Director’s Welcome
Benvenute e benvenuti.
You’re not just stepping into Florence—you’re stepping into a living chapter of your own making. Yes, there will be art, pasta, wine tasting and sunsets over the Arno. But there will also be conversations that unsettle you, ideas that shift your foundations, unexpected halts and choices that will echo long after this semester ends.
Florence is a bit of a paradox. It may seem small, but it contains multitudes. It wears its Renaissance heart on its sleeve, yet pulses with contemporary urgency. It may lure you with postcard-like settings and gelato, but its true treasures lie off the page, in quiet courtyards, unexpected encounters, and the grit beneath the beauty.
Since 2011, I’ve welcomed students who arrive with suitcases, TikTok driven suggestions on what to do and very long to-do lists—wide-eyed, slightly overwhelmed, often unsure of what they’re looking for. And I’ve watched them leave with sharper questions, deeper thinking, and a quiet sense of determination they didn’t have before. That’s the kind of alchemy we cultivate here.
Syracuse Florence is not a break in your education. It’s a pivot. A stretch. A deep breath that expands your intellectual and emotional lungs. Academic rigor here doesn’t mean rigidity—it means intention. Attention. It means showing up fully, not just in class, but in life. Immersion isn’t something that happens to you; it’s something you choose, daily.
You’ll learn from faculty who will demand your best, from classmates who will challenge your assumptions, and from Florentines who remind you that understanding often begins where words fall short. You will get lost—on cobblestone streets, in conversations, even within yourself—and each detour will be a kind of map.
So let this be your season of radical curiosity. Let Florence complicate you. Let it teach you to see sideways, to listen differently to risk complexity over convenience. Let it become not just a setting, but a co-creator of who you’re becoming.
We are here—present, attentive, and unapologetically invested in your growth.
We are ready. The city is waiting. Are you ready to dive in?
Sasha Perugini
Contact Information
- Location: Villa Rossa RM 22
- Work Phone: +39 055-503-1336
A native of Tuscany with Serbian background, Professor Perugini is fluent in Italian, Serbian and English. She earned her Laurea Magistrale (MA comparable) in English and Russian at the University of Siena and her doctorate in History of Performing Arts from Tufts University. She has been the Director of Syracuse Florence since 2011, acting as the program’s legal representative, and teaches cross-cultural management and communication. Perugini has published widely on topics ranging from language to food to AI and bias, and she received the Chancellor’s Fellowship in 2023. She is involved in advocacy for women’s leadership and regularly leads dedicated seminars on the subject. As Director of Global Innovation, she leads development of new learning and business initiatives across the Syracuse Abroad centers and helps to strengthen alumni engagement.