NABA is an art and design training academy: it is the largest fine arts academy in Italy and the first to receive official recognition from the Ministry of University and Research (MUR) in 1981.

With its two campuses in Milan and Rome, it offers first- and second-level courses in the fields of design, fashion design, graphics and communication, multimedia arts, new technologies, scenography and visual arts, for which it awards academic diplomas equivalent to university degrees.

Founded by Ausonio Zappa in Milan in 1980, involving Guido Ballo and Tito Varisco at an early stage, and then activating a nucleus of artists including Gianni Colombo, the Academy has always aimed to challenge the rigidity of the academic tradition and introduce visions and languages closer to contemporary artistic practices and the system of art and creative professions.

NABA was selected by QS World University Rankings® by Subject as the best Italian Academy of Fine Arts and among the top 100 institutions in the world in Art & Design, was listed by Domus Magazine among the 100 best schools of Design and Architecture in Europe, and by Frame among the 30 best postgraduate schools of Design and Fashion in the world.