrewdness, secretive, cunning, resourcefulness, thought, astronomy, observation, philosophy.

House of Vesta – Kindness, resourcefulness, ambition, compassion, herbolgy, potioneering, thoughtfulness, tranquillity, tenderness, loyalty, bravery, trustful, honest.

Students of Stati Magia stay in school for six years and study extensively, with hard programs and only two and a half months overall holiday. Students can also stay at the school over the one-month of summer holidays. They do N.E.W.Ts in their sixth year but instead of O.W.L.s at fourth year take three overall courses on subjects they are interested in.

Stati Magia not only offers the everyday syllabus of Wizarding Schools, but also does optional courses in Ancient Magic and arts. They also do Latin classes there and many students speak the language.

Setting:

Stati Magia is located in the Northern region of the remote Fiemme Mountains of Northern Italy. They are also called the Fleimstal Alps as the Mountains overlap the border into other European countries. The mountains are very high though holding green valleys, and the rocks very steeple-like. The school is said to be located on top of a remote mountain but has tunnels in the mountain below.

The building of Stati Magia is made out of Marble that is supposedly enchanted to withstand the high winds and winter snows of the mountains. This seems to be the case as otherwise it would erode. The school is made up of six individual buildings for the six houses, laid in two lines and connected by walls. Within the compound formed by the walls and towers that are the houses, there is another tower than is circular marble halfway up then forms an observatory dome for astronomy classes. The shrines of the school are located in the marble half of the tower and are elaborately styled, with intricate statues of the main Ancient gods. There is a row of the six used for the houses and it is said that these statues have jewels for eyes:  Amethyst for Juno, Pearl for Diana, Rose Quartz for Aphrodite, Amber for Zeus, Sapphire for Apollo and Emerald for Vesta. There are many fountains in walls in this room, it is said, and though dark, a natural candlelight always glows and the room is warm due to under floor heating created by never-ending fires beneath the mosaic floors. There is a holy feel as many herbs are stewed here, giving a soft and relaxing aroma.

In the courtyard between the dome and outer towers and walls, gardens are situated with fountains of nymphs and other mystical roman creatures. Herbology is done in greenhouses outside the school, but many students attend the flowers here. It is said to be a beautiful place to relax, sheltered from the mountain winds but still receiving sunlight from above.

The houses are decorated inside with colours and designs that match the colours of the supposedly jewel eyes for the Shrine statues. Notably the house of Diana, a goddess known to have been worshipped as the goddess of the moon and hunting, has an observatory on the top floor that views the moon at midnight with clear perfection.

The classrooms of the school are situated in the connecting walls between the houses and are said to be cool and airy in the summer but warm with fires if necessary, in the winter months.

Outside the school, down the mountain slightly, glasshouses are situated for Herbology lessons, and compounds for various creatures. These are enclosed by another wall, though on a smaller scale. Both this compound and the main castle are very secure and magically locked with strong, thick iron gates each night. A Quidditch ground lies in a valley down the mountain and is also unplottable by location.

Underneath the castle lies one layer of dungeons for various uses, and then another more extensive layer created for the purpose of the Greek-Italian Wizarding school tournament of old (mentioned above). The tournament has never died out but has been modified for health and safety reasons over the years. It happens every six years and something new is introduced every time.