The College of the Neophytes,[1] in Italian Collegio dei Neofiti (Latin: Collegium Ecclesiasticum Adolescentium Neophytorum or Pia Domus Neophytorum) was a Roman Catholic college in Rome founded in 1577 by Gregory XIII for education of young men, in an institution for converts from Judaism and Islam that itself been started in 1543 by Pope Paul III.
The first head of the Collegio dei Neofiti was Giulio Antonio Santoro (1532–1602), a powerful and authoritative supporter of Gregory XIII, and judge of the Holy Inquisition.
[5] Notable teachers at the college during this period included Giulio Bartolocci (1613–1687) a Cistercian Hebraist, and author of the Bibliotheca Magna Rabbinica or "Great Rabbinical Library.
"[6] From 1713 the Collegio was allocated away from its original purpose of training missionaries to become a charitable institution, under the Pii Operai, or "Holy Workers."
"[7] Like many charitable institutions music played a part in the education and life of the school but only two Latin graduation cantatas survive from the 17th Century.