Benvenute e benvenuti.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You\u2019re not just stepping into Florence\u2014you\u2019re stepping into a living chapter of your own making. Yes, there will be art, pasta, wine tasting and\u00a0sunsets over the Arno. But there will also be conversations that unsettle you, ideas that shift your foundations,\u00a0unexpected halts\u00a0and choices that will echo long after this semester ends.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Florence is a\u00a0bit of a\u00a0paradox. 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\u00a0and gelato, but its true treasures lie off the page, in quiet courtyards, unexpected encounters, and the grit beneath the beauty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Since 2011, I\u2019ve welcomed students who arrive with suitcases, TikTok driven suggestions on what to do\u00a0and\u00a0very long\u00a0to-do lists\u2014wide-eyed, slightly overwhelmed, often unsure of what they\u2019re looking for. And I\u2019ve watched them leave with sharper questions, deeper thinking, and a quiet sense of determination they didn\u2019t have before. That\u2019s the kind of alchemy we cultivate here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Syracuse Florence is not a break in your education. It\u2019s a pivot. A stretch. A deep breath that expands your intellectual and emotional lungs. Academic rigor here doesn\u2019t mean rigidity\u2014it means intention. Attention. It means showing up fully, not just in class, but in life. Immersion isn\u2019t something that happens to you; it\u2019s something you choose, daily.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You\u2019ll 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\u2014on cobblestone streets, in conversations, even within yourself\u2014and each detour will be a kind of map.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We are here\u2014present, attentive, and unapologetically invested in your growth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We are ready. The city is waiting. Are you ready to dive in?<\/p>\n\n\n\r\n
![\"Sasha](\"https:\/\/suabroad.syr.edu\/florence\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2025\/01\/perugini-sasha_OK-640x640.png\")
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