Program Overview

Program Overview

The Semester in Florence program is a study abroad opportunity that allows students to live and take classes in Palazzo Capponi, a 14,000-square-foot palace in the Santo Spirito neighborhood of Florence, Italy.

Location Description

The program is located in the heart of Florence, a city with a rich history and cultural significance. The city's historic piazzas remain largely unchanged from their medieval beginnings, and students can walk across the historical center in less than 30 minutes. Florence is a manageable city with many cafes, restaurants, high-fashion brands, and ordinary and vintage clothing stores.

Field Trips in Florence and Elsewhere

The program includes guided field trips to cities such as Siena, Naples, Pompeii, Turin, and the surrounding hills in Piemonte. These trips provide students with the opportunity to experience the ways that Italians interact with their legacies, with each other, and with various twenty-first-century challenges. The program covers all fees related to transportation, hotels, guides, and entrance fees for these trips.

Housing

Students will be housed in the 16th-century Palazzo Capponi, located in the Santo Spirito neighborhood. The palace has bedrooms, bathrooms, kitchen space, lounge space, offices, classrooms, and computer labs.

Program Details

• The program is designed to provide students with a unique cultural and academic experience.
• Students will take classes in Palazzo Capponi and participate in program-organized field trips.
• The program includes several free weekends, allowing students to follow their own itineraries.
• The city of Florence is an educational magnet, drawing students from around Italy and across the world.
• There are roughly 50 U.S. colleges and universities with study programs running in Florence, and forty thousand Italian students attend the University of Florence (UNIFI).

Academic Experience

• The program provides students with the opportunity to experience the ways that Italians interact with their legacies, with each other, and with various twenty-first-century challenges.
• Students will participate in course-related trips to museums, churches, notable buildings, and art galleries in central Italy.
• The program covers all fees related to transportation, hotels, guides, and entrance fees for these trips.

Student Life

• The Santo Spirito neighborhood has a vibrant central square facing Brunelleschi's Basilica di Santo Spirito, packed with sidewalk cafes, restaurants, artisans' workshops, galleries, and various grocers.
• Students will have access to kitchen space, lounge space, and computer labs in Palazzo Capponi.
• The program includes several free weekends, allowing students to follow their own itineraries and explore the city and surrounding areas.