Some 520,000 pupils nationwide started their high school finals on Wednesday with the Italian exam.
Questions on Giuseppe Ungaretti's poem Il Porto Sepolto (The Buried Port), Leonardo Sciascia's novel The Day of the Owl and the fight against the mafia and one on the legacy of the 20th century featured on the paper.
Education Minister Marco Bussetti wished the students well via Twitter and quoted Seneca: "Luck doesn't exist - there is only the moment when talent meets opportunity".
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