Jean Monnet modules are short courses in European Union studies at higher education institutions aimed at promoting the research and teaching of scholars in EU issues and fostering the publication of their work. The goal of Professor Scotto’s project is to strengthen peace-mediation skills within the EU through teaching and learning, policy dialogue, and outreach.
Scotto is also involved in the online platform Love Storm to combat different forms of hate speech and the “Little School of Peace” in Florence’s Isolotto neighborhood, a grassroots organization that shares information on practices of non-violence, dialogue, and sustainability.
Goldsmith and jewelry designer Jen Leddy runs a successful business out of her studio in Austin, Texas. In this interview, she tells us how it all started with a class she took at Syracuse Florence.
When did you study here?
Fall semester 2007.
Jen with fellow student Cassiope Sydoriak (also from University of Colorado at Boulder) on the Ponte Vecchio
What was your impression of Florence?
I absolutely fell in love with Florence. To this day I feel Florence has a piece of my heart. It captured me with its fascinating history, architecture, art, L’Arno, food, wine, cafés and palpable vibrancy and energy.
With host family members Michela and Lea
What do you remember most about your study abroad experience?
My entire study abroad experience was unforgettable and pivotally transformative for me. But there are two things that stand out in my memory in relation to classes: 1) my daily pre-class walk from the Villa Rossa to Fuji Studios because I felt immersed in the city, engaged in the culture, and learning a medium that filled me with a new and determined purpose. 2) my art history class with Prof. Jonathan Nelson, studying Italian masterpieces first-hand in person, sparked an interest and excitement about learning art history for the first time in my academic life. The scope and gravity of the work and talent truly came to life.
Listening on a site visit for Professor Jonathan Nelson’s art history class
You were introduced to jewelry making through a class at Fuji Studios, a class we still offer, though the studio is now called Laboratorio Firenze. Please tell us more about how that led to your career as a goldsmith and jewelry designer.
The Introduction to Metalsmithing class I took ignited my passion for working in metal and making jewelry. It was that exposure alone that led me to determinedly chasing more niche learning opportunities of traditional goldsmithing and jewelry designing from an internship, self-training, to advanced technical courses later at the Revere Academy of Jewelry Arts. All of which firmly set my footing as being a goldsmith and having my own jewelry business today.
Florence Program Director Sasha Perugini received the prestigious Syracuse University Chancellor’s Fellowship to recognize her exemplary contributions and service to the university. The fellowship supported her two-month residency on home campus in Syracuse, New York, this summer during which she learned more about university administration. While there, Dr. Perugini, who also teaches our class on Cross-Cultural Management, engaged in leadership development opportunities and worked with the study abroad office on planning and priorities and new special projects.
On July 2, the exhibition “Kraczyna 50 years in Barga” opened in Barga (province of Lucca) and will remain open to the public until September 3.
Housed in the spacious Santa Elisabetta Conservatory, the show pays homage to Master Printmaker Swietlan (Nick) Kraczyna, who recently retired from Syracuse University’s Florence program and has been spending his summers in Barga since 1973. Best known for his iconic multi-plate color etching of Barga Castello, Kraczyna has been creating images based on his personal relationship with the picturesque medieval town for the past 50 years.
The retrospective includes over 65 pieces of his work including woodcuts; aquatint, drypoint, and multi-plate color etchings; mixed media works; and oil-on-canvas paintings. It is promoted by the Municipality of Barga in collaboration with the Giovanni Pascoli Foundation and the Santa Elisabetta Conservatory Foundation under the patronage of the Tuscan Region and with the support of Villa Pascoli Onlus.
Professor Roberto Pacciani, who teaches our class on thermodynamics has won a Best Paper Award from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME). The ASME Turbo Expo has long been recognized as the world’s leading conference on all aspects of turbine technology and attracts global leaders from industry, academia, and government.
Each year, committees select papers presented at the previous year’s Expo to receive special recognition. This year, the Turbomachinery Committee selected the paper co-authored by Pacciani and his colleagues from the University of Florence (Ing. Lorenzo Pinelli and Prof. Michele Marconcini) and the Politecnico di Milano (Prof. Paolo Gaetani and Ing. Andrea Notaristefano): “The Effects of Swirling Flows in Entropy Wave Convection Through High Pressure Turbine Stage.”
The renowned award was presented during the five-day conference held in Boston, Massachusetts in June. The theme of this year’s Expo was “Collaborate, Innovate & Empower – Propulsion & Power for a Sustainable Future.”
This summer, not only did Syracuse students Emily Bruck and Yasmin Nayrouz get real-world experience to put on their resumes, they also got bylines on their host organization’s websites. Bruck wrote articles about Florence fashion for US influencer Georgette Jupe’s popular blog Girl in Florence, and Nayrouz wrote about the study abroad experience for the firm Mazzeschi, which specializes in immigration law.
Hopefully, this inspires a vintage shopping session with your friends and serves as a reminder that Florence is not only a city of sightseeing and leather shops but one of historical trinkets and clothes with a story to tell. So use this as your guide (and save the map below) to a few walkable vintage stores to begin your journey into the beautiful history of Florence and its vintage items.
Emily Bruck, “Shopping Vintage in Florence: Five Walkable Picks,” Girl in Florence
The pressure to look and feel perfect for your short or long time abroad is certainly present; how can you not feel put together in such a flawless location? But, there are many ways to avoid breaking the bank while achieving your Eurosummer closet goal, and the tips above can aid you in this endeavor. Just don’t forget to have fun planning, and make memories while bringing your outfit ideas to life.
Emily Bruck, “How to Perfect Your Italian Summer Wardrobe,” Girl in Florence
I learned about immigration and citizenship processes in Italy through my internship, while learning about Italian culture during my free time. I enjoyed going to leather or food markets, visiting art museums, and simply walking around to explore. I suggest asking locals for recommendations to learn about hidden gems (like a view of the Duomo from a library). I also met many other students studying abroad, since Italy is a popular destination.
Current Syracuse University student Madi Christiansen has posted two delightful videos to her YouTube channel sharing various aspects of her experience studying in Florence for our summer session. Part 1 includes enthusiastic reviews of our I-Explore trip to the southern Tuscan coast and the wine, olive oil, and balsamic tasting organized by our Student Life office. Part 2 features an interview with Made in Italy Professor Simone Anselmi and clips from the various site visits she did in his class, as well as heartwarming descriptions of her experience living with a host family.
This is an excerpt of a travelogue produced for Professor Isabella Martini’s class Fictional Tuscany: Travel through Text. The assignment asked students to reflect on a site visit in Florence or a trip elsewhere in Tuscany, either a Syracuse Florence field trip or a destination they explored on their own, enriching it with their own research of the site.
While there were many more places I would have loved to visit during my time in Tuscany, I call Florence home for a reason. During the first weekend off of traveling I made it my mission to find my place here. Saturday morning my roommates and friends wanted to head to Zara for possibly the 4th time this week. Broke and bored, I made the courageous decision to venture out on my own.
It was still February so I did not want to do the Boboli gardens yet, but it was a gorgeous day that month and I wanted to be in nature. I had heard of the Rose Gardens but was not nearly as familiar with their importance or location as the Boboli.
“The landscape design and materiality of the gardens in the HP [Hypnerotomachia Poliphili] are testament to a profound shift in cultural sensibility and developing renaissance aesthetic, and it is through walking that the novel and the gardens are understood and experienced, where the protagonist is developed, and how a new perspective on Renaissance … can be approached, through the constellational thinking.”
Oneill, Sage Journals
This quote from a research experiment tracing Renaissance ideals in the gardens of Florence just further made me appreciate what I felt that day in the Rose Gardens. I walked by myself from Piazza Repubblica to the Oltrarno in search of the gardens. Apple maps, however, is not up to date with the entrance of the garden and I found myself walking up and down an extra 10 hills in search of where to go. Eventually I wandered in the direction of many families entering the rose gardens and followed them.
Fish pond where I read my book
The gardens in Florence are held in a very high regard. There is a stereotype about the gardens that you have not visited Florence if you did not go to the gardens. Stereotypes about how gorgeous something is puts pressure on me to enjoy the place as much as everyone else does. When I reached the top of the garden and looked out at the view, I suddenly understood why everyone says what they do. I picked out a bench near the fountain of fish so I could admire the view of Palazzo Vecchio and the Duomo while I read my book.
This was the first place I had been in Florence by myself. This was the first time I felt myself developing my own personal connection to the city. I think that having a perspective over the city reminds you how small it truly is. Smelling the fresh air and the roses beginning to bloom from above was the most relaxed I had felt since arriving.
The first post in this series, “A Meditative Moment in the Duomo of Florence,” is here.
Dr. Samuel Aronson of Montreal, Canada was part of the second group of students brought over to Syracuse Florence by founding director John Clark Adams. In this interview, he tells us about travelling here by ship, how the program began, the passion for opera that Professor Adams shared with his students, and what it was like to scooter around Italy and Greece in the summer of 1960.
Pictures of the Duomo in darkness, the energy was even better in person.
By Sophia Stokoe, Syracuse University
This is an excerpt of a travelogue produced for Professor Isabella Martini’s class Fictional Tuscany: Travel through Text. The assignment asked students to reflect on a site visit in Florence or a trip elsewhere in Tuscany, either a Syracuse Florence field trip or a destination they explored on their own, enriching it with their own research of the site.
While I’ve been rewriting my understanding of Florence, simultaneously, the city has in turn changed who I am as a person…While my anxiety is still present, I adapted to Italian culture and have become more relaxed. The uncertainty of the situations I’ve had to encounter, especially those with a language barrier, have also forced me to be more adaptable which in turn has increased my confidence in Italy.
My original personality never left but there’s now a quiet confidence that has deeply changed how I interact with the world…I know for a fact that I would not have been able to change if not for the moments of solitude I’ve had in Florence. When one is exploring a place with family or friends, they’re often too busy talking to each other to notice all of the smaller details on that place. I’ve had many moments alone with the city mentally tracing the architecture and people watching.
While I’ve had a multitude of moments doing so in several piazzas; one of my best solo observational moments was partially planned. My introductory Italian professor had told my class about how Italians celebrate the Thursday before Easter by visiting multiple churches. The day itself is known as Santo Giovedì while Easter is called Pasqua. Florence specifically is known for the tradition of visiting seven churches the night of Santo Giovedì. While I personally am not a spiritual person, I decided to visit some of the churches in the area as a way of participating in Florentine tradition.
The first stop on my list surprisingly turned out to be my favorite out of the 4 churches that I visited that night. I explored the Duomo, Santa Croce, San Lorenzo, and Santa Maria Novella. I went into the Duomo with standard expectations, as I had gone before during the day and knew what the interior looked like. However, the inside of the cathedral was absolutely breathtaking in the dark. The little bit of light from the occasional candle crept up the arches and dimly lit the surroundings just enough to be able to navigate the building, while still leaving enough room for shadows to adorn the walls.
People had begun to gather around the painting of the last supper, all talking in hushed voices. I didn’t hear a single word of English and did not dare speak myself without reason. I don’t think I said anything out loud that night until I returned home. Yet I did have to stop myself from chuckling as I made out a conversation of a couple of children talking about wanting dinner. I spent a while in one of the pews taking in the surrounding atmosphere. The energy inside along with the overpowering silence had me in a more contemplative mood and I felt the most spiritual I had ever been. It wasn’t as tied to Catholicism and more so to a general spirituality, but I felt rooted to the moment and to the place by maintaining that silence myself. In hindsight, it reminds me of L’infinito by Giacomo Leopardi. The following is an excerpt from the English translation of the poem:
An all encompassing silence and a deeply profound quiet,
To the point that my heart is quite overwhelmed.
And when I hear the wind rustling through the trees
I compare its voice to the infinite silence.
And eternity occurs to me, and all the ages past,
And the present time, and its sound.
There wasn’t that same sense of quiet through nature necessarily, but rather a profound kind of silence created by the church and by Santo Giovedì. Being there was almost a meditative experience for me, as my mind strolled through observations of the space and flicked through memories, both old and new.
After a while I left to visit the other churches. I preferred San Lorenzo over Santa Croce and Santa Maria Novella. While those two did have a more contemplative atmosphere than San Lorenzo, I preferred the architecture and the Medici Chapel. The chapel had rather impressively detailed green and bronze walls with a domed ceiling. It was easy to forget time in the chapel both because of the slight intensity of the light in comparison to the Duomo and the rest of San Lorenzo. There was a choir there for the holidays accompanied by a flute and piano. The airy voice of the flute seemed to bounce off the walls creating an echo within the chapel while the choir tethered them back to earth. I again felt time melting around me, a feeling I wouldn’t have had if I wasn’t alone.
For the second post in this series, “Time Alone in the Rose Gardens,” see here.
