Month: January 2016

Fitness in Florence!

FUA soccer activity

By Chris Hartman

As a Florence University of the Arts student, you have multiple options to experience fitness in Italy, especially through soccer. The first, which is available to all students, is sports night. Every Tuesday night at 8:45pm, we meet at at the FUA fashion campus (FAST) to walk over to the two fields. Lead by Fabrizio Polloni, a former professional soccer player and professor at FUA, we divide into teams and play! It’s perfect for any level of player, from beginner to advanced, and such a fun way to socialize with your fellow classmates and get some exercise.

Another beneficial way to understand the importance of soccer in Italian culture is the Italian Soccer Experience course. Professor Polloni teaches you the basic skills needed in the game, while also giving you a history of soccer in Italy. We traveled to Coverciano, which is the official training area for the Italian Football Federation. There is also a museum which houses the World Cup trophy from 2006 and other historic memorabilia. Through on-field training, classroom discussion, and field trips, each student receives an unique experience on what soccer means in Italian culture.

FUA Student Life & Development tip:

For those interested in other types of fitness activities, check out the Mind & Body activities on designated Fridays or the FUA gym class schedules. And don’t forget, you can always work out at the gym during open hours if you prefer a solo session to an organized activity. Check out MyFUA for upcoming fitness activities and write to sld-studentservices@fua.it for any questions.

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Florence: A Contemporary Canvas

Street art of the Mona Lisa

Contributed by the Fall ’15 Web & Social Marketing Class

Though Florence has become renowned for its rich culture in historic art, there is a wave of contemporary artists leaving their mark on the city. Taking their talents to the streets and alleyways, Florence has become a canvas for these emerging artists. You cannot walk more than a few blocks without seeing at least one piece of art plastered along the walls. A common theme amongst many pieces throughout town are historical figures in scuba gear underwater. It is known as “L’Arte Sa Nuotare,” which roughly translates to “Art Knows How to Swim.” The artist, Blub, remains anonymous to this day. Though reserved in identity, this artist is making strives in the contemporary art scene this is should prove to have lasting influence on the city of Florence.

Blub is just one of the several street artists in Florence. What examples can you found in and around the city in terms of street art, museums, cultural centers, and local galleries? The history of art has an incredibly important presence in Florence due to the innovations and inventions that happened right here. Yet at times we can get overwhelmed by the weight of Florentine history. Art is alive and ongoing, it is not bound by time periods, as Maurizio Nannucci wrote with neon lighting, “All art has been contemporary.”

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The Balance Between Traveling and Staying in Florence

View of Mediterranean sea

By Juliana Guarino
Photo by Josh Berendes

When deciding to study abroad in Florence had two huge components to it for me – living in an Italian city to try to adapt to the culture, and also traveling around Europe. Many students who choose to study in Europe have the intention of traveling the continent. Some come with a “list” of must sees, and sometimes students plan each weekend down to a T before even arriving.

Upon coming to Florence, I was struck with a dilemma. I wanted to fully immerse myself for the full three and a half months, learn some Italian, even embrace culture shock in its entirety. Because “when will I ever be able to do this again,” right?

How do you find the right balance between staying in your host city and traveling the world?

First of all – you don’t need to travel every weekend! Some students really jam pack every single weekend they have here, which is fine on one hand, but some of my favorite weekends were the ones spent here in Florence.

On top of that – you don’t always have to travel outside of Italy! There are SO many amazing places easily reachable from Florence, even for a day trip. Some examples of places I went by train or bus include Parma, Milan, Rome, Venice, Lucca, the Amalfi Coast, Perugia, Tuscany, and Siena. Going to these spots was a great way for me to balance traveling/seeing new places and immersing myself in the Italian culture.

Also, it’s o.k. if you don’t make it to every single spot on your “list.” This was a huge thing for me to finally realize. In the beginning I got so caught up on all the cities I needed to see as if I was never ever going to come back to Europe.  You will be back. You won’t make it to every city you heard is great – there are waaaaay too many in Europe to see in just three and a half months.

As I looked back at my experience a few weeks before departing, I was thankful to have no regrets about how I spent my weekends. I think I found a great balance traveling in and outside of Italy. So see a few different cities, prioritize the ones you want to see most, or don’t and just wing it. Either way, you’ll go back to those spots you didn’t get to see this time around. That doesn’t sound too bad right?

ps, Looking for local travel ideas? FUA’s Educational Field Trips Department are organized by the Student Life office over several weekends in the semester. The planning team includes FUA faculty who regularly teach culture courses so you’ll get to experience the best of experience and learning about Italy. Check out the current trips online or at the MyFUA portal. 

pps, For food exploration starters during your time in Florence, check out the food blog of Apicius, the hospitality division of FUA!

See more of Florence and Italy at FUA’s FB, Instagram, and Twitter.

Italian Family Club: Home Away from Home

Students meeting their Italian families
Students meeting new families at the Spring 2015 Italian Family Club welcome dinner

By Kristyn Laviola
Photo by Lauren Fromin

As a study abroad student in Italy, I wanted to immerse myself into the Italian culture. Luckily enough, FUA offers an Italian Family Club (IFC) in which students get “adopted” by a Florentine family where both get a hands-on experience of each other’s cultures. Students and families are “matched” according to their common interests and shared characteristics. The application process was simple and quick. All I had to do was attend the first meeting, fill out a one-sided sheet of paper of basic information about myself, and then have a one-on-one interview. When I read the email saying that I was accepted into the program, I was ecstatic!

I was introduced to my family in the beginning of the semester at a group dinner. At first I was nervous and anxious to meet them, but once we sat down at our table, the conversation immediately sparked. My Florentine family consisted of a mother, father, and a younger sister who is seventeen years old. We asked questions about one another trying to learn as much as we could about each other. I thoroughly enjoyed my whole time spent with them that evening.

Throughout the semester, we have met up several times. I have joined them for dinner, watched movies, and we both have helped each other with learning our native languages. Their warm hospitality made me feel welcomed and joining the IFC was one of the best decisions I made here. My Italian family has become my home away from home and I feel as if I could reach out to them for anything and everything. I strongly recommend any student abroad to step out of their comfort zone and find ways to meet the locals of the city they are studying in. The Italian Family Club has enhanced my study abroad experience and I have made amazing connections that I will never forget!

Have questions about the Italian Family Club? Get in touch with the FUA Student Life team at sld-studentservices@fua.it. 

See more of Florence and Italy at FUA’s FB, Instagram, and Twitter.

The Colors of the Della Robbia

Della Robbia glazed ceramic at Bargello Museum

By Rachel Santos

Ever run into gorgeous bursts of ceramic color in Florence or around Tuscany? Tinged with cobalt blue, intense yellow, verdant green, the glazed sculptures of the Della Robbia laboratory are entwined with the history of Florentine craftsmanship. Thanks to a class visit at the Bargello, Rachel Santos digs into the techniques of a family whose origins were documented in the 13th century and whose fortunes transformed in the 1400s when Luca Della Robbia, who trained as a sculptor alongside Donatello, discovered the glazed terracotta technique.

The distinct blue glazes used by the Della Robbia workshop instantly catch your eyes as you enter the first and second floors of the Bargello Museum. The Della Robbia family receives credit for being the first to use the glazed sculpture technique in hopes of creating more distinct and vibrant glazes. Although most known for their blue and white glazes, the Della Robbia family also used green and yellow hues to add even more color to their reliefs. The uniqueness of these glazes came from their chemical compositions; the Della Robbia altered the chemical balance of the glazes to include higher levels of tin and lead in order to increase the durability and opaqueness of the hues. Additionally, chemical studies lead artists and art historians to believe the famous blue glaze came from cobalt pigments. No one, however, can be sure, for these glaze formulas have been kept secret by the Della Robbia workshop. As a result of these special formulas, this family business flourished during the Renaissance, leading to great respectability and prosperity for the family. Be sure to visit the Bargello Museum to see their glazes, their pristine attention to detail and their masterful technique of relief work!

Bargello Museum
Via Proconsolo 4, Florence
Visit the museum website for hours and tickets.

Other places to check out Della Robbia work locally:
Museo dell’Opera del Duomo, Florence
Spedale degli Innocenti, Florence

Day trip ideas in Tuscany:
1. The Santuario della Verna is a medieval sanctuary in the countryside near Arezzo dedicated to Saint Francis that contains several important examples of the Della Robbia.
2. Pistoia is a town only a 35-minute train ride from Florence. You can check out Della Robbia works at San Giovanni Fuorcivitas (only 3d sculpture in existence) and the facade of the Duomo. Make sure to stroll around the town while you’re there.

 See more of Florence at FUA’s FB, Instagram, and Twitter.

Why All Students Should Visit The Uffizi

View of frescoed hallway in an Uffizi corridor

By Zack Shattuck
Photo by Petar Milošević

I am not an art major, nor would I call myself a lover of art, but I will say that the Uffizi represents an important historic and cultural gateway to Italy and is a must for all students. Right as you walk into the gallery you are instantly awed by the many sculptures and portraits that line the long halls. Beyond framed artwork, your eyes will also be drawn to the vast and intricate examples of ceiling art. Each of the many rooms in the Uffizi has unique works from artists from around the world. A majority of the art in the Uffizi represents the Italian artists from the Renaissance period such as Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, and Botticelli.

Despite my lack of art history expertise, I still found myself browsing through the Uffizi for several hours of contemplation, and dedicating substantial amounts of time to single pieces. Always plan on several hours to slowly peruse the many exhibition halls, and any art or visual comm majors should plan on a full day. The Uffizi is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Florence and can have lines that may take hours to get through, so in order to avoid lengthy waiting times you can choose one of two options. The first is to buy a ticket online with a reserved timeslot (for an extra fee). The other is to arrive early, around 8am. After all, you don’t want to waste your precious time in Florence standing in lines right?

Visiting the Uffizi for the first time can be daunting. In addition to 1) reading up on the museum, 2) setting aside a good chunk of the day for the visit, and 3) making online reservations, it may be helpful to visit the Uffizi in “bite-sized chunks” especially if you’ll be living in Florence for a few weeks or months. Thematic visits are always fun to plan and allow you to follow a focused path throughout a museum. The following is a Madonna and child-themed itinerary courtesy of FUA faculty member Federico Cagnucci. Pressed for time? A shorter version of the itinerary can be experienced by following the items with an asterisk*. 

UFFIZI ITINERARY: MADONNA AND CHILD – FROM RENAISSANCE TO BAROQUE

XIV century: The transition from the Bizantine style of Middle Ages to Renaissance realism in Tuscany (Siena and Florence)

  • Duccio, Madonna Rucellai
  • Cimabue, Madonna of Santa Trinita *
  • Giotto, Madonna of Ognissanti *
  • Simone Martini, Annunciation *
  • Pietro Lorenzetti, Madonna with Child in throne with angels

XV century: The International Gothic

  • Gentile da Fabriano, Adoration of the Magi *

XV century: Early Renaissance in Florence

  • Filippo Lippi, Madonna with Child and Saints *
  • Sandro Botticelli, Madonna of the Magnificat *
  • Sandro Botticelli, Adoration of the Magi
  • Leonardo da Vinci, Annunciation *
  • Leonardo da Vinci, Adoration of the Magi

Early Renaissance in Venice

  • Jacopo Bellini, Madonna with Child
  • Antonello da Messina, Madonna with Child *

XVI century:  High Renaissance and Mannerism

  • Florence
    • Michelangelo, Doni Tondo (Holy Family), originally painted for Palazzo Doni which houses FUA’s DIVA/IDEAS campus! *
    • Rosso Fiorentino, Pala dello Spedalingo di Santa Maria Nuova *
    • Pontormo, Madonna with Child and Saint John *
    • Bronzino, Holy Family Panciatichi
    • Raphael, Madonna del cardellino *
  • Emilia Romagna and Lombardia
    • Correggio, Madonna in adoration of Christ
    • Parmigianino, Madonna with long neck *
    • Lorenzo Lotto, Holy Family

XVII century Baroque in Italy

  • Rome (followers of Caravaggio): Gherardo delle Notti, Adoration of the Christ *
  • Florence: Carlo Dolci, Announcement Virgin Mary

Image credit:
“Uffizi Gallery hallway” by Petar Milošević – Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons – https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Uffizi_Gallery_hallway.JPG#/media/File:Uffizi_Gallery_hallway.JPG

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Adjusting to Life in Florence

Panoramic view of Florence from the Oltrarno

By Chris Hartman

For many students arriving in Florence, adjusting to a new country can take some time. A new language and atmosphere can sometimes create moments of culture shock or homesickness. There are many tips to help with the adjustment process and embrace life in Florence, and the FUA Student Life Department is a great resource for a comprehensive and detailed approach to experiencing your term abroad. In the meantime, here are a few immediate yet easy and essential tips for all students, regardless of how long you’re staying in Florence!

  1. Make an effort to go out of your comfort zone! There are plenty of restaurants and areas that are designed towards tourists, but push yourself to find more localized restaurants and nightlife. It can be very rewarding and help you feel like less like a tourist. This also forces you to practice Italian phrases which is the only way you will ever start to feel comfortable with a new language.
  2. Do something new every day! Florence is a small city, but it is filled with different activities and things to do. Do not let yourself let a day go by without enjoying all that is around you! Your time here is short. (Suggestion: Try a thematic approach, like a street or a square per day of exploration, or bookshops and/or minor museums. Have the day to yourself? Florence can be beautiful when enjoyed in solitude!)
  3. Stay off social media. Staying in touch with your friends and family back home is obviously important, but if you find yourself aimlessly browsing Facebook timelines or Instagram feeds and watching Youtube videos, it’s time to shut it off.

Life in Florence is such a great experience for students. It is important to transition as quickly as possible so you can spend your time enjoying what is around you.  Hopefully these first tips provide a little insight into the transition into Italian culture. Have an open mind and have fun enjoying life in Florence!

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