Exploring Firenze on a CEA CAPA Walk + 4 Culture Shock Moments

Ciao Firenze!

Hello Florence! Arriving in a new city can be overwhelming, even in a city as beautiful as Florence. Luckily, CEA CAPA organizes many events to enable students to explore the city! My experience of walking the first day in Florence was a refreshing and social way to become adjusted. Exploring the city of Florence can be intimidating alone, but luckily I was able to take a "hike" through a CEA CAPA event. Here are four culture shock moments I realized on my walk through the birthplace of the Renaissance.

The first culture shock was learning about the abundance of squares (or piazzas) in Florence. Our group met up at a piazza before we walked throughout the city to get to another piazza. Squares are large spaces surrounded by buildings, and they are very common in Florence because of the need for market and meeting spaces throughout history.

On the walk, I saw how squares are still used as meeting places, shopping centers, and overall destinations throughout the city. They get crowded throughout the day, but in the morning there were not many others awake. Squares are not found often in cities in the US, and I love being able to eat lunch and people-watch in a plaza. Every square has different architecture of the surrounding buildings, sometimes featuring sculptures and fountains.

The second culture shock became quickly apparent when we began the walk: the ubiquitous narrow streets. Among all the sidewalks, the majority of them enable comfortable space for one person and perhaps enough space for two people to walk side by side. The roads themselves are also very narrow, differing greatly from the wide driving spaces on roads in the US. People often walk in the middle of the roads, so cars and bikers are not afraid to beep at pedestrians. It is definitely an adjustment from the larger sidewalks and roads I am used to, but I love the walkability of the city!

The walk itself was primarily in the city, and there are barely any trees in my living area, which is the center of the city. I am used to living near many green spaces and trees back in Pennsylvania, so being surrounded by mostly city architecture was my third culture shock. However, the walk has some great views of nature in the outer areas of city center.

The last culture shock I felt on this hike was the overall culture of slow living. The people of Florence tend to walk slowly, enjoying the simple pleasures of life. There is also a large presence of dogs. Almost every local can be found walking their dogs throughout all times of the day, and dogs are such a large part of the culture of Florence that one can often find them in grocery stores and clothing stores.

I really appreciate the opportunity to slow down and remember to soak in every moment of Florentine culture. The next four months will fly by for sure, and I am happy for the opportunity to explore Florence with CEA CAPA's guidance!