Liberal Arts & Italian Culture
2023/2024 Year Florence

About the Program

Explore the richness of Italian culture as you choose from Liberal Arts courses that emphasize its significance across a range of disciplines. Engage with locals and learn in the classroom, but especially beyond—galleries, museums, wine and cheese tastings, local businesses, historic tours, and other visits and activities bring lessons learned in class to life. The CEA Florence Center’s central location in one of Florence’s major piazzas promotes community interaction—a key component of the curriculum. Study within a dynamic environment where social interaction and collaborative learning drive the curriculum. As a host city, Florence makes it easy to bring classroom learning into your personal life, as unstructured experiential learning opportunities present themselves daily.

Program Structure

Enroll in 1 Italian language course, 1-3 core courses, and 0-3 optional elective courses. Language courses meet for 60 contact hours/4 credits, and core and elective courses meet for 45 contact hours/3 credits. You may earn up to 16 credits (up to 240 contact hours). If you choose to stay for the full academic year, you may earn up to 32 credits (up to 480 contact hours).

Language courses meet 4 times per week, Monday-Thursday. Elective and core courses generally meet 2 times per week, Monday-Thursday. Active learning components required by your courses may be scheduled for Fridays.

Prior to departure, you will select your preferred courses and indicate your estimated Italian language level. After you arrive in Florence, you'll take a language placement exam to determine final placement. You will be enrolled into courses based on their availability. It is in your best interest to have multiple alternative courses approved by your home university prior to your departure due to course availabilities. To ensure that you receive credit for the language level you place into, have your home school pre-approve courses at several levels before you leave for Italy. Please consult with your academic advisor at your home university on credit pre-approval guidelines.

Excursions

Get out and explore! Excursions are offered for most semester, year, and summer programs*. Semester students are typically offered between two to three excursions and summer study students are typically offered between one to two excursions. You'll receive a calendar of excursions during orientation; here are a few day and overnight excursions we've offered in the past.

Rome

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A fusion of ancient, baroque, and modern architecture, tradition and the cutting-edge, Rome has been a center of power, culture, and religion for millennia. CEA guides bring you to must-see sites, such as the Colosseum, the Pantheon, St. Peter's Basilica, and the Sistine Chapel. Rome truly has something to offer everyone and more-than lives up to its nickname: “The Eternal City.”

Amalfi Coast

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On this three-day tour, you’ll discover two famous coastal towns: Amalfi and Sorrento. Spend a day exploring the ruins of Pompeii, a city preserved under lava since 79 CE, and climbing Mt. Vesuvius, the volcano that buried Pompeii. This region of Italy is known for its cuisine, and CEA will take you off the beaten path to a farm to taste the best cheese in the world: fresh buffalo mozzarella.

Cinque Terre

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The Cinque Terre National Park spans 4,300 acres across five picturesque villages (the cinque terre), connected by hiking paths and a train line. The area boasts delicious basil, lemons, and grapes. Spend a day hiking or at the beach, soaking up the sun, and enjoying the breathtaking stretches of beautiful coastline. Your Instagram followers will be green with envy!

Siena

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One of Italy’s most picturesque and international medieval cities, Siena is home to well-preserved Gothic architecture and is the birthplace of one of Italy’s patron saints. Siena may be best known for its annual summer horse races, whose origins go back to the 1300s (Think the horseracing scene in James Bond’s Quantum of Solace.)