During my internship with UNESCO I visited the following heritage sites around the city: the Basilica di Santa Trinita, the Hospital of the Innocents, the Basilica della Santissima Annunziata, the Misericordia, Piazza Savonarola, Piazza Libertà, the Giardino Dell’Orticoltura, and the Palazzo Guadagni Strozzi Sacrati. This internship allowed me to learn about Florence’s history and culture and explore smaller, less-touristy sites that tend to hold immaterial culture. These sites are not as grand as the Uffizi or the Duomo, but they still have history and cultural significance. Stories about sites like the Misericordia and the Hospital of the Innocents taught me a lot about the community and the long history of social welfare in Florence. This has been very interesting for me as I major in policy.
I have also had the opportunity to attend heritage events, such as Carlo Levi a Firenze, and learn more about immaterial heritage, that is, the history and culture of those living in the city, rather than the concrete sites themselves. This immaterial heritage is especially valuable when learning about the lives of those that were marginalized under the fascist regime and how they preserved their culture in Florence.
I highly recommend taking up an internship while abroad as it allows you to learn more about Florence than you ever could in a classroom. The hands-on opportunity to visit sites around the city, attend events, and develop relationships has been invaluable. I could not recommend UNESCO more if you want to experience Florence for all of its cultures. I am very lucky to have had this experience, and to encourage you further to visit smaller sites, here are a few pictures of those I had the opportunity to visit:
