The Circolo is a self-supporting non-profit association founded in Venice in 1967 by the then Director of the Oxford School of English with the purpose of furthering cultural relations between Italy, the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world.

Now, over forty years onwards in an ever more global society, the Circolo's aim is to promote in the widest sense the cultures of Italy and the English-speaking world and the relationship between them to all those, of whatever nationality, interested in this purpose.

The Circolo proposes furthermore to encourage the circulation of information between Italian and English-speaking institutions which have in common such promotion.

The Circolo adopts and implements the recommendation of the European Community according to which every citizen should be offered the opportunity of learning and practising two other Community languages other than his/her own.