Syracuse University Florence

ARI333/ARI467 Drawing II: Representation to Conceptualization class
📷 credit:

On Saturday students visited Monteriggioni, a small medieval walled town located near Siena, which is renowned for being mentioned in Dante's Divine Comedy, and for its architecture.

This past weekend, our students enjoyed visiting , where they were able to observe the remains of the Etruscan necropolis situated near Baratti's gulf, Piombino.

BUA300 Made in Italy class Fashion day part 2. Visiting the headquarters and production line in Florence, and learning all about the , historical pieces that made the history of and .

Fashion day! BUA 300 Made in Italy Class visits Zerolab today. A unique opportunity for students to learn about the leather industry, craftmanship, and sustainable design at the heart of the leather manufacturing district in Tuscany, while creating their own card holder. ,

of Exchange is an optional 3-credit Signature Seminar offered to students attending the Syracuse Florence Center. The seminar invites you to consider:

What economic, religious, and cultural connections do Ravenna, Venice, and Trieste share?

How do the art and architecture of the past impact today’s contemporary concerns of European political identity?

This traveling seminar investigates artistic exchange between the medieval and early modern cities of Ravenna, Venice, and Trieste to discover Roman, Slavic, Byzantine, Spanish, German, French, Arab, Ottoman, Muslim and Jewish influence on Italian art and culture. Throughout the seminar, you will experience the rich diversity of the Italian Peninsula’s north-eastern territories, arriving all the way to its border. Through the themes of political power, cultural mobility and erasure, and the dynamics of shared urban spaces, you will analyze how the Mediterranean Sea connected Jewish, Christian, and Muslim peoples.

The “Full Immersion Weekend,” for homestay living students is different from all the others as the whole weekend is dedicated to spending time with their host family and roommate doing fun and exciting activities within and outside of Florence.

Seeing some of these photos the families shared with us, this weekend has proven to be invaluable for students and host families to get to know each other better before classes begin. We hope that this weekend is the start of a relationship that will last a lifetime.

ARI241 Florentine Sketchbook. Donatello 21 garden lesson on watercolor's and prospective.






Photo Credit:

Join us in welcoming our new baby turtle 🐢! Eggs just hatched in the villa Rossa garden! How should we name it? YoUr suggestions in the comments!

First day out with Drawing from observation class encounter with the Arno river, watercolors and drawing

Today’s Face in Focus is psychology professor Christian Tarchi. Born to an Austrian mother and an Italian father in the nearby hilltop town of Fiesole, Dr. Tarchi teaches our popular class Why Good People do Terrible Things. He has worked for Syracuse Florence for 2 years now and appreciates both the sense of community and the high quality of the education.

In addition to teaching, Tarchi is currently running a Google-sponsored media literacy project for the University of Florence to create a video game that helps kids take a critical approach to online content.

His favorite Italian dish is spinach and ricotta gnudi with butter and sage. He recommends students not miss the Rose Garden and the view over Florence from San Francesco in Fiesole. For books to read while in Italy, his top picks are Primo Levi’s If this is a Man and Elena Ferrante’s My Brilliant Friend.

Art history professor Jonathan Nelson was the historian consultant for composer Hershey Felder’s new piece of musical opera theater being performed on July 25 in Fiesole.

The opera is based on the story of the 3 carabinieri who gave their lives to save 10 civilians being held by the N***s during World War II.

Professor Nelson organized an exhibition in 2019 about the sculpture in Fiesole by Marcello Guasti commemorating the event.

Spring ’94 alumna Kristen Murphy Mengold recently returned to the Villa Rossa with her son. She was a communications major at Syracuse, and most of the students here were fellow ‘cusers like her (unlike today when half our students come from partner schools).

Kristen said she didn’t fully appreciate until now how amazing it was to visit so many museums with her art history class without having to stand in line. She remembers showing up to class late to a darkened classroom with slides of artworks being shown on the wall. She also had a great experience improving her Italian with her host mom and felt honored to be invited to her grandchild’s baptism.

She is still friends with people she met while studying abroad. Here she is pictured (on the right) at a Florence café with a friend visiting from her own study abroad program. “The tour brought back so many fond memories. It still amazes me how we were able to connect without all the advanced technology!” 

"Il Quarto Uomo": Coming full circle in Fiesole | The Florentine The backstory of Hershey Felder's new piece of musical opera theatre, Il Quarto Uomo, which will be staged in Fiesole on July 25.

Nicholas Hunt was in the architecture program at Syracuse Florence in 2005 and recently returned to the Villa Rossa with his wife Brittany, also an architect.

After graduating from Syracuse, Nicholas got a Master of Architecture from Yale and later co-founded the Austin, Texas-based studio Hunt Architecture whose work has been featured in Dwell and Arch Daily.

“It was so great to be back,” said Nicholas. “Living and studying in Florence was one of my favorite experiences.”

Today we’re throwing it back to a couple weeks ago when our summer students were still here, and the lucky students in Professor Zaloga’s Renaissance art history class got to experience the Accademia Gallery with very few people inside.

That seems practically impossible with the record number of tourists in Florence right now. Michelangelo’s David is breathtaking no matter the circumstance, but this was a particularly special way to see him in all his glory.

Meet Heaven Vega, a senior at Syracuse originally from NYC who majors in communication sciences and disorders and wants to become a speech pathologist.

She was happy to get an internship teaching English to the children at Istituto Madre Mazzarello because it lines up with her goal to strengthen children’s language skills.

She enthusiastically recommends that students do an internship abroad since she says that leaving your comfort zone helps you grow professionally and personally.

In her placement, Heaven acquired real-world skills that she can add to her resume like intercultural competence, leading activities and workshops, and preparing lesson plans.

Pride month may be wrapping up but in Florence the festivities continue into the month of July, with Toscana Pride taking place here for the first time in 7 years on Saturday, July 8. 🏳️‍🌈

Patrick McNulty returned to the Villa Rossa today with girl friend Julia after having studied here in the Fall of 2015.

As a communications major, he studied theater history with Prof. Nicholson and cinema studies with Prof. Kliemann.

He fondly remembers the student life fieldtrip to the Castello da Verrazzano winery in Chianti and living with his host family on Via Masaccio.

Starting shortly! At 12:45pm we invite you to attend “The dialogue” an informal session aimed at celebrating cultural diversity through discussing the habits and norms in Italy.
Join us in the Villa Rossa limonaia for a refreshing drink and a chat where everyone, both new and old, can share the experiences/shock gained while living abroad.
Whether you're a newcomer to Italy or a seasoned veteran, everyone is welcome to contribute and enrich the dialogue with their own personal experiences and observations.

Professor Asfora’s Food, Identity and Culture students got their hands dirty learning how to make Northern Italian specialties at Pasta Class Florence on Via dell’Agnolo.

👋 Ciao Summer ‘23 students

Signups for the LAST Student Life Activities of the summer started today in the SLO!

2 Course Meal Cooking Class
Monday, June 26
During the cooking class, in this class traditional Italian recipes that you can't wait to replicate at home: Gnudi and meatballs!
Gnudi are a rustic and simple first course, typical of Tuscan cuisine. Gnudo, in the wonderful and very expressive Tuscan language, literally means "naked".
Meatballs with red sauce are one of the most classic recipes, so loved by everyone.
Participation capacity: minimum 8 /maximum 22

Wine, Olive oil, and Balsamic Vinegar Tasting
Tuesday, June 27
Taste and enjoy several of Italy’s most prized gastronomic treasures in a 14th century wine cellar in the Florence center.

We will try three different wines (one white Tuscan, one Chianti Classico, and one Super Toscano (red IGT)). We will try aged balsamic vinegar and extra-virgin olive oil as well!
The tasting is accompanied by Tuscan bread, Parmigano cheese, Prosciutto, Salame Toscano, and Finocchiona.
Participation capacity: minimum 8/ maximum 18.

Deadline to sign up is Thursday, June 22 by 5pm.

The Syracuse Florence community wishes you all an happy Juneteenth!

Lauren Simon studied here in Fall 2007 and recently returned with her husband and parents to re-visit the Villa Rossa.

She warmly recalled doing Professor Eric Nicholson’s drama workshop and ‘spettacolo’ at the end of the semester.

Another standout experience was how and warm and encouraging locals were with helping her learn Italian, especially her beloved host family.

The photo below shows her with hostmom Onelisse and roommate Leah, who is also pictured with her above in the Boboli Gardens.

“I will always cherish those 5 months in Florence, living like the Italians do and exploring all the amazing art, history and of course, the food!”

Academic manager Rachael Smith recently showed students of Art Wheel Studio around the Villa Rossa.

The fine arts academy is located in Roanoke, Texas and was co-founded by Ukrainian native Liliana and her son Stanislav, who studied architecture at Syracuse.

Stanislav wanted to share with his students this place that meant a lot to him in college when he studied abroad.

Students in Professor Asfora’s Food, Identity and Culture class learning how to make fresh pasta al pomodoro at the Cordon Bleu cooking school.

Located in the 16th century Palazzo Panciatichi Ximenes, it is the oldest cooking school in Tuscany.

The Block 2 student welcome wagon are ready to greet our newly arriving summer students today!