Miei corsi hanno iniziato

Buonasera!

I have officially completed my first week of classes here in Florence. Instead of taking four classes like at Bucknell, I am taking five. They include Art History, Italian, Mediterranean Food & Culture, Economics of European Integration, and Sustainable Urbanism in Europe. On Mondays and Wednesdays I have class from 9-6pm and 9-3pm, respectively. However, I only have one class on Tuesdays and Thursdays, which allows me to get work done and explore the city. I also don’t have classes on Fridays!

 

My art history class has already gone on a site visit! This means that instead of sitting in a classroom, we get to go into the city center and learn about the art/architecture as we are standing right in front of it. Yesterday we walked around the Piazza di Signoria and learned about how/why it was formed. In the 12th and 13th centuries, there was a struggle for power between the Pope and the Holy Roman Emperor. The two factions that emerged in Florence were the Guelphs and the Ghibellines. The Guelphs destroyed homes of the Ghibellines and left it as open space to remind people of what would happen if they rebelled against the Papacy. This is the piazza where the Palazzo Vecchio is, which is basically Florence’s town hall and has been a symbol of power for hundreds of years. Today it is a museum (I haven’t been inside yet).

I have some fun and interesting trips coming up so stay tuned.

-Steph Larkin