ItaliaNoles – Issue 5

FA L L 2 019

FSU FLORENCE

ISSUE 5

ITALIANOLES

T HE A R T O F IN C L U S I V I T Y COVER Design by FSU Florence Program Fall 2019 Student Jessica Greelish

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“I can do things you cannot, you can do things I cannot; together we can do great things.�

Mother Teresa

FLORIDA STATE STAFF WRITERS

FSU FLORENCE STUDENTS FALL 2019 CATE ADAMS ABIGAIL BEDARD SAMANTHA BLOOM AUTUMN BOWMAR SAMANTHA BRENNER KASIDY BROWN GIANA CAREW APRIL D’INNOCENZI OLIVIA DIECIDUE THOMAS ETTER JACKSON FITE LOGAN FENIMORE NICHOLAS GIAMMARINO MADISON HAYES SHULIEN HERNANDEZ MADISON HOPKINS EMMA HUFF ALI HUTCHINGS SYDNEY JACKSON STEPHANIE KINDOS JAMES LATTANZI ERINN LYDEN JACQUELYN MATEOSKY JOEY MASELLA JULIA MULDER CATHERINE NUNNELLEE ANDRES PARKES RACHEL PHILLIS MARTHA POINTER PARIS RENDA NICOLE REYES DANIELA RODRIGUEZ CATALINA RODRIGUEZ ELIZA SATTERFIELD ANTONIO SOJOS SYDNEY SPRATT

FLORENCE PROGRAM MAGAZINE ISSUE 05 | FALL 2019

FSU INTERNATIONAL PROGRAMS - FLORENCE DIRECTOR FRANK NERO ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR LUCIA COSSARI SUPERVISOR

PATRICK MERLE

EDITORS-IN-CHIEF

COSTANZA MENCHI VERONICA LISSANDRINI - INTERN

CO-EDITOR

MARIA MICHELA MATTEI

SPECIAL THANKS TO THE PROFESSORS AND STAFF LUCA BUFANO KATHERINE DOWLING JAIME FREAS HALLIE GAUDIO AMY GULICK MARTHA HADLEY AOIFE KEOGH LUCAS LANCI CHARLES PANARELLA NADIA PATRONE EDUARDO SANIN GIACOMO SPROCCATI Special thanks to Jessica Greelish, FSU Florence Program Fall 2019 student, who

designed the original cover inspired by The Art of Inclusivity and FSU community in Florence. For the backcover we thank Professor Alan Pascuzzi.

We would like to thank our Director Frank Nero and Associate Director Lucia

Cossari for the great support and for sharing their passion and enthusiasm regarding this edition of ItaliaNoles.

SEAN HICKEY VALENTINA DANIEL VINEREAN

All photos by FSU students or Royalty Free.

CONTENTS FALL 2019 WELCOME LETTER STUDENT PERSPECTIVES FALL BREAK IS FOR: GALLERY HIGHLIGHTS A MESSAGE TO TOURISTS

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A BASTION OF LOCAL COMMUNITY

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VIA ROMANA 61

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A WALK TO SAN MINIATO

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THE URBINO TWO-STEP

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COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

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WORKING LOCALLY, GROWING GLOBALLY

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ALUMNI PROFILE: HALLIE GAUDIO

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THE “ART ANGELS” MEET THE “MUD ANGELS”

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MUD ANGELS PROFILE: ANNA MARIA NATI

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COMFORT THROUGH COMMUNITY: MONTEDOMINI MAKING FLORENCE HOME

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VOLUNTEERING TOGETHER: MYTATA

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THE BIG EVENT EVENT WITH THE U.S. CONSULATE GENERAL

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EMBRACING INCLUSIVITY: FABIO CRESCIOLI & FSU’S T-SHIRT FUNDRAISERS LIBRARY NEWS: ARCHIVE OF DR. FRED LICHT

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EXPANDING OUR COMMUNITY: FSU OPENS ITS DOORS TO ITALIAN INTERNS IN FASHION MERCHANDISING & COMMUNICATION

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ISSUE 5 ART & CULTURE

A FEW GOOD MEN: THE BUONOMINI OF SAN MARTINO

APPOINTMENT WITH DESTINY: FSU’S NEW HOME IN FLORENCE

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MENS SANA IN CORPORE SANO: SPORTS MATTER

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FILM REVIEW: DE SICA’S BICYCLE THIEVES

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FSU MEAL VOUCHERS PROGRAM REACHES NEW HEIGHTS

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HOW TO EAT YOUR WAY THROUGH FLORENCE

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ETHNIC CUISINE IN FLORENCE

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FANTASTIC PAIRINGS & WHERE TO FIND THEM

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PRACTICING ITALIAN TO BRIDGE GENERATIONS AT THE MONTEDOMINI SENIOR CENTER FIELD TRIP: HISTORY CLASS GOES TO THE PALAZZO PITTI FIELD TRIP: VISTAS ON FLORENCE CLASS AT GALILEO’S VILLA IL GIOEILLO

FASHION FOCUS

BETWEEN HERITAGE & THE EVOLUTION OF THE CONTEMPORARY: FERRAGAMO’S SUSTAINABLE VISION

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THE GUCCI MUSEUM’S GARDEN OF LOVE

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FOCUS: GUCCI & SOCIAL INCLUSION

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FASHION EDITORIAL: A MODERN FAIRYTALE

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INTERLUDE: CAPAREZZA’S VENGO DALLA LUNA

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SEASON’S GREETINGS TO THE WORLD: TIME FOR GIVING IN FLORENCE

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WELCOME LETTER

BY FSU FLORENCE DIRECTOR FRANK NERO

Dear FSU Florence Students, Faculty, Alumni, and Friends:

This year has been one of the most important years in the history of the FSU Florence Program. After fifty-three years we will finally have a permanent home owned by the university in a sixteenth-century renaissance palace, the Palazzo Bagnesi. Our new study center, which will be fully operational by September 2020, will provide our students and faculty with an architectural environment which is distinctly and historically Florentine with state-of-the-art academic facilities and technology. Our program owes a big debt of gratitude to Associate Director, Lucia Cossari, who has overseen this project from the beginning and is now bringing it to a magnificent conclusion. Over the course of the past three-and-a-half years, the Florence Program has tripled its enrollments in the fall, spring, and summer semesters—a testament to the investment our students, faculty, and staff have made with much hard work and dedication to academics and community, both within the walls of our study center and in the city of Florence. Our summer Communication Program, a partnership with the College of Communication and Information, continues to flourish; and our collaboration with the Jim Moran College of Entrepreneurship’s Made in Italy Heritage and Innovation Program enjoyed its first successful semester in Florence and will return in the summer of 2020. This year has also seen the conception and approval of an important relationship with the Dedman School of Hospitality, which will partner with us to launch a Vineyard Food and Wine Program aimed at giving Dedman students an experiential learning experience abroad. In collaboration with the Modern Languages Department, we are moving forward with a major-track, year-long program in Italian with a business concentration.

We have welcomed several new staff and faculty members to our Florence family in 2019, all of whom are doing valuable work for the program. We have enjoyed and profited from the additions of Giacomo Sproccati, our Student Life and Health Services Coordinator, who has also been doing a wonderful job with recruitment and retention; Eduardo Sanin, our Internship and Community Engagement Administrator, who has added internship opportunities at historical Florentine institutions including the Uffizi Gallery and the Accademia della Crusca; and long-time faculty member Costanza Menchi who has become our Fashion Merchandising and Communication Program Coordinator and Faculty Liaison. Giacomo, Eduardo, and Costanza teach classes for us as well. Additionally, as we have continued to broaden our curriculum the talents of new faculty members have made our program flourish. Lucas Lanci (Hospitality), Aoife Keogh (History), Alan Pascuzzi (Art History), Stefano Matini (Business), and Michelle Eccles (Fine Arts) have become permanent additions to our academic team. We have also welcomed a local intern, Veronica Lissandrini, who along with Costanza Menchi is coediting this edition of ItaliaNoles.

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OUR DIRECTORS: FRANK & LUCIA

This year FSU Florence has continued its dedication to inclusivity and community service. Never before have we had this many student volunteers, selflessly and enthusiastically working with economically-disadvantaged children at MyTata and Casa San Paolino, and the senior citizens at the Casa Montedomini. FSU Florence students, committed to the example first set by our 1966 Mud Angels, have spearheaded a pro bono marketing campaign for our non-profit partners at Advancing Women Artists as we have sought to draw international attention to their mission to restore and conserve important works of Florentine art by women. Through generous donations by our students and alumni for our program t-shirt, in 2019 alone we have raised close to 9,000 euro, all of which goes to Advancing Women Artists’ latest campaign to bring back to life the eighteenth-century paintings by Violante Ferroni in the Hospital of San Giovanni di Dio.

Our goals for the coming year are to be an integral part of FSU’s rise from number eleven in the nation to a top ten study abroad university, and to continue our respect and appreciation of the city beautiful, Florence, working side-by-side with its institutions and residents as we together enter into this new decade and new era for the program.

Wishing our Florida State University community the happiest of Holiday Seasons and a prosperous and healthy New Year.

Yours, Frank Nero

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STUDENT PERSPECTIVES

This section explores living and studying in Florence through our students’ eyes: from the wonders of traveling around Europe during Fall Break, to everyday experience in Florence’s streets and piazzas rich in history and cultural discovery. What does the term inclusivity mean for FSU students in Florence?

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Martha Hadley, Three Sisters, Glencoe in Scotland 2019.

Madison Hopkins, Tour Eiffel, Paris, 2019.

Nicolas Pauly, Joey Masella & Logan Fenimore, Amsterdam, 2019

Natalia Coiro, Louvre at Night, Paris, 2019.

Jaime Freas, Amsterdam, 2019.

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FALL BREAK IS FOR..

Martha Pointer, Turkey, 2019.

Madison Hayes & Joey Masella, Ibiza, 2019.

Martha Pointer, Turkey, 2019.

Jessica Greelish & Natalia Coiro, Switzerland, 2019.

Making new friends, exploring new places, eating delicious food. Fall Break at FSU Florence is about growing with your community and experiencing unique moments together. Our students have an opportunity to travel all around Europe (and not only!), opening their minds to the variety of wonderful cultures across the continent and enriching their cultural sensibility. Florence has the unique central location, both to visit Italy or abroad.

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Freshmen Composition and Rhetoric Class Professor Amy Gulick

A MESSAGE TO TOURISTS; SINCERELY THE DAUGHTER OF IMMIGRANTS

By Kasidy Brown

In a world sometimes characterized by disdain toward refugees and immigrants, Italy and the Italian people seem to be more accepting of those who seek refuge from other countries. One of the many things I noticed when I first moved to Italy was the amount of immigrants for which it is home. On my routine walk to school, I see many roadside shops or foldable tables used to display sunglasses, chargers, jewelry, and even water, manned by individuals who probably are immigrants or refugees. However, seeing some of the adverse reactions from tourists is somewhat infuriating.

Living in a new place, where you don’t know the language or the customs, is a situation I know all too well. As an abroad student, however, my experience is vastly different from someone seeking asylum here in Italy. People who have the courage to leave behind one world, to which they have become accustomed, and step into an entirely new one, in the name of their own well-being, is something I may not be able to relate to but can certainly respect.

In my own opinion, tourists can treat some immigrants too harshly. While trying to sightsee, it can be aggravating to have strangers walking up to you, trying to sell you goods that you have no desire to buy. On the other hand, no person deserves to be overlooked and ignored.

On my walk to school I notice plenty of starry-eyed tourists, barely glancing at the vendors only three feet away from them. Apart from those who may have seen the same man begging one too many times on the stroll back to their hotel and can muster up the kindness to look him in the eye just to say “no”, many tourists seem to pretend these people aren’t there. Overhearing American couples complaining about how the “unwanted guests” should just get a real job, not knowing the real struggles it takes to make a life for yourself when you are immediately deemed as an outsider, is discouraging.

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Students volunteering at San Paolino Center, Kasidy Brown, Fall 2019.

Giving back at San Paolino Center, Kasidy Brown, Fall 2019.

At Casa di San Paolino, a center for refugee and immigrant families, I have seen firsthand examples of the hardships faced by someone immigrating to a new country with nothing but their lives. Thankfully, despite what these families go through, the center provides them with essentials that may be a struggle for them to find otherwise. Examples of such basic needs could be access to a bathroom, a bed, and home-cooked dinners and snacks for their children.

All seemingly obvious things, that undoubtedly many tourists take for granted in their own lives, using their privileged perspective to judge those who have disrupted their vacation in Italy. Amazingly, I have noticed that tourists feel as though they are entitled to the vacation they have always dreamed of, with the luxuries of not dealing with real-world problems. However, for many immigrants, Italy is not exactly their vacation. Italy is their means of survival, and anyone who can look down on people trying to better their lives is intriguing to me. Being myself from a family of immigrants who have had to face adversities in America, I am no stranger to

what the life of an expatriate can look like. Trying to do any and every job to provide for yourself and help your family back home is a very tiring task--especially when also having to deal with people on holiday questioning why you are present in a country in which they believe you do not belong, claiming that you do not fit the aesthetic of what they thought their Italian vacation was going to be like. It is certainly disheartening. Regardless of how anyone treats these men, women, and children, they keep thriving.

So, for anyone who might be fed-up with immigrants or refugees inhabiting your block; remember that they are just trying to live, a right to which they are fully entitled. Simply because they aren’t doing it in a way that suits you, does not make them less than you or worthy of your disdain.

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Class visit with Professor Emiliano Wass at Casa del Popolo in Tavarnuzze, Fall 2019.

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A BASTION OF LOCAL COMMUNITY: CASA DEL POPOLO

By Daniel Vinerean

Since the start of the semester, one of my professors, Emiliano Wass, has mentioned that we would go on a field trip to “Casa del Popolo.” My initial thoughts were that the Casa del Popolo would be similar to a retirement residence for the elderly and that it would feel odd for us to intrude into their “home.” Eventually, we got onto a bus and took a short fifteen-minute journey to a small town just outside of Florence.

tion of the building in its early stages. Later, they showed us through the entire premises and it was shocking: the sheer size and amount of activities they offered could compete with a YMCA back in America. We saw children from the ages of 10-13 learning a play that was created by one of the Casa del Popolo’s members that they will perform later this year. They had a large theater with probably over 100 seats and a multitude of props and backdrops.

The town itself felt odd compared to Florence; the hustle and bustle was nowhere to be found, unlike in the large city. The buildings too weren’t ancient like Florence’s, but were only a few decades old. The Casa del Popolo wasn’t even especially outstanding and it’s likely that I wouldn’t have even noticed it if Professor Wass hadn’t stopped in front of it. The structure itself appeared as quite basic, a large two-story edifice, with a poster for a musical plastered on one of its front walls. Outside there were some elderly people talking.

Upstairs they established dance lessons for younger kids and placed a workout class right next door. Another room was for karate, taekwondo, and other martial arts. It was amazing that one could go from one room to another and could find a completely different activity. We even saw a live town hall meeting in which a local government official was talking to small business owners about regulations. The building also had a modern kitchen making it possible for the members to cook and raise money for their activities.

Professor Wass approached them, and as they saw him they stood up and greeted him. Two of the people who were talking, one man and one woman, were supposedly the ones who had agreed to allow our class to come and visit. The man was the accountant for the establishment, always ensuring that the budgets were public.

The woman, on the other hand, was the chairwoman for this Casa del Popolo. She was also this town’s former mayor of for ten years, and had worked closely with politicians in Florence since the districts were neighbors.

As they showed us in, they started telling us about the history and inner workings of the building. Just from the entranceway, one was able to see fliers, posters, boards, and spreadsheets from the plays that will be performed throughout the year, to karate and ballet lessons advertised, and even their budget and finances. They told us about how this building was constructed entirely by local volunteers, and it even had a fresco from an unknown artist depicting the crea-

On the ground floor there was a bar where lots of locals were clearly sitting, drinking, and chatting. Some played cards with Italian playing cards, and in the next room over there were at least fifteen people playing a form of billiards, five-pin, a version of the game which is offered only by a limited number of places in Italy.

After the tour, Professor Wass asked us to think about what we saw in relation to our class, Political Participation in the 21st Century. I thought about how the Casa del Popolo brought the local community together and provided a common meeting ground. I thought about the lack of these local groups and the difficulty I have experienced in trying to get members for clubs and groups in the US. Lastly, I thought how this building served as one of the few bastions left for the culture and games that are dying out in modern-day Italy. This experience and class have been eye-opening for me as I continue to think about everyday life and people with a new perspective.

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VIA ROMANA 61

By Catherine Nunnelee

Hopping out of the taxi at Via Romana 61, I was unsure of what to expect. The building was daunting and with my three suitcases all marked as “heavy” by the airline, I prayed I would be on the bottom floor since I knew that Italy’s buildings are rarely equipped with elevators. To my disappointment, I was placed on the top floor, the penthouse. After a tremendous struggle to drag each of my suitcases to my new penthouse apartment, I realized it had been worth the struggle.

There is a beautiful view of the gardens I look out upon as I study, an incredible view of the sunset from my shower, and a view of the busy street below as I cook.

My room is what one could consider downsizing, instead of a room to myself bigger than my bedroom at home, it was half the size and was shared with three other girls I had only briefly met at orientation. Again, this was another big adjustment but one of the hundreds I had been expecting to face. We each have our style of doing things, but we have found a way to create a community among ourselves, even earning the nickname “The Penthouse Girls” from others in our building. We have a schedule in which we cook for each other and walk to school with each

Via Romana, Catherine Nunnelee, 2019.

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other. We’ve bonded by going out at night and exploring Florence, always stopping for a quick Instagram photo.

This time abroad wouldn’t have been the same without the strong bond we have formed, which has allowed us to travel and explore not only Italy but also Europe.

Not only was a sense of community established in room 305, but the apartment as a whole has become a family. We occasionally have potlucks where each room contributes something to the meal and it turns into quite the montage of food since we are mainly college freshmen with limited culinary skills. We have two program assistants who have made this an even more wholesome experience, from life advice, school advice or just somewhere to hang out; they have opened their doors to us as friends we all love and respect.

Via Romana 61 has become one of the most iconic aspects of living in Italy. We constantly complain about our 25-minute walk to school, but the everyday cross over the Ponte Vecchio as we push through all the tourists, reminds us of how lucky we are to be living in such a beautiful place. It is magical to cross it around sunset or early in the morning when it isn’t overpopulated; I find myself straying from the path home just to look out onto the water and reflect on what an amazing experience living in Florence is. I wouldn’t have wanted to begin my college career in any other way, since I feel that living here is teaching me not only in the classroom, but outside of it as well. I have had to become more assertive with the world around me and I take every stride knowing these same roads have been walked on for hundreds of years by famous artists and aristocrats.

A WALK TO SAN MINIATO

By Joey Masella Florence: my new home. Growing up in a somewhat dull, unfulfilling town, the transition to living in Florence was vast!

Florence is the birthplace of the Renaissance, the home of brilliant-minded Galileo, sensational Michelangelo, and so many other talented, historical figures. The history of this city is richer than the chocolate gelato it offers, which is to die for by the way. Despite this history, the experience itself of being here is another high point: full of new, fun experiences - since this is also my first time living without parents - and interesting people. As clichĂŠ as it may seem, being able to study abroad in Florence is truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Much of the giddy feeling I have waking up each morning is accredited to the low amount of stress that is currently present in my life. Since I have been abroad, I no longer have to work, do as many chores, and I have a relatively simple class schedule. Most of all, my inner happiness is accredited to this city’s sheer beauty. It has become a weekly ritual of mine to stroll through the city, with my earbuds in, letting my thoughts drift throughout my mind, allowing me to put my mind at ease. My favorite and most common spot for this is the Abbazia di San Miniato al Monte.

The Abbazia di San Miniato al Monte (San Miniato) is an historical and medieval basilica, located on one of the highest points in Florence, somewhat isolated from the rest of the city. It is, in my opinion, one of the most underrated sites in Florence. Everything about the church is so cleverly constructed in detail, giving life and thought to even the smallest features of the building. Personally, my favorite part of San Miniato is the journey required to reach the church.

It is approximately a thirty-minute walk from my apartment near Santa Croce. Passing by the surreal view of the Arno river on my way there, especially right before sunset, is jaw-dropping. I cannot help but snap a photo to send to friends every time I walk by. Although tiring, due to going uphill for so long, the view that San Miniato has to offer may be the greatest I have ever seen and is well worth the walk. No matter how many times I visit, the feeling I receive never gets old. It intoxicates me with its beauty. Admiring one of the finest examples of Romanesque architecture along with the large, gold mosaics of Jesus are a privilege.

Although I would not consider myself to be the most religious man, being in this place truly gives my body a holy feeling. Upon entering this fine structure, the smell of in-

Walking to San Miniato, Joey Masella, 2019. cense immediately enters my nostrils. The quiet and bliss atmosphere inside are unmatched in comparison to any other church I have been to. The intricate art on the walls, full of gold and jewels, looks like stars in the night sky. Admiring them is much like stargazing.

The floor and pillars, like most of the church, were constructed with white and green marble. The low, somewhat monotone sound of the monks’ chanting rituals inside adds to this culturally enriching experience.

After my seemingly long journey to reach San Miniato, I usually stroll throughout the church for about fifteen minutes. I then walk outside and stand by the gates, admiring the surreal skyline of Florence, sometimes for up to an hour. Gazing upon this beautiful sight puts my mind at ease and causes me to contemplate life. These walks I take every week are my form of guidance-counseling, and I leave feeling refreshed after each single visit. Words cannot truly express how I feel being present in San Miniato. It is because of San Miniato, as well as the overall sheer beauty and history this city has to offer, and the memories shared with friends, that make me delighted to call this place my second home.

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Urbino View, Jackson Fite, 2019.

Urbino Visit, Jackson Fite, 2019.

THE URBINO TWO-STEP

By Jackson Fite

Life at Florida State University’s campus in Florence has been nothing short of an adventure. Each day brings new opportunities for growth and learning, which would not have been available in other parts of the world. Classes are broken up between discussions in the rooms inside the Alessandri Palace, and then we get the chance to walk through the streets of the city to gain hands-on experience with the language, history, and art. Another benefit is the ability to travel and explore the beautiful country that is Italy.

The program organizes multiple trips for the students to take part in throughout the semester to help immerse them in the rich cultures that can be found in the different regions in Italy. We are able to attend sponsored trips all over the country so that the confusion of travel expenses and means of transportation is not the worry of the students. From swimming in the crystal clear turquoise waters of the Amalfi Coast, to picking olives in the rolling hills of Tuscany, the experiences we lived will never be forgotten. However, none of the excursions have matched the trip to the wonderful town of Urbino.

Urbino would most likely not be the first choice for tourists wanting to travel across Italy. However, they would unknowingly be missing some of the richest Italian Renaissance history. During the trip, we were given special access to the grand Palazzo Ducale, which is one of the main attractions of the region. The palace was built

by Federico da Montefeltro, a military leader and Duke of Urbino. Federico loved art and history, and dedicated much of his life to building libraries and gathering great works of art. This, in combination with the elegant architecture and sheer size of the palace, is enough to impress anyone who passes through its entrance. We were even able to climb up the city’s tallest tower inside the palace and look out onto the beautiful countryside.

Not only did the trip provide us with a wonderful hands-on experience about the history of Urbino and the renaissance capital it was, but it also introduced us to the city’s contemporary culture. After a day of touring the beautiful churches and palaces, all of the students and staff attended a gargantuan feast. One of the greatest features about being part of a semester study abroad program is the relationships built with the professors and staff members. As we sat down for dinner, I had my roommates all sitting next to me on my left, and my Italian professor and program assistant on my right. Due to the smaller class sizes and extracurricular activities provided, such as traveling, everyone in the program becomes part of a family. We enjoyed a five course meal together, including salads, various pastas, mixed grill dishes, and a delicious tiramisu dessert, all while laughing together and remembering the incredible sights we had seen only hours before.

After dinner, many of the students and staff strolled through the streets of Urbino before returning to the hotel for the night. Eventually we found ourselves in a small piazza filled with locals and tourists alike, all coexisting and enjoying the night together. The openair piazza was filled with the music of a rocking Elvisstyle band who played songs in English and Italian to satisfy both crowds. We all sang throughout the night with the band and strangers around us. I watched as the staff members laughed together while the students danced and two-stepped to the swing of the music.

I could not picture a better place to be than with my new family in one of the greatest countries in the world.

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COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

In this section we discover all the possibilities created by FSU so that students have an opportunity to give back to the Florentine community in order to gain special insights into Italian culture. Our students dive into an array of wonderful opportunities, from volunteering and making new friends at Montedomini, to completing interesting internship programs. We also explore the personal and professional achievements of our alumni.

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WORKING LOCALLY, GROWING GLOBALLY

By Eduardo Sanin Prorgram Administrator & Community Engagement Coordinator

opportunity to engage in their work and mission, affording them unique insights into the local culture and life.

Particularly, FSU Florence offers its students internship opportunities in the areas of Art History, Architecture, Interior Design, Fashion Design, Hospitality, Political Science, International Relations, Journalism and Printmaking. Having this variety of opportunities allows students from different backgrounds and fields-of-interest to tailor their experience in order to have a comprehensive and rich learning process while studying abroad.

History of Art Internship Since 1966 the FSU Florence Program has sought to develop a meaningful presence in the heart of the beautiful Tuscan capital. As this International Program has developed and broadened, so too has its ties and collaboration with the local community.

FSU Florence is proud to have established a dynamic and engaging network with local businesses, organizations and cultural centers throughout the historic city.

The Florence program partners with organizations such as the world-renowned Uffizi Gallery, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as well as the Precious Villas Luxury Estate Center, just to name a few. These are all institutions that offer students internship placements and an

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As an international study center, FSU Florence recognizes the nature of the evolving global culture. In an era defined by the globalization of different aspects of the human condition, we believe our student interns can harness skills to thrive and gain insights into the way societies around the world are evolving, exploring new forms of work and research. Hence, the Florence study center not only provides the abroad experience in the classroom but encourages students to explore and engage with the local community, to actively participate therein. We believe that academic formation is not limited simply to what you read or write, but is directly linked to the experiences you go through and how you confront them, actively developing problem-solving skills, among other life lessons, which can be carried into the future.

For this reason, the staple of ‘learning-by-doing’ holds particular relevance. We connect students to work alongside a professional team in prominent organizations throughout the Italian and global community in Florence. The aim is to help students to develop crucial skills for a bright future in an ever-growing international network of institutions and activities. By working closely with local partners, students learn the history of these centers, the successful working models they have developed, the relevance and importance of that specific sector, as well as what larger role it plays in the community. This learning process can take place in a variety of ways: from handling promotional initiatives of the organization and assisting in a city-wide event learning the logistics that go behind it, to carefully

“Having this variety of opportunities allows students from different backgrounds and fields of interest to tailor their experience in order to have a comprehensive and rich learning process while studying abroad.”

Uffizi Gallery Internship

“... the city of Florence is more than a geographical location, a gathering of people or a conglomerate of historical buildings.”

handling old tomes and learning their story, and creating new and exciting products meant to set innovative trends and ideas. These opportunities allow our students to insert themselves in a way that compliments their academic growth while contributing to a larger cause.

As students engage in this adventure through their academic path, they will work with such figures of the Florentine community and many others, discovering specific techniques, promoting the company’s mission, and growing alongside the organization as they develop and hone skills which will enrich students for the rest of their lives.

Simply put, Florence is a ‘Movable Feast’, a term coined by author Ernest Hemmingway and adopted by our Director Frank Nero to describe the Florence Program. It indicates that the city of Florence is more than a geographical location, a gathering of people or a conglomerate of historical buildings. It is an idea that transcends these notions and nests itself within the individuals who experience it so that the lessons, relationships and tools developed here can then be used in different moments in time in different aspects in life, never ceasing to contribute to the endless journey which is personal development, growth and a deeper understanding of their position and possibilities in a globalized society.

Hospitality Internship

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ALUMNI PROFILE: HALLIE GAUDIO

By Hallie Gaudio Program Coordinator at FSU International Programs

At Work, Hallie Gaudio, 2019.

When applying with International Programs to become an intern in the spring of 2017, I had no idea the tremendous and lasting impact it would have on my life.

While in Florence, I spent time both taking courses as well as interning. When I went abroad, it was my senior year so I was able to enroll in elective courses.

My passions at the time were not fully developed but I knew for a fact that I wanted to spend time abroad. I went to Florence, Italy in fall of 2017 to both study and work as an operations intern with a travel and tourism company called Florencetown. I can say that, without a doubt, this experience changed the trajectory of my life.

This time altered everything from the way I looked at the world and other people, to the way I enjoy food and culture, to where I have ended up on a professional level – working as a full time staff on main campus with Florida State University International Programs!

I took the third level of Italian as well as a course on Italian history. Being able to take Italian while living and learning in Italy helped me to pick up the nuances of the language in a fundamental way. I cherish that experience and wish that everyone with a desire to learn a language could do it while actually speaking with people native to that language. My Italian history course taught me everything from the unification of Italy to the current political climate. This course was fascinating to me. As an Italian and American citizen, this course helped me to learn so much about the history of where my family came from.

My time abroad allowed me to discover a passion for a field that I don’t think I would have ever guessed I would have a found a love for.

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Our instructor spent a lot of time comparing cultures and information to help us better understand our global community. Both of my classes abroad have made a lasting impact.

The true gem of my experience abroad, however, was my time spent interning. International Programs helped to place me in an internship based on my interests and goals, the on-site internship coordinator in Florence then helped connect me to the company, after a skype interview with Florencetown, I was offered the internship.

Not only was this opportunity extremely fun, but it gave me a leg up when I got home and started interviewing for jobs and looking for future professional and educational opportunities. At Florencetown, I spent my days working on the back end of certain tours, helping with main office operations, and going on some tours with the company (for free – as part of my internship!).

I was able to participate in some of the coolest experiences: wine tours, cooking classes, guided museum visits, city bicycle tours, and more! I spent a lot of time helping brainstorm how to improve certain processes and guest experiences and I even was able to go on a competitor’s tour to learn about what they may offer that we could too.

Studying in Florence, Hallie Gaudio, 2017.

Overall, being able to practice my Italian, gain professional experience, and immerse myself fully with locals who live and work in Florence was incredible.

Growing up I always knew I wanted to work in a capacity that allowed me to express my passions for learning about other cultures and traveling. Thankfully, I found this incredible experience in Florence that has helped to lead me to working with FSU International Programs, helping students to discover their passions and explore so much of what the world has to offer.

Having interned and gained experience working abroad I am now able to transition into the professional workplace with ease and excitement. In addition to the amazing times, this experience helped me learn so much about myself. I was able to gain a perspective on independence and responsibility that was new and sometimes quite emotionally difficult. However, in the end, I left Florence feeling so grateful for all that the city and the program had to offer me educationally, emotionally, and professionally.

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Advancing Women Artists Studio, 2019.

Social Media Campaign Class with the restorer Elizabeth Wicks, shot inside the Fontani Wicks Vincenti restoration studio, partner of AWA in the restoration of the large - scale painting of Violante Ferroni “Saint John of God Healing Plague Victims”. The painting, from the mid 18th century and originally displayed in the San Giovanni di Dio Hospital, will be restored thanks to the recently launched AWA’s fundraising campaign called The Art of Healing.

FSU is proudly contributing to the project.

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Social Media Campaigns Class Professor Maria Michela Mattei

THE “ART ANGELS” MEET THE “MUD ANGELS”

By Jaime Freas Program Assistant

In 1966 when Florida State University crafted a Study Abroad Program located in Florence, Italy, it was assumed that the largest challenge would be managing college students in an unfamiliar culture. However, when the Arno River began to flood it was soon realized that they would face much larger obstacles.

The flood was the worst Florence had ever experienced as its aftermath coated the city with 600,000 tons of mud and water. The city’s world-famous museums, the pride of Florentine identity, were severely threatened and over 14,000 works of art were destroyed. Left without power or running water, the students were given the option to return home.

Instead of taking the easy route, they chose to stay and immediately went into the city to volunteer to recover works of art, help clean, and carry in water from the countryside. Locals took notice of their hard work and dedication and soon began calling these students Gli angeli del fango, “The Mud Angels.”

Today, Florida State University Florence strives to uphold the legacy of the Mud Angels by dedicating time and resources to initiatives that foster and enrich the local community. Within this context, FSU Florence has partnered with Advancing Women Artists (AWA) in a project called “The Mud Angels Meet

The Art Angels.” AWA is a non-profit organization that finds, restores, and exhibits forgotten historical works of art by female artists, thus unveiling the hidden half of Florentine art. As part of this collaboration, FSU students provide fundraising by accepting donations for limited edition tee-shirts, and even more engaging is that each donation is matched by a local business, The Lion’s Fountain. Additionally, FSU Florence students taking the Social Media Campaigns course sharpen their skills by contributing to the online presence of AWA. This portion of the partnership includes revamping the AWA website, suggesting Instagram posts, and creating media visual content that aligns with the organization’s mission.

AWA’s current restoration project is titled “The Art of Healing” and involves Violante Ferroni’s The Saint Visits Plague Victims, which was removed from the atrium of the old hospital of San Giovanni di Dio. The painting was done in the 1700s, and it is a large and prestigious work, measuring 8 x 11.5 feet, completed during a time when women were typically not given commissions at all. Though once a vibrant and meticulously-painted work, through the years the painting has been darkened by centuries of dirt, flaking, holes and tears. With the help of FSU students preserving the spirit of our Mud Angels and the Art Angels of AWA, the work will be restored to its former brilliance and exhibited in order to give it the respect and recognition it certainly deserves.

Piazza Santa Croce During the Flood, 1966.

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MUD ANGELS PROFILE: ANNA MARIA NATI

AN INTERVIEW WITH FSU FLORENCE FIRST PROGRAM COORDINATOR

By Professor Maria Michela Mattei Translated by Director Frank Nero

Director Frank Nero, Mrs. Anna Maria Nati and Associate Director Lucia Cossari, 2019.

On November 20th, 2019, the FSU Florence Program hosted special guest, Anna Maria Nati, FSU’s first Florence Program Coordinator. Mrs. Nati worked for FSU from 1966 to 1968, and is still much beloved by her former students, The Mud Angels. She performed integral and important duties for FSU during the Flood, and now in her eighties, Mrs. Nati is still lively as ever. She admired the study center’s display of photographs and memorabilia from the Mud Angels, and approved of the current volunteer opportunities our students engage in throughout the Florentine community. She sat down for a wonderful chat with FSU Florence Director, Frank Nero, Associate Director, Lucia Cossari, Professor Michela Mattei, Librarian, Kate Dowling, and Program Assistant Jaime Freas.

Mrs. Nati also came bearing gifts. After fifty-three years she decided to donate her personal collection of objects from the 1966 flood, including photographs, one which depicts all the faculty and administration from 1966, as well as books, newspaper clippings, and postcards. Mrs. Nati located these objects while doing renovation work on her house, and it was her wish that FSU Florence properly preserve and display them in our new study center in Via dei Neri as tangible and visual memories of the program’s beginnings. Below are some of the highlights of her visit.

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Hello Mrs. Nati, welcome back to Florida State University! What was your role with FSU in 1966 during our university’s first semester in Florence?

I was very young, in my late twenties, over fifty years ago. I was hired

by Florida State University in the role of Program Coordinator. As a result, I took care of all the logistical work, from welcoming the students and their general wellbeing, to planning out meals, field trips, and excursions. The academic part of the program was arranged by the director and the professors, all of whom came from The States. One of the aspects of my position that I remember most was that I was the arguer-in-chief when it came to the staff of the hotel where FSU’s first study center was located, making sure our students had the everyday necessities required for their studies and living. The Albergo Capri was not a pleasure palace in those days, but the year after FSU rented the Villa Fabbricotti, which was a much nicer facility with little problems.

What is one memory that has stayed with you from that time?

Mrs. Anna Maria Nati & Director Frank Nero, 2019.

I have wonderful memories. The students were fantastic, but what I remember most of all is that even when faced with the difficulties associated with being far away from home, in another country, from differences in food to the basic rhythms of life, they were always enthusiastic and collaborative.

Did this experience, having this sort of contact with youths from across the ocean, enrich in any way your personal and professional life?

One of the reasons why I applied for the position at FSU was that I had had the opportunity to spend two years studying at a college in Minnesota thanks to a Ford Foundation Scholarship I had won. At the time, this scholarship was offered by the U.S. Consulate’s USIS office, the United States Information Service. This was how I was able to really improve my English. It was in 1955, an era when traveling long distance wasn’t as easy as it is today. I have to thank my parents for this opportunity too, because they always allowed me the freedom to travel, facilitating my interest in an international education. My experience in America left a profound mark on my entire life, career, and character. During that time with no cellphones or internet, remaining in contact with one’s family wasn’t easy at all and I had to learn to take care of myself. I left on a ship, and it took ten days to reach America. I returned several times to the United States until 1970. After that I never returned.

What does the term Angeli del fango, Mud Angels, mean to you? Does it bring forth any feelings, sensations, memories?

The evening before the flood I was at dinner with three of the female students on the program, and I remember that we were at a restaurant near the river. Jennifer House, one of these students, asked me, “Anna Maria, does it always rain this hard in Florence?” I laughed it off saying, “no, come on, it’s rained much worse than this before.” I’m still in touch with Jennifer House, my friend, who has returned to Florence for many years to visit me and stay at my house in the country. Anyway, I still remember that dinner because, unfortunately, the weather worsened, pouring hard the whole

Mrs. Anna Maria Nati signing the Alumni Book, 2019.

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night. The next day we found ourselves caught in the great flood. In those days I lived in Piazza Poggi, where the Tower of San Niccolo’ is, that’s where I took these photographs.

Somehow, with great difficulty, I made it across the river to Piazza San Marco and the Via XXVII Aprile to the Albergo Capri, which was FSU’s Study Center and where the students were housed. I built up some courage, and I was able to gather all the students together and I said to them, “Ragazzi!

It’s time to get to work! No school! We have to get to work for the city!” I remember that I began to divide them up into groups, leading them out to the worst hit areas where they were calling for volunteers: Santa Croce, The National Library, the Villa Donatello Clinic, wherever there was a need.

There is another specific memory I have of Jennifer House, who was volunteering at the National Library. She was dressed in dungarees and had a baseball-style cap on with short hair, and as she went to go upstairs at the library to work with the other girls, an administrator called out, “Hey, Ragazzo! Hey boy, you have to go to the basement with the rest of the boys. The basement was where the most mud and damage were, and despite the mistaken identity, Jennifer dutifully went downstairs to assist, working with the guys pulling books from the mud.

Even today we greet each other by saying, “Hey, Ragazzo!”

1966 Memories, 2019.

The students were exceptional; they responded with a unique sense of responsibility. I have a wonderful memory of two FSU students who even helped my aunt, who had more than a foot of water in her ground floor apartment in Via Ricasoli. I remember them spending the entire day shoveling the mud out of her house and onto the streets to be picked up by the carts. They had a sense of selflessness, as if the flood had hit one of their own hometowns. In only a couple of months, Florence had become their hometown too.

Do you have any memories of Director Tanzy?

I don’t remember many names, but I do have lovely memories of the director and professors as exquisite people. We got along very well. The photo I brought you shows one of our pleasing

1966 Newspaper brought by Mrs. Anna Maria Nati, 2019.

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and convivial moments, an evening party at the pool of the Cascine Park. It dates to September 1966, so two months before the flood, and here you can see what a close-knit group we were. Americans love to have parties--they were always throwing parties! In the photo I remember Professor Givens, who taught Italian, and Professor Pulman.

How has Florence changed?

I find the city to be very different than it was in 1966. I believe much of this is due to an unsustainable amount of mass tourism. For this reason, during the summers I always move to my house in the country. It’s not easy anymore to live in the historical downtown of Florence. I understand in a certain sense tourism can bring some dynamism and economic benefits to the city, but now more often than not the tourism industry has become a sort of “hit-and-run” tourism, “mordi e fuggi,” bite and run, which only consumes and does not give much in return to Florence like academic programs.

Near the end of our conversation, Mrs. Nati revealed that she couldn’t tell us much because someone is already writing a book about her life story, but she readily accepted Ms. Cossari’s invitation to join us at our fall semester farewell dinner. She also expressed a desire to be present at the grand opening of FSU’s new study center next fall with the hope of reuniting with some of her former students, the Mud Angels. Before saying her goodbyes, Mrs. Nati wrote the following message in English in our FSU Florence Program Alumni Guestbook: “FSU is always in my heart and I miss my old friends, but I’m happy to have found new ones.”

Mrs. Anna Maria Nati, 2019.

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Volunteering Initiatives Giacomo Sproccati - Student Life and Health Services Coordinator

COMFORT THROUGH COMMUNITY: MONTEDOMINI

By Antonio Sojos and James Lattanzi

Antonio and James are two FSU freshmen students, and they tell us about their experience as volunteers at the Montedomini Center. They tell us about the reasons why they decided to volunteer and about their struggles as native English speakers in an Italian-only context. They also elaborate on what volunteering taught them. After moving to Italy, Antonio realized he had to dedicate some of his time to the community in order to be fully involved. Antonio was eager to volunteer, and when the opportunity came up, he gladly accepted it especially because he had enjoyed volunteering at a nursing home in Florida throughout his high school years. Antonio was very curious to see how this volunteer program would affect his life in Italy.

Similarly, James had volunteered to help those in need in the Bahamas and the Appalachian Mountains, he knew that continuing to do so in Italy would help him to adapt to his new surroundings. To his surprise, James found that he was not volunteering for a particular task, but rather to provide comfort to the residents. Initially, James thought that he would be completely unable to communicate with the elderly residents, and that they would become angry with his lack of knowledge of the Italian language. Antonio felt the same way, but despite their nervous feelings, James noticed that the language barrier broke down slowly. He was proven wrong as many residents were slow to anger and helped him along the way. With the little English the residents knew and could speak to James with, they complimented his beginning-level Italian. Introduced to the staff as well as a few welcoming residents, James soon felt more comfortable with his surroundings.

In the weeks that followed, James started understanding some of what the residents were asking him, mostly being normal questions. With a simple “e tu?,” James began to have a slight understanding of where the residents were from, their names, and other basic information that they also asked him. Many residents exclaimed that James looked like their grandson, or complimented him and the other volunteer with whom he was working. As a result, James felt welcomed during his time at the center, and he was greeted with a warm welcome upon his weekly return. Content with his minuscule ability to communicate, the residents seemed to enjoy James’s company during the weekly sessions of gymnastics, small-talk, and joking.

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Like James, Antonio had also concerns about the language barrier. Indeed, when he first arrived at Montedomini and met both the residents and the staff, he was barely able to communicate with the very little Italian he knew. Antonio almost felt like an animal who was being spoken to by other people because he could not understand what they were telling him. As Antonio interacted with more and more of the residents, he met one particular man who had the same name as him; Antonio, who was native of Ethiopia and could speak understandable English. As a result, Antonio, the resident, acted as a mediator for the differences of culture between James and Antonio, the student, and the residents, as well as the language barrier that created a nervous feeling at their arrival. Antonio Senior helped Antonio Junior and his roommate James communicate with the residents.

After getting to know the residents a little, Antonio too began to feel more confident in his new volunteer service.

Antonio noticed that speaking to the residents and getting to know them was only one part of his volunteer service.

For him, what was most interesting was when he had the opportunity to meet actual Italians who could help him better understand Italian culture and language. The other part included doing certain activities with the residents, in order to keep them entertained and fully engaged. The most important activity they did with the residents was the exercise class. It was very important to them since it was their only opportunity to work out during the whole week. Antonio was very surprised how efficiently most of the residents could do these exercises. The first time Antonio exercised with them he felt very weak after barely being able to complete the whole workout; his muscles ached for two days after the workout. Antonio was very interested in knowing how the residents were so motivated to work out. Even though not all the residents worked out, the ones who did managed to get through the routine. These activities where meant to keep the residents engaged and helped them have some fun.

James observed that the residents were often tired in the early morning hours, which sometimes caused a lack of participation during gymnastics. James was impressed by some of the more humorous residents as they would crack jokes about those who were falling asleep in their chairs. By counting with the residents during each exercise, James found that more people felt comfortable participating. The loud voices while counting also kept awake those who would normally be falling asleep!

Antonio believes that volunteering at Montedomini made his study abroad experience better. It helped him involve himself with the community and helped him learn more about Italian culture and language.

Not only did this volunteer experience help Antonio learn new things, but it also helped the residents of Montedomini feel cared about. This volunteer experience was also very meaningful to Antonio because it allowed him to be more involved in the Florentine community and allowed him to expand his knowledge by understanding how other people in a different cultures live and think. This experience provided Antonio with a one-of-a-kind occurrence that made his time studying abroad meaningful.

Students Volunteering at Montedomini, 2019.

For James, discovering that his volunteer work at the retirement home brought comfort to the residents could not have made him happier with his choice!

Different from the cultures he experienced in other places, James found that this volunteer experience brought a new element of knowledge to the table.

The diverse group of people within the retirement home provided a unique learning experience that James received by choosing to volunteer abroad!

Interactive Activities with Florentine Senior Citizens at Montedomini, 2019.

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MAKING FLORENCE HOME: MY EXPERIENCES

By Stephanie Kindos

Volunteering in general is a beneficial experience for people of all ages. Some do it for the simple joy of being involved in the community and helping others. Though if you’re a student like I am, you may need extra volunteer hours for your major, a club, or a scholarly society. Working with organizations abroad is an entirely new experience when compared to volunteering in your home community. Not only do you get to interact with new people who have walked different paths than you, but you begin to realize that people all over the world are more similar than you think. You can learn a lot from another person when you take the time to walk in their shoes and listen to what they have learned over time.

age them to say as many words as possible in English.

It’s adorable to watch all the children sing the English songs. This is a wonderful opportunity for students who know little Italian because the women who run the organization encourage participants to solely speak English, so the children are exposed to the language as much as possible in order to learn. The women who run the group are hardworking, lighthearted, and charismatic people who are successful at what they do, having a huge impact on their community. I enjoy working with them and would recommend this opportunity to anyone looking to work with such great people and interact with wonderful children of all ages. If you look to be a future educator, I would encourage this experience.

When deciding where to study abroad, I realized that FSU’s Broad Curriculum Program in Italy was the only one that mentioned an opportunity to volunteer with the local community in Florence.

This was the main factor that led me to choose Florence as my home for the Fall 2019 semester. I knew that by volunteering during my abroad experience, I would be able to meet locals who could teach me a lot about my new temporary home. In Florence, the Program Administrator and Community Engagement Coordinator, Eduardo, is a great help to get anyone set up with their volunteer experience!

Here in Florence I volunteer with two different organizations: MyTata and the Montedomini Senior Center. MyTata means my babysitter in Italian, which fits perfectly as the organization is focused on teaching English through games and activities to local children. Here I work with the local youth as they learn to speak my native language.

We normally make arts and crafts and sing songs with the children, trying to constantly encour-

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Volunteering with MyTata, 2019.

The second place I volunteer for is Montedomini, a local senior center. Here, I interact with senior community members through various games and activities. The goal here is to keep the center’s members engaged by asking questions or through small physical activities.

The people who attend and run this center are very kind and welcoming. This volunteer experience is like MyTata in the sense that you get to interact with the community members, but it is also different since very few people at Montedomini speak English. I would recommend this volunteer opportunity to students who want to practice their Italian skills in a real-life setting, and to students who may enjoy learning from the older generations in Italy. The seniors here will even help you learn their language, like when they taught me how to count in Italian. In exchange for their guidance, I had the chance to teach them how to count in English.

Both volunteering locations are near the study center, and the commute is an easy walk. MyTata offers multiple locations to volunteer since they have many labs with different age ranges. If the volunteer chooses to go to a separate location, their commute is easily accessible by bus. Overall, both volunteer organizations host great opportunities for students to get more in-

Teaching the Children English, MyTata, 2019.

volved with the community around them.

You get to meet new people and discover new parts of the city. For future students who are interested, this could open doors for chances to form relationships and develop job skills for the future. Volunteering with both organizations has taught me patience and that people in Italy are a lot like the people in America. If you are thinking twice about where to study abroad, I wouldn’t think any longer. Florence is the place to be for many reasons, but most of all because of the volunteer experiences. By coming here, you expand your own knowledge and truly make Florence a home.

Students and Senior Citizens in Conversation at Montedomini, 2019.

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MyTata Volunteer Program, 2019.

Workshop with MyTata, 2019.

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VOLUNTEERING TOGETHER: MYTATA

By Martha Hadley Program Assistant

Florida State University has always prided itself on being active in community service, and in Florence, this philosophy is no different. MyTata is an organization whose volunteer partnership with Florida State University began this semester in Fall of 2019.

MyTata’s mission is to teach local children the English language through captivating learning sessions called Labs. Tata, meaning babysitter, implies that volunteers will watch over these children, growing a bond with them as they teach them. I was fortunate enough to be an FSU volunteer for MyTata this semester, and I experienced the fulfilment involved with teaching English to young children, watching a program develop to its fullest potential.

At the start, I found myself fascinated as I walked through charming streets and shops upon which I had never laid eyes. Finding my way to St. James Church on Via Bernardo Rucellai, I passed Santa Maria Novella, the train station, and the Corsini Gardens to arrive at an early twentieth-century American church, where David Bowie got married beneath the neo-gothic naves. I soon realized I had a decent grasp of the city center’s layout. Nestled in a beautiful area, St. James Church was a newer location for MyTata, and thus, careful preparation for their Labs was needed. Most of my time was spent organizing materials for arts-and-crafts projects, laminating and cutting out cartoon images of vocabulary words such as “cat” and “grandpa,” and practicing the lyrics of many sing-along songs.

Later in the semester, I was introduced to the intriguing idea of seeing my work come to fruition, an idea that would push me to experience the larger Florentine area. Despite their offer to pay for my public transportation to the Statuto location, I opted to walk 40 minutes instead of taking the buses the first time because I was too nervous! That evening, their kind employees and other volunteers guided me through the tram system until I was comfortable getting home on my own. Not only was I helping them, they were helping me.

Now, as if I were a local, it has become part of my routine to wait for the C1 Bus, the 11 or the 14 by the Post Office and take their respective routes to get to my kids. While most of them hardly speak English, I can tell Nessa really enjoys learning about family when I try to give her a high five for a job well done, but I receive a hug in return instead. When Andres meows at me because he sees me holding the word “cat,” I giggle to myself. It is heartwarming to see smiles widen and eyes light up just because we are going to play word-learning hopscotch.

While the point of my service was to teach English, I have found myself speaking and understanding more Italian thanks to the MyTata community. They do not hesitate to explain Italian phrases to me, and they told me to always ask for help whenever I need it. Sometimes, I am still unsure of where a station is or which bus is the best option, so I ask in Italian, and even if it is not the best Italian, it’s been the best way to leave my American shell, so easy and comfortable while studying abroad.

Between cutting out images of family members and having a child run up to show me his toilet-paper-rollcotton-ball-hair Grandpa he made, I am beyond grateful for the experience MyTata has given me. Not only do I feel more comfortable commuting through a city much larger than I knew, but I have integrated into a community of like-minded individuals who find tremendous joy in the innocent wonders of children and their eagerness to learn.

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Volunteering Initiatives Eduardo Sanin - Program Administrastor and Community Engagement Coordinator

THE BIG EVENT WITH THE U.S. CONSULATE GENERAL

By Eduardo Sanin Program Administrator & Community Engagement Coordinator

The BIG Event in Florence is an initiative by the U.S. Consulate General of Florence to celebrate the bicentennial of the American diplomatic presence in the Tuscan capital. This year the BIG Event, an initiative that seeks to strengthen the bonds of friendship and service between American universities and Florence, took place on October 2nd 2019.

The BIG Event is a fun, dynamic and engaging experience where faculty, staff and students of the various American institutions in Florence hit the streets for the day to help clean and maintain the city they now call home. This wonderful form of community service by the universities consists of trash collection, sticker removal, and general street-cleaning. Each university is assigned an area of the city. The process, in its essence, is about giving back and showing respect to this historic city which has been so welcoming to the international community it hosts.

This year, Florida State University certainly did not disappoint with ninety-three volunteers; this was the largest group from any university to participate. FSU divided into three teams to tackle the three neighborhoods assigned to them: Borgo Degli Albizi, where the university currently resides; Lungarno della Zecca Vecchia, a major street connecting the Arno River with the City Center; and Via Dei Neri, the street where the future home of FSU will reside.

Piazza della Signoria, The Big Event, 2019.

The task at hand was, well, BIG, as the name implies. However, our FSU students were more than up to the challenge. ‘’I’m living my best life! I never thought cleaning the streets and removing stickers would be so fun,’’ student Amelia Pham told our FSU staff while she was fervently removing an old sticker from a corner lamppost on Borgo Degli Albizi. Like the other students, she was not tired or wondering why everyone was gathered along the streets. Instead, she was focused on what seemed to be the common sentiment of the student body: giving back to the community as an act of appreciation. Perfectly capturing the energy flowing through our community, Rozsa Gomory, our program assistant and alumna, exclaimed, “I think The BIG Event showcased Florida State’s love and appreciation for Florence welcoming us and allowing us to study in this beautiful city.

It felt great to give back to the city that gives us so much.”

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Students Having Fun at The Big Event, 2019.

Students in Action at The Big Event, 2019.

The beauty of this activity was not simply limited to community service to showcase gratitude. It was also a fun and unique way to interact with the local community; our neighbors, storeowners and clerks whom we see all day but rarely get the chance to engage with, eagerly asked what we were doing and thanked us. Student Jackson Fite noticed the impact of his service along the Arno river, exclaiming, ‘’The BIG Event was really neat because I was able to see the immediate impact of helping in the community. All the locals that passed us showed us their gratitude and appreciation.” Indeed, community service is exactly this. It is an exchange rather than a chore, a means to dialogue, to explore, to engage rather than an afternoon of labor, and a door to open future interactions and relations, establishing our university as a proactive and respected member of the community in more ways than one.

The day ended with all of FSU volunteers assembling in Piazza della Signoria. In front of the majestic Palazzo Vecchio and under David’s gaze, a picture was taken of all the smiling faces which had so diligently and happily participated in this act of kindness and engagement. An FSU student, Gina Reese, exclaimed that she “loved getting to participate and give back to the community that lets us study in this awesome city!” What was wonderful is that the student body felt the natural urge to demonstrate their love for their new home, and now, they finally had that chance.

All in all, this is what The BIG Event is all about. On one hand, it is about giving back to the beautiful city of Florence, which in its beauty and splendor maintains a humble and welcoming spirit. On the other hand, it is about service as a vehicle to open dialogue, collaboration and, gaining an understanding and appreciation for peoples who otherwise would be absolute strangers and worlds away.

On the Lungarno for The Big Event, 2019.

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EMBRACING INCLUSIVITY: FABIO CRESCIOLI & FSU’S T-SHIRT FUNDRAISERS

By Professor Costanza Menchi

There are places in the heart of Florence that can make a true difference when welcoming the multicultural local crowd, international visitors, lovers of Italy, and, in particular, students from all over the world. Some of these places not only serve delicious food paired with incredible drinks in a comfortable atmosphere, but they also help foster integration within the local community.

In the historic neighborhood of Santa Croce, near the famous San Pierino Arch, there is one such location, a place where long-lasting friendships are built and which is always ready to extend a helping hand to those in need. We are talking about one of the oldest Irish Pubs in town, the next-door neighbor of the FSU Florence Study Center since 1995--The Lion’s Fountain Irish Pub. Upon entering the pub, one immediately feel its special atmosphere, a place where American students can get a little taste of home evidenced by the ceiling covered with hundreds of t-shirts and banners of American universities

and military units, signed by students and service members who have called Florence their home. Over the entranceway in a position of primary importance is an FSU Florence soccer scarf. Yet, don’t take the décor so lightly, because once inside it becomes obvious why the pub has the name it does. In the center of the establishment is a nineteenth-century fountain from Dublin—a fountain from where the great Irish writer James Joyce once drank.

The owner of the Lion’s Fountain, Fabio Crescioli, known to his friends as “Fabione,” is one-hundred-percent Florentine. He is an authentic representative of the Florentine tradition and culture as both brilliant entrepreneur and former player of Florentine Historical Soccer—Il Calcio storico. Fabione graciously accepted our invitation to share with us the story of his success, his passion for supporting initiatives that bring people together, and especially how he and his businesses have always been involved in charitable projects.

Fabione opened the Lion’s Fountain twenty-six years ago, cultivating an idea that his pub should not be a typical watering hole, but a fount for inspiring creative projects that could bring people together from all over the world in a positive and inclusive environment. Fabione has a special relationship with FSU Florence because of the pub’s location, and since he has known our Director Frank Nero since he was a student. Mr. Nero, back in 2000, actually wrote several chapters of his master’s thesis on the tables of the pub, hoping to channel some of James Joyce’s creative juices. Fabione has followed the development of the FSU Program since he opened the Lion’s Fountain in 1995, and has collaborated on many of our common initiatives in the community.

Mr. Fabio Crescioli playing Florentine Historic Soccer Tournament.

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One of Fabione’s most beloved inventions was the establishment in 2004 of The International Fiorenza School Cup Soccer Tournament, which currently wrapped up its 29th edition. The idea for the tournament, created

by Fabio in partnership with Syracuse and Gonzaga Universities and which is played every fall and spring semester, was to bring together on the field of play the hundreds of international students present in Florence,

building a sense of community, sportsmanship, and competition.

FSU has participated in the Cup since its founding, only making the playoffs a few times since 2004 and never winning a playoff match.

Some semesters we couldn’t even win a single game, and despite our infectious school spirit we were considered the perennial doormats of the league by the other schools. This all changed in the Fall of 2016. Since then FSU has qualified for the playoffs each semester, reaching at least the semifinals of the knockout rounds of the Cup for four straight semesters—Spring 2018, Fall 2018, Spring 2019, and Fall 2019—posting an overall record in this two-year span, including the regular season and playoffs, of 46 wins, 7 losses, and 3 draws. The Seminoles won the Cup in the Fall 2018 edition and placed second this semester. The matches are moments during which students, administrators, and all those who participate can together experience a range of feelings from elation and loss, to comradeship, competition, and the spirit of fair play, fostering a myriad of character-building opportunities. Such instances are also significant since they show that sports can function as a way FSU Florence as a program can get closer to one another and create lasting relationships with international students enrolled in other programs.

“Fabione” playing Calcio Storico Fiorentino.

Fabione remembers two cup editions, in 2016 and 2017, which thanks to support from the Florence city government, allowed young asylum-seekers from Africa to be integrated into each university’s team as an act of goodwill and friendship. He recalls that it was refreshing to see young kids coming from a completely different background playing side-by-side, ready to help each other, having an opportunity to strike up friendships that went beyond borders, differences and preconceptions. FSU Florence’s teams were no exception, and our students and these young African men bonded on and off the field, even

AICS showing homage to FSU Florence and Lion’s Fountain with a symbol of their home country, Summer 2017.

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attending our special celebrations and group meals. This was the moment when FSU decided to collaborate with The Lion’s Fountain, creating t-shirts that were sold to raise donations in support of AICS, Associazione Italiana Centri Sportivi, the Asylum-Seekers’ Hostel. We raised enough donations to purchase a computer and printer so these young men could improve their online literacy and have important access to employment and governmental portals.

As a former player of Florentine Historical Soccer, Fabione is still involved in charity tournaments that raise money for various institutions and associations such as the Meyer Children’s Hospital. The Lion’s Fountain also spearheaded an initiative with American universities that saw hundreds of students donate their blood for Meyer. The collaboration between the Lion’s Fountain and international university programs in Florence has been built through a shared dedication to supporting charitable institutions throughout the city. During our chat Fabione underlined that “when students are offered the opportunity of giving back to the community, they do it with no reservations.” Each spring many students attend the reenactment of Florentine Historical Soccer that commemorates the first game organized in Florence on February 17th 1530, thus allowing students not present in the city in June when the current matches take place an opportunity to begin understanding the significance and history of the sport.

Most importantly, since the summer semester of 2017, FSU and the Lion’s Fountain have linked arms with our FSU Florence Program T-shirt Initiative. For every donation a student, alumni, parent, or visitor makes for our FSU Florence t-shirt, the Lion’s Fountain generously matches it in kind. We have worked together to raise tens of thousands of euro in support of AICS, the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Foundation of Italy, the Casa San Paolino Women’s Shelter of Florence, Meyer Children’s Hospital, and Advancing Women Artists. Each time we put on our program t-shirt, whether on the soccer field or for our own enjoyment, we see the Lion’s Fountain logo and are reminded of Fabio’s and his staff ’s generosity and commitment to our shared values and causes.

When asked about the future, Fabione answered that he would like to expand his business, maybe even one day going as far as the USA, exporting his vision of a space where people can feel at home, be themselves, create constructive projects together, and help and respect one other.

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43

LIBRARY NEWS: THE ARCHIVE OF DR. FRED LICHT

By Librarian Katherine Dowling

In 1969 Florence was recovering from the worst flood since records began nearly a thousand years ago. Dr. Fred Licht, an art history lecturer at FSU in Florence, was waiting with his family for a good friend to arrive. A little Karmann Ghia sports car pulled up, with four shaggy Lhasa Apso dogs packed inside. The driver was a woman in her seventies with neatly curled snow white hair, red lipstick and oversized sunglasses in the shape of a surreal spiky butterfly. To those who saw her, she must have looked like a movie star.

This enigmatic guest was Peggy Guggenheim, a legendary modern art collector and socialite who lived perpetually on the edge of what was regarded as the avant-garde.

Peggy Guggenheim had moved to Venice in 1948, and settled into her palatial new home on the banks of the Grand Canal, the eighteenth-century Palazzo Venier dei Leoni. Guggenheim had followed her passions for modern art to Venice – a city she regarded as “a living work of art.”

Dr. Licht and his young family had previously lived in Venice for two years while he conducted research on a Fulbright Scholarship he received in 1961. During this time, Dr. Licht and Guggenheim bonded over their shared passion for modern art, and for the next twenty years their professional partnership would help grow the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice and introduce FSU students to the world of modern art.

This semester, FSU Florence received a generous donation of manuscripts and archival documents from the family of Dr. Fred Licht, who served as Director of FSU Florence from 1968 to 1978. Dr. Fred Licht passed away in Mannheim, Germany this year. He is remembered fondly by the FSU family, and his gift for delivering captivating lectures is cherished by his former students.

To explain the importance of this donation to FSU Florence, we must first tell the extraordinary story of Dr. Licht’s life, friendships, and academic research.

Fred Stephen Licht was born in 1928 in Amsterdam, and spent part of his childhood in Berlin. In late October 1938, the Licht family was forced to flee Berlin and return to Amsterdam as Nazi hostilities boiled over. Just two weeks after their escape, the Kristallnacht riots swept through Germany and Austria.

The family kept moving to Paris, then Genoa, Italy and finally at age 13, Dr. Licht emigrated on his own to Panama and even-

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tually found his way to New York. Dr. Licht attended the University of Wisconsin and became a naturalized US Citizen in 1946. Dr. Licht continued to pursue his academic passions, and went on to earn his Ph.D. from the University of Basel with a dissertation on the French Baroque artist, Nicolas Poussin. In 1961 he won a Fulbright Scholarship to conduct art historical research in Italy.

After his Fulbright research concluded in Venice, Dr. Licht returned to the United States and began teaching at Brown University. It was during this time the disastrous floods of November 1966 struck in Florence and Venice. Dr. Licht and his art historian wife, Meg Meinecke, worked together with Bates Lowry, another professor of Art History at Brown University, to create the Committee to Rescue Italian Art (CRIA). Over the following six years, CRIA raised $2.5 million to save damaged art and architecture in Florence and garnered the support of Ted Kennedy and Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis.

The success of the initiative was thanks in part to Dr. Licht’s campaigning across America, securing the assistance of art historians and professional conservators.

In order to supervise the work of CRIA, Dr. Licht and his family moved to Florence and Dr. Licht became Di-

From the left: Dr. Fred Licht and 1968 Florence Alumnus Chris Kraul at Cafe’ Rivoire in Piazza della Signoria, 2014.

rector of Florida State University which at the time was located at the Villa Fabricotti. In 1968, Dr. Licht became a member of the board of trustees at the Peggy Guggenheim Foundation in Venice. During his time in Florence, Dr. Licht focused his art historical research on Spanish art, specifically the influential Spanish romantic artist, Francisco de Goya. He wrote extensively and published several books on the artist including the seminal 1979 monograph Goya: The Origins of the Modern Temper in Art. During his time as Director of FSU Florence, Dr. Licht also taught art history and was regarded as a charismatic art-history lecturer who often wore a cape. FSU alumni who studied with Dr. Licht in Florence have remembered him as their favorite professor. Dr. Licht often took his students onto the terrace above the Guggenheim Collection in Venice, and there waiting for them was Peggy Guggenheim herself. The students were able to spend time with her and chat about Venice, modern art and life in Italy, an experience that has remained with FSU alumni for a long time. Chris Kraul, who attended the FSU Florence Study Center in the Summer-Fall of 1968, and who went on to a reporting career at the Los Angeles Times, kept in touch with Dr. Licht for the half century afterwards. “Fred was unfailingly generous with his vast knowledge and myriad enthusiasms, on topics ranging from Visconti films to the nineteenth-century Biedermeier painters. He knew the European art scene intimately. In April of this year, just weeks before he died and knowing I would soon be in Milan, he urged me in an email to check out the new installation at Castello Sforza of the Rondanini Pieta’ by Michelangelo. Of course I did and of course it was well worth it.”

Throughout the 1970s, a violent far-left terrorist movement called The Red Brigades spread across Italy.

This turbulent period in Italy culminated in 1978 with the murder of the former Italian Prime Minister, Aldo Moro. Dr. Licht and his family returned to the USA as the violence escalated and in 1978 Dr. Licht was appointed Director of the Princeton University Art Museum.

problems and personal affairs. We walked the streets of Italy, looking everywhere at the wide range of art there.”

Then he added humorously, “I must say that, in recent years, I have got weak in the knees from all the walking.”

The Licht Archive now held at FSU Florence contains Licht’s detailed research files from exhibitions and books on which he worked and original hand-written notes, photographs and typed manuscripts from his time with the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice.

In the collection are also notes for the lectures he gave internationally – including one lecture he gave when Goya’s painting The Family of the Infante Don Luis (1784) went on tour. There are also over a dozen drafts for Licht’s fictional short stories, including “Caltanissetta”, “Beggar’s Gifts” and “A Winter in Berlin” which was published in the December 1965 edition of The Reporter. Dr. Licht’s short story, “Shelter the Pilgrim” was published in the Hudson Review and later selected for the anthology Best American Short Stories of 1982.

In addition, the archive contains the original English version of Licht’s first novel “Villa Ginestra”.

The book was only published in Germany where it was well-received. The novel is set during World War II in Italy, and follows the story of the wealthy New York heiress, Renee Girard, and her soldier cousin, Harry. The character of Renee is a semi-biographical homage to his friend, Peggy Guggenheim.

In his later years, Dr. Licht was closely associated with the Wallraf-Richartz Museum in Cologne where he curated several special exhibitions.

Florida State University wishes to thank Dr. Licht’s children, especially Matthew Licht, for the generous donation of Dr. Licht’s archive and original manuscripts. The collection will be available to consult in Summer 2020, and portions of the archive will be digitized and made available through Diginole. We hope in the future this archive will become an important resource for scholars.

That same year, Dr. Licht gave an interview to the New York Times. Looking back on his time as Director at FSU Florence, Dr. Licht said, “I not only had to teach the American students, but I also had to take care of their health

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EXPANDING OUR COMMUNITY: FSU OPENS ITS DOORS TO ITALIAN INTERNS IN FASHION MERCHANDISING & COMMUNICATION MY INTERNSHIP EXPERIENCE

By Veronica Lissandrini Intern

One day, while browsing through an international Florentine online newspaper, I found an announcement for an internship opportunity in Fashion Merchandising and Communication with the FSU Florence Program. At the time, I was in the midst of finishing my master’s degree in Fashion Brand Management and I was looking for work-experience in the field, with particular focus on media and communications. So as soon as I found the advertisement I felt compelled to apply for the position.

After an interview with Directors Frank Nero and Lucia Cossari, together with Professor Costanza Menchi, I was lucky enough to pass the selection process and quickly become part of the FSU Florence family! I officially started working in October 2019.

After a having gotten debriefed by Professors Costanza Menchi and Maria Michela Mattei about Italianoles and the Fashion Merchandising and Communications social media platforms, I have been assisting the professors in creating an instagram communication strategy. I have also been tasked with restyling the current FSU Florence Fashion Program logo and its marketing materials.

The main part of the job, however, consisted in co-creating with Professor Menchi this semester’s issue of Italianoles Magazine. I had the opportunity to project a layout based on FSU Florence’s visual identity (garnet and gold of course!) and, even more interesting, I was able to support the team with editing the articles and giving shape to this issue’s theme—The Art of Inclusivity. I also had the pleasure of interviewing our Associate Director Lucia Cossari about FSU Florence’s soon-to-be new home, the Palazzo Bagnesi, in the heart of the city. This interview was a special highlight of my experience with FSU, since, although not having lived through all the renovations, I felt all the passion and hard work that went into this adventure.

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Veronica in Via Tornabuoni, 2019.

I am grateful for the opportunity to work for such a fun, diverse and strong international community. On top of everything I have learned in the past three months, I was also lucky enough to meet some amazing people who instantly made me feel a part of the FSU Florence family.

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ART & CULTURE

From the little-known frescoes in the Oratory of St. Martin and the renovation of the Palazzo Bagnesi, FSU’s new Florence Study Center, to Italian films and delicious local restaurants, this section is an exploration of local art and culture. Inclusivity has many facets, and as one will see here, it can translate into local life through food, sports, and class initiatives.

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A FEW GOOD MEN: THE BUONOMINI OF SAN MARTINO

By Director Frank Nero

St Martin Clothing the Beggar by Domenico Ghirlandaio, 1480 circa.

Meandering through the narrow, gray streets paved with jagged slabs of pietra serena that form the urban labyrinth between the grand Badia Fiorentina and the Church of Orsanmichele, cloaked in the stony shadow of the eleventh-century Chestnut Tower, lies the small Oratory of St. Martin. Sometimes the doors are open if you happen upon it on a weekday between ten and noon or three and five, and it’s one of the few monuments in Florence that doesn’t charge an admission fee.

Oratories are sort of private chapels for the recitation of prayers, usually directed at a particularly beloved saint. Here that saint is St. Martin of Tours, who lived in France during the fourth century and began his career as a cavalry officer in the legions of the Roman Empire. According to the saint’s biographers, one day while astride his horse on patrol outside the gates of the city of Amiens, Martin came upon a poor beggar, shivering in his nakedness, to whom no man or woman would give any regard. A moment of pity descended upon Martin, who drew his sword and split in half his own cloak, the paludamentum, the scarlet cape of officers. Martin proceeded to clad the poor man in the torn portion of this rich vestment. That night, asleep in his barracks, Christ and a host of angels appeared to Martin. Jesus, wrapped in the 50

same cloak Martin had given the beggar, spoke to the angels, saying, “behold Martin, who despite being new to the faith bestowed his mercy upon me, clothing me in his own garment.” Soon thereafter, Martin renounced his military command, instead becoming a soldier for the downtrodden and poor in the name of the Christian faith. Catholics still revere Martin as the patron saint of the givers of charity.

When the doors of the oratory are open, from the street on the wall opposite the entrance on either side of the altar in the lunettes--those curved spaces at the top of the walls where they support the vaults of the ceiling--you can see brightly colored frescoes depicting these two episodes of St. Martin’s biography. The frescoes beckon you into the space, and when you do enter you realize they are small, artistic gems, little visited by tourists, painted probably in the early 1480s by the workshops of two prominent renaissance artists, Domenico Ghirlandaio, Michelangelo’s first master and teacher, and Lorenzo di Credi, pupil of Verrocchio and friend of Leonardo da Vinci. Domenico Ghirlandaio probably designed, if not painted, the fresco of St Martin Clothing the Beggar; and Lorenzo di Credi most likely by his own hand frescoed the Vision of St. Martin. Yet, when you enter the oratory, you become aware

of something equally as special, which immerses you in some sort of tale or mission, but told and painted on much more of a human scale, placing you in the streets and inside the homes of fifteenth-century Florentines. Each of the oratory’s lunettes bears a fresco depicting subjects that were uncommon for renaissance artists, but here you can tell that whoever had these artists paint this interior was seeking to proactively project an identity, a culture, that was at once both humble and important.

To understand what these frescoes show, we must first learn more about this oratory and brush up on our biblical verses.

The Oratory of St. Martin has housed the headquarters of a confraternity of men since the 1400s. The confraternity is called the Dodici buonomini di San Martino, the Twelve Good Men of St. Martin. The Archbishop of Florence, Antoninus, who later was made a saint, supposedly created this confraternity in 1442 with the help of the de facto “godfather” of the city, Cosimo de’ Medici. Most likely Cosimo felt the weight of his “political” sins on his Christian soul after he had exiled the heads of dozens and dozens of families associated with the Strozzi and Albizi clans, his political rivals. Despite having no way to maintain themselves and having most of their belongings confiscated, the females, young children, infirm, and elderly of these families were allowed to stay in Florence. This presented the city with a major sociological problem. Families who formed the highest echelons and backbone of Florentine society, lineages who dominated the city’s government and economy for centuries, now, with one turn of fortune’s wheel, were cast into poverty. Here lies the sociological wrinkle:

these families, proud of their heritage, status, history, and privilege, many of them descendants of papal bankers, respected artisans, magnates of industry, knights and nobility, refused to accept any form of public charity. They would rather literally starve and live in ruinous, desperate conditions, than face the social stigma of begging for their survival. This particular and peculiar class of poor were known as the poveri vergognosi, or the shame-faced poor.

Cosimo and Antoninus, therefore, sought to create an institution, which in total anonymity could alleviate these families’ dire conditions by doing the begging for them, soliciting donations in cash and goods to distribute to these families. This idea developed into the foundation of the Confraternity of the Twelve Good Men of St. Martin, who would meet, strategize, and pray in this oratory. To better understand their mission, we must also turn to the Gospel of St. Matthew when the twelve apostles ask Christ if there is a way to earn their entry into the Kingdom of God. Christ responded, “… for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger in a strange land and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.” For Catholics, these charges become known as the Six Works of Mercy. In the Middle Ages, a seventh work was added from the Book of Tobit, which stated it was all Christians’ sacred task to give the dead who could not afford it a proper burial according to the sacraments—thus the Seven Canonical Works of Mercy.

Now the fresco cycle comes into much clearer focus. The paintings in the lunettes of the Oratory of St. Martin depict members of the Twelve Good Men, dressed in blue and red robes—the colors of baptism and communion--performing these acts of mercy within representations of the oratory itself, its surrounding streets, and inside the homes of the poveri vergonosi. Curiously, however, two of the frescoed lunettes on the wall to the right of the entrance lie outside the scheme of this biblical program, departing from the iconographic thread of the Seven Works. These two frescoes provide interesting insight into fifteenth-century Florentine society.

Vision of St. Martin by Lorenzo di Credi, 1480 circa.

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Scholars still debate what exactly these scenes portray, but I believe they are deliberately connected to one of the most important responsibilities the Twelve Good Men had, which went beyond the Seven Acts of Mercy--the charitable mission they took upon themselves to insure that young women of the celebrated families of Florence who had fallen on hard times through no fault of their own, did not sink into the despair and sin of prostitution.

In fifteenth-century Florence the modern notion of the “single woman” did not exist. All young ladies at one point or another had to be married and their grooms had to be provided with a suitable dowry. Whether these women married a citizen, or became brides of Christ in a convent, their families had to provide them with the suitable financial requisites. The poveri vergonosi could not afford these dowries, thus presenting Florentines with an exceptionally serious social ill. Would the very fabric of their society be dismantled and besmirched at home and abroad if a significant portion of Florence’s wellborn girls were forced to go unmarried? Perhaps due to their dire circumstances would they have to reduce themselves to prostitution in order to support themselves and their citizen families of once high standing just to survive, staining the collective social identity and reputation of Florence in the eyes of Europe and the Church? Still this alternative was better than begging. These frescoes make it clear that one of the missions of the Confraternity of the Twelve Good Men was to donate dowries to these families and provide their daughters with the proper trappings of marriage.

Depicted in the fresco closest to the altar wall, we see the interior of a Florentine palace. We can tell it perhaps was once a noble room because of its coffered ceiling, the meticulously-carved grand fireplace on the left, and the entranceway of the room articulated with pietra serena. Occupying the room is a family of six being assisted by two members of the confraternity. Yet something is not right.

There are only three furnishings in the room, two low stools and a humble chest set on the ground on the right side of the composition. On one of these stools sits an infant, close to the fireplace, apparently trying to get warm, but there is no fire in the fireplace. The infant looks away with sadness, his little body barely covered by the light bib he is wearing. Next to the infant sits a Good Man with an inkwell in his left hand and pen and paper in his right. He looks to be lost in thought, diligently jotting down what the matriarch of the family dictates to him as she gestures and counts with her hands. She is in the dress of a respectably married woman of the middle-to-upper classes with the veil that covers her hair and extends to her shoulder; however, her dress is worn and obviously patched, her shawl, once intricately made, now frays at the ends; her stockings are so ragged that her toes poke through them.

Yet, with an erect body and proud carriage, she com52

mands attention, occupying the center of the composition.

On the right we see the patriarch of the family, he too with toes protruding from his worn leggings, sporting a facial expression of embarrassment and shame, his left and right arms placed respectively over his heart and waist in a bent pose denoting humility and acquiescence. His teenaged son, barefoot, is on his knees in the far right of the painting. He has just creaked open the long, unadorned, wooden chest, and the second Good Man in the scene sternly and concernedly peers into its emptiness, raising his left hand in disgust when he sees the chest is bare. These low, rectangular chests, called cassoni, were the bride’s family’s contribution to a marriage. Within them brides would place their trousseau--their linens, garments, mirrors, books, jewelry, and other personal items that would be then transported to the groom’s residence. Often these cassoni would be decorated, but here it seems this family does not have the financial means to do so. Beyond the confines of the room, standing in the doorway, we see the two daughters of the family, both of marriageable age. Their heads are bowed, perhaps trying to listen to the conversations going on in the room before them. They too are dressed modestly, the sister on the left wears a gown with several obvious patches. Depicted in profile, she forlornly grasps a spindle and with her left hand fingers the few spare threads that demonstrate the family’s incapacity to purchase or make proper attire, especially attire appropriate for a marriage. To me, it seems, since they are located just outside the room, that it is they to which the foreground action refers, their mother listing the items her daughters would need to be properly married—the dowry and the trousseau.

The fresco next to this scene is one of the most fascinating.

It depicts an insider’s view of a secular, Florentine wedding, occurring in an outdoor loggia. The center of the painting was clearly the focus for the artist where a dynamic almost pinwheel-like design of radiating hands, a circle of deliberate gestures, draws the viewer’s attention into the work, clearly demonstrating the marriage ritual—a ritual of exchange artificially compressed into a single, gestural moment. The father of the bride draws his daughter’s wrist forward with his hand, so the women’s finger can reach delicately toward the groom to receive a wedding ring. Simultaneously, as the groom slips the ring onto the finger of the bride, the Good Man in the exact center of the painting, his left hand clutching an open money bag signifying the dowry the confraternity has donated to this poor family, drops coins with his right hand into the cupped, left-hand palm of the groom. For me it’s clear that the father of the bride is the same individual in the previous painting, and the bride has the same profile as the young woman with the spindle in the doorway of the room. Because of damage to the face of the mother in the wedding scene, it is difficult to draw the same parallel with the matriarch in the interior scene, but their strong demeanors are similar—the mother here without hesitation guiding her daughter toward the groom.

Now, all of the members of the family have their clothes and stockings in good repair for their daughter’s wedding day in a public space. A second Good Man, once again perched on a stool, perhaps acting as a notary, records the wedding and the monetary transaction, thus also recording for posterity the fulfillment of one of the main missions of the Twelve Good Men of St. Martin.

Details of the frescoes in the Oratory of St. Martin, 1480 circa.

Marriage Scene, 1480 circa.

I believe these two frescoes are clearly linked and tell a sort of mini narrative beyond the realm of the scenes that depict the Seven Works of Mercy. These two frescoes are the only two that reside on the north wall of the oratory. This coupling of scenes which tell a single story is similar to the two stories of St. Martin, which I believe also interact across the entirety of the space of the oratory in a way not noted by scholars. When the Twelve Good Men attended mass and took communion in this space before the altar they would have had before their eyes the moral example of their patron saint, his initial charitable act of clothing a naked man and his vision of Christ and the angels. In the Vision of St. Martin we clearly see the resurrected body of Christ and the attention paid by the artist to the wounds he received on the cross—there are even little gilded rays emanating from the wounds, specifically designed to catch the viewer’s attention. The body and blood of Christ would have been immediately associated with the bread and wine of mass which trough transubstantiation becomes the body and blood during communion. The connection to St. Martin Clothing the Beggar also becomes recognizable within this context as the saint uses his sword, formerly drawn to draw the blood of the enemy, but now used to rent a scarlet cloth, which, in turn, will clothe the naked body of the poor man, a body that ends up being the sacred body of Christ.

This meaning is further reinforced across the room in the frescoes above the entrance opposite the altar. As the priest performed the mass and turned toward his congregation, or when the Twelve Good Men would rise after communion, across the space of the oratory, articulating the outside world beyond it and the brothers’ charitable mission, they

would have seen images of themselves in this very room freely handing out bread and wine as charity to Florence’s poor in the fresco directly across from the Vision of St. Martin, paralleling that bread and wine to the body and blood of Christ and the sacrament of communion. Concurrently, they would have also seen images of themselves and their brethren donating swaths of cloth to the needy of the city opposite the fresco of St. Martin Clothing the Beggar, consecrating their acts of mercy as their sacred, contemporary undertaking in the name of the titular saint of their confraternity.

The fresco cycle in the Oratory of St. Martin reminds me of the theme of inclusivity explored in this edition of ItaliaNoles, and how the students, staff, and faculty at Florida State have sought to build a culture that continues to pay forward our good fortune embodied by our dedication to charitable causes and commitment to volunteering in the Florentine community.

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APPOINTMENT WITH DESTINY: FSU’S NEW HOME IN FLORENCE

AN INTERVIEW WITH FSU FLORENCE ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR LUCIA COSSARI

By Veronica Lissandrini Intern On a rainy Florentine afternoon Lucia Cossari, our Associate Director, unraveled the wonderful story behind Florida State University’s soon-to-be new study center in Florence, the Palazzo Bagnesi Falconieri. As with every good story, one needs to take a step back in time and look at how it all originated.

In 2016 Lucia joined the Florida State University Florence Program team as Associate Director, working closely with Director Frank Nero to shape a new vision for the school. The path to follow was soon clear to both: to create a real community in Florence, made up of students, faculty, and staff, built on shared values reflecting the most important aspects of education (cultural sensitivity and social inclusivity). The actions to be taken were to increase the number of students and to raise even further the quality of the program itself.

This foresight seemed prescient since, as Lucia said, the school soon had to rent additional classroom space for the summer semesters. By 2017, the options were two: either rent another building or buy one altogether. No one would have believed, at the time, that there would be enough demand or an opportunity for FSU to purchase a new building, but Frank and Lucia disagreed.

She believed in her heart that the moment was right to take the next step and expand the program even further.

away from the Duomo, and in good condition too.” Clearly, this was a serendipitous opportunity for Frank, Lucia, and International Programs to consolidate even further their vision for the Florida State University Florence Program.

In February 2018, before going to the Directors Conference in Valencia, the Associate Director of FSU International Programs at the time, Michele Ceci came to Florence to seethe possible properties for purchase Lucia had individualized. Coincidentally, the hotel where Ms. Ceci stayed was right behind Via dei Neri and it seems now that this was destiny. Lucia explained that she left Palazzo Bagnesi as the last place to visit with Ms. Ceci; in fact, every other building did not inspire the Associate Director as the last one did. Finally the wheels started turning and, due to the approval of both the Director, Dr. Jim Pitts, and Associate Director of FSU International Programs, the negotiations commenced.

In January 2018, as Lucia started investigating what the property market in Florence had to offer, she found a beautiful palace in the historical heart of the city in Via dei Neri, the Palazzo Bagnesi Falconieri, which was quite a feat because not only, despite being abandoned for over a decade was the structure in good condition, but was appropriate for what she thought FSU needed.. it was love at first sight for our Associate Director--- the moment she found the building she exclaimed to herself, “No way, I want it.” When asked why she felt this way toward this palace in particular, she answered that “in a lifetime it’s very hard to find an opportunity like this, so centrally located in Florence. It’s in the heart of everything: behind Ponte Vecchio, behind the Uffizi Gallery, near Santa Croce, still close to Borgo degli Albizi and two minutes

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Associate Director Lucia Cossari, Work in Progress.

Associate Director Lucia Cossari and Director Frank Nero signing the ownership contract, 2018.

In May 2018, Florida State University signed a preliminary contract with the building’s owner, dependent on the municipal approval of the renovation projects presented by the university.“It’s not easy,” Lucia told me, “There are many aspects to be considered when submitting a project for a historical building. It took us a long time, almost one year, to make sure everything was all right.” In February 2019, after a number of structural tests and approvals, the university signed the final purchase contract with a caveat that the government was entitled to sixty days to examine the sale of the palace and decide to purchase it instead. The two months after the signing of the contract passed and on May 2nd, 2019 the building officially belonged to Florida State University.

During these sixty days, however, Lucia did not waste time: “I started meeting with the architects and discussing the renovation project in order to have everything ready to put into action once the purchase was confirmed. In fact, we signed the final contract in May and we started the renovation work in June, only one month later”. The rest, as they say, is history.

The Palazzo Bagnesi is 37,000 square-feet with four floors, and the historical core of the buildingdates back to an era that marks the apex of culture and art in Italy, the Renaissance. The heart of the palace develops around a wonderful

Associate Director Lucia Cossari, Supervising the Work in Progress, 2019.

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central courtyard, articulated by doric columns around the inner perimeter. The atrium, the space between the entrance and the courtyard, is adorned with extremely valuable artistic features, such as groin vaults supported again by columns of pietra serena. columns. From the entrance atrium, which will feature a glass skylight and become a student lounge and coffee bar, one can gaze up at the upper floors accessed by the finely sculpted staircase. The building’s façade is also typical of the Renaissance in that it clearly articulates the three floors of the building with quoins and voussoir of rusticated stone that frame the the palaces main entrance and windows.

When the Florentine branch of the Bagnesi family no longer had heirs in 1635, thePalazzo Bagnesi became the property of the Modena branch of the family. In 1808 the palace was Falconieri family purchased it. In the twentieth century, the building passed into the hands of the Tuscan Gas Company, which hired the architect Ugo Giovannozzi to significantly renovate it.

The palace will become the Florida State University’s Florence Program’s new homeThe new study center will feature a computer lab and experiential tasting and cooking kitchen on the ground floor along with a state-of-the-art library in the central courtyard illuminated by a ceiling of skylights. The second floor will have a sewing and Textile Lab and Newsroom and

Lucia on behalf of FSU would like to express her gratitude toward the entire team at GPA, Engineering & Project Management Consultants, who have walked arm-in-arm with her from the conception of this dream to its fruition.

Special thanks to Chief Project Manager Massimiliano Cecconi and Architect Geraldina Petronici.

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Media Lab The top floor of the building will become student apartments. These new opportunities are in line with the educational approach predicated upon theory and practice championed by Frank and Lucia.

The interior design beautifully reflects the integration of the two main values of the program: heritage and innovation. FSU students will experience all of this right in the heart of downtown Florence, steps from the Uffizi Gallery, the Galileo Museum. The Ponte Vecchio, Santa Croce, and the Piazza della Signoria.

The renovation of the palace is expected to end in May 2020, and the transition to the new study center will start as soon as June 2020. The grand opening of the building is anticipated for Fall 2020. This has been a tough but wonderful journey for our directors, but one which they hope will provide FSU Florence students and faculty with the best possible environment in which to study abroad. Although this climb was an arduous one, almost as if by celestial design, a new home and new vision for FSU Florence are about to be realized.

New FSU Study Center Library Rendering.

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Charles Panarella & Frank Nero at an FSU Soccer game.

FSU Team Getting Ready Before a Match.

FSU Playing at the Fiorenza School Cup Soccer Tournament.

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Sports Initiatives Professor Charles Panarella - Program Administrator

MENS SANA IN CORPORE SANO : SPORTS MATTER

By Professor Charles Panarella Program Administrator

For many people, sports are just extracurricular activities one usually engages in for the sole purpose of getting some additional exercise or to feed their competitive nature. Here at FSU Florence Sports means much more than that. Aside from the cultural significance soccer has in Italy as being the most popular and national sport, students have the opportunity to compete as a unit against other American Universities in Florence. FSU students forge new bonds and relationships not only with the other Americans they meet on the soccer field, but students with whom they may not otherwise do so in their own program due to their everyday lives never having the chance to intersect. Those bonds become strong, and it is here on the soccer field that the lessons of life, the sense of Seminole pride, and the development of their minds takes place.

Life is often spoken of metaphorically as a struggle. We typically hear players of various sports, from the amateur to the professional levels, use the same kinds of metaphors to express the challenges they face on the field. The parallels between life and sports are many, and life is often personified and explained through the same terminology.

So it is no surprise that our students use these experiences to help them develop a strong philosophy and mindset when approaching their personal lives in and outside the classroom. Lev Vygotksy, a famous Russian educational psychologist who had an enormous posthumous impact on Western education, particularly in the United States over the last 5 decades, posited that an individual’s consciousness is formed first from their everyday experiences and interactions with the world around them. Vygotksy referred to this as perezhivanie, which is roughly translated from Russian as lived experience. While our soccer matches seem just like ordinary games, they are forming the basis for something greater which is abstract thought for developing personal life philosophies that will impact their mindset and approach to help them form strategies to face the challenges that await them at home and abroad.

According to Vygotsky, abstract thought and reasoning form a new higher-level way of thinking which would involve problem solving on a whole new plane. The various aspects of the game of soccer get mapped onto the game of life where students begin to strategize on how to win where the word goal becomes representative of something greater-- something dear and personal that strikes a chord in each and every one of them. The adversary becomes life, and the defenders on the other team become the obstacles they will face; the goals the other team scores become the setbacks they will encounter; the passes they make on the field become the trust they will give to others when the stakes are high; the goals they score become symbolic of the achievements and successes that are a direct result of their hard work; and the clock on the field becomes a reminder to spend our time wisely before it runs out and this game of life comes to a close.

The development of the mind is the greatest thing a human being can accomplish. It is the tool that is at the heart of all major accomplishments which allows us to achieve the goals we set for ourselves. As in soccer, and in life, while the moments when goals are scored are few in comparison to the game in general, they are nonetheless significant and are certainly not given, but are hard fought and earned. Sports do matter, because those soccer goals eventually become life goals, and the intricacies of sports allow us to develop our minds so we can perform higher-level thinking. As Swami Satchidananda once said, “When you become the master of your mind, you are master of everything.” So when you hear the phrase it’s mind over matter, in reality it’s only the mind that matters.

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Italian Cinema Class Professor Nadia Patrone

FILM REVIEW: DE SICA’S BICYCLE THIEVES

By Nicole Reyes

In Bicycle Thieves, directed by Vittorio De Sica, neorealism guides the simple, yet deeply rooted plot of a previously unemployed man, Antonio Ricci, who finds work hanging posters around post-war battered Rome. The plot follows the life of an Italian man who is searching for his stolen bike so that the can resume working; this is a classic example of neorealism displaying “life as it is.”

The movie follows ordinary people in everyday circumstances while weaving in the obstacles of social corruption present at the time. As with any neorealist movie, there is no happy ending. However, at the end it is made clear that society is at blame, along with the facade of institutional justice, as Ricci learns that both the church and the police lack any enforcement powers. This is what, in turn, drives him to another extreme--becoming a thief.

The movie opens with a bus driving into the city as the camera uses a panning shot to follow its movement through Rome. Unemployed men gather around to hear if any work opportunities have become available. This is clearly a patriarchal society as no women are seen searching for jobs, but rather they are in the background performing domestic chores.

After Ricci finds out that he needs a bike to accept the job offer that has been presented to him, he and his family go to many measures to obtain the money they need to purchase the vehicle. Ricci’s wife even goes as far as to sell the sheets from their bed to raise enough money. In this scene, the theme of poverty is introduced as we see many poorer individuals trying to sell items at the pawnshop to obtain some cash.

The tension in the movie builds up as the camera emphasizes shots of people riding bikes around the city. There are instances when Ricci’s bike is almost stolen and the camera highlights those moments by focusing attention on the bike. The fast-paced,

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dramatic music also plays on this by creating suspense as the audience waits for someone to steal the bike.

Once the bike gets stolen, Ricci takes his son, Bruno, on a journey around the city to find the thief who took the one item he needs in order to support his family. Ricci reports the situation to the police, who do nothing to help, which gives the audience a first glimpse at the failing institution of law enforcement. As they search, Bruno becomes trapped in his dad’s problems, having to experience hardship as a young boy. Bruno develops a sense of maturity as he understands the importance of the bike.

Later, Ricci slaps Bruno for wanting to go home, reestablishing his paternal authority. As an apology, Ricci takes Bruno to a nice restaurant to eat a good meal. The theme of poverty is emphasized once again, as Bruno lacks an

Antonio showing Bruno the Bicyle, Bicycle Thieves 1948.

Antonio and his son, Bicycle Thieves 1948.

understanding of eating properly, revealing that the family’s socioeconomic status limits them from being able to eat out.

With a lack of luck, Ricci and Bruno fail to find the man who took the bike and all hope is lost as the two sit on the curb of the street. It is in this final moment when Ricci has lost all hope that he decides that the only option left is to steal a bike himself. The irony of the movie comes to a full circle as Ricci attempts to take a man’s bike, but gets caught in the act with Bruno watching. The men who catch Ricci do not report him but shame him for setting a bad example for his son. In realizing his faults as a father and the fact that he still does not have a bike, Ricci bursts into tears, knowing he has been defeated.

The movie ends with a crowd of men walking with their backs toward the camera, giving the audience a sense of loneliness. The idea of being alone is stressed when Ricci and his son were left on their own to find the bike without any help from higher institutions. The sad ending re-emphasizes the notion of “life as it is,” because, realistically, happy endings are not guaranteed, and in life hardships are inevitable.

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FSU MEAL VOUCHERS PROGRAM REACHES NEW HEIGHTS

By Professor Charles Panarella Program Administrator

FSU Meal Voucher List Livello senza titolo Gustapanino Antico Noè Gustapizza Gustaosteria La Loggia degli Albizi Trattoria Anita Ristorante Natalino Pizzicheria - Porrati Antonio Golden View Open Bar Shake Café Ristorante Mastro Ciliegia Pino's Sandwiches - Salumeria Verdi Trattoria Boboli Corte dei Pazzi Il Gatto e la Volpe I Dolci Di Patrizio Cosi Il panino tondo The Lion's Fountain Koto Ramen Via Verdi Antico Forno Ghibellina Firenze Le Vespe Cafè Ristorante Tijuana La Padellaccia

Trattoria Palle D'Oro dal 1860 Pizza Napoli 1955 Sushinami Firenze Ristorante Il Teatro Firenze Borgo 20 Firenze Reverse Firenze Osteria de' Peccatori La Milkeria FSU STUDY CENTER

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This is a list of all the restaurants FSU Florence has a relationship with in the Florence area.

Through the years FSU Florence has created a special network of restaurants for all of our students to enjoy. While Florence is known for its world-class cuisine, this only scratches the surface of what the FSU Meal Voucher partnership really represents.

The relationships that have been formed between our students and these local businesses transcend being just a place to eat, but a place where our students can learn more about the culture and food of Florence through meaningful relationships they personally build with the people who work there. This gives our students an opportunity to interact with and become a part of daily Florentine life, where each day they are exposed to new aspects of culture through Italian language, food, and local customs.

Experiencing new cultural norms and exposing our students to new ways of thinking, is one way FSU Florence assists in broadening their horizons and giving them a well-rounded view of the world.

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International Wine and Culture Class Professor Lucas Lanci

HOW TO EAT YOUR WAY THROUGH FLORENCE

By Erinn Lyden, Cate Adams, Eliza Satterfield, Daniela Rodriguez and Martha Hadley

All throughout college, you may think you’ve gotten your Italian fix from the nearest Mellow Mushroom. However, when given the opportunity to visit Florence, you will instantly be submersed in a world of food you didn’t know existed. Although some may perceive Italy as a hub for pasta and pizza (which it is), there is so much more to food in Florence that will serve as the foundation for your vacation. If you think Italy is only pizza and pasta, here’s why it’s so much more.

DON FEFE’ Mamma Mia! Here we go again! ...and again, and again, and again. Don Fefe’ has the ability to put any American pizza to absolute shame with just one bite. The freshness and quality that goes into every pizza served is simply unmatched.

Aside from the extensive pizza selection though, the atmosphere and dining experience is really what makes Don Fefe’ the ideal Italian dinner. Upon arrival, you are greeted with a complimentary sample of the house prosecco, setting the perfect mood for the evening. Overall, this is the place for an elegant dinner out while enjoying the simple, quality meal that is an Italian pizza.

Pizza Margherita at Don Fefe’, 2019.

Pistachio & Caffe’ Gelato, 2019.

VIVOLI As young adults with aggressive sweet tooth, gelato in Italy redefines “saving the best for last.” Gelato is a staple in Italy and you will likely find a shop about every five steps. But with so many options, it’s hard to know if you’re choosing the best gelato.

A tip to remember when satisfying your craving, is that it’s not as authentic if it is highly mounded and fluffy (which you will see a lot of in populous areas).

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Although it’s not hard to find great gelato, coming from someone who has found tons, there is something about Vivoli gelato that is just so hard to resist.

Although pistachio and caffe is a popular flavor pairing, there is a strong variety that caters to every taste. It is also the first gelato place we’ve found with a mojito flavor!

ALL’ANTICO VINAIO If you’re ever craving a panino larger than your face for the price of only five euros, All’Antico Vinaio is the place to go. With four locations all along the same street, this not-so hole-in-the-wall panini shop is easily the most populated quick bite in all of Florence. If you plan on going during their peak hours (mid-day), be prepared to wait in a line so long it wraps around the street. Despite the potential wait, All’Antico Vinaio paninis are an absolute staple in Florence.

Panini & Schiacciata, 2019.

TRATTORIA CAMILLO

With a menu of five specialty paninis (but flexibility for customization), you are guaranteed a flavorful experience of meats, cheeses, vegetables and sauces like no other!

Pro tip: blend in with the locals and refer to them as a “panino.”

To experience a true Florentine dinner in the heart of Florence, Trattoria Camillo is the place to go. Just steps away from the Ponte Vecchio, this welcoming restaurant is the hub for simple, authentic plates ranging from handmade pasta to a plethora of meats (and everything in between).

The staff treats you like family from the moment you sit down, adding to the feeling that you are about to indulge in a delicious home cooked meal. Although the plates are presented in a very simple way, focusing on the food itself, there is a flavorful experience that comes with every bite.

The handmade tortellini ragu in particular, really encapsulates the ambiance of the restaurant.

Despite the exterior of the plate just looking like any other pasta dish, with every bite you are instantly overcome with feelings of awe, happiness, and ultimately sorrow because of the realization you will eventually run out of ragu. To avoid missing out on this experience, it is also highly recommended to make a reservation in advance.

Trattoria - Family Style Food, 2019.

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ETHNIC CUISINE IN FLORENCE

By Erinn Lyden and Cate Adams

Le Vespe Cafe’, 2019.

LE VESPE CAFE’: EVEN IN FLORENCE, AMERICAN BREAKFAST IS KING If you’re a study abroad student in Florence, you’ve probably walked past it before. Tucked on the corner of Via Ghibellina and Via dei Pepi, usually with a crowd of people standing outside, Le Vespe Cafe is oneof-a kind. Founded in 2013 by two friends from Florence and Toronto, the cafe focuses on serving North American-style breakfast and lunch with a healthy twist in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere—and its commitment to those two goals really shows in the ambience, the service, and most importantly, the food.

Upon arriving at Le Vespe, you’ll always be greeted by a friendly server or even the owners themselves. This cafe is extraordinarily popular among tourists and locals alike, so if you arrive at peak times (read: brunch), expect a wait. Because Le Vespe is located near Santa Croce, however, there is plenty of sightseeing to be done in the meantime. Once your name has been called for a table, you’ll enter the warm and welcoming cafe itself, decorated eclectically with local art, wall paintings, and a bustling bar. If you sit in the covered outside seating area during the cooler months, you’ll be graced with heaters and thick blankets for warmth. Servers at 66

Le Vespe are attentive and the owners frequently serve you themselves, which makes the restaurant feel homey and personable. A particularly cool aspect of the ambience is the artistic Le Vespe mug—designed by the local Sweaty Betty’s Tattoo Studio—that all coffee and tea is served in, and which is for sale behind the bar for 10 euros a pop. And the best part? Water and service are free!

When it comes to food, Le Vespe might just offer some of the best in Florence. The cafe is committed to offering delicious, fresh food without preservatives or chemicals and makes an effort to source its products seasonally and locally, with attention to ethical and organic practices. Le Vespe uses suppliers that share the owners’ ethical concerns and all food is prepared daily in house. Because the menu changes seasonally to take advantage of the best produce, there’s always something new on offer and it’s always guaranteed to taste fresh and delicious.

Le Vespe offers a weekly menu from Monday through Saturday with breakfast options like eggs, pancakes, French toast, home fries, bacon and sausage, cream cheese bagels with salmon, and an assortment of breakfast wraps.

The weekly menu also includes lunch options like avocado toast, grilled cheese, BLTs, and Tex-Mex inspired quesadillas, rice bowls, and wraps. On Sunday, the cafe pulls out a special brunch menu with fancier options like Eggs Benedict or Eggs Florentine, huevos rancheros, and huge breakfast platters. There is a drink menu consisting of delicious coffee concoctions, teas, and Prosecco-infused drinks with different fruit juices ranging from orange to apple to peach, depending on whether you want a classic mimosa, a cider, or a peach Bellini-like spritz to go with your meal. Traditional brunch drinks like Bloody Marys and Irish coffees are also on offer. A perfect pairing with the American-style brunch found at Le Vespe would be Costadilà prosecco.

Prices at Le Vespe range from 5 euros for avocado toast to 15 euros for a full breakfast platter. A la carte sides are 1-3 euros each. Coffee tends to range from 2 euros for a cappuccino to 6 for an Irish coffee, while mimosas are only 3 euros—an absolute steal. The cafe is a great place to go with friends for a hearty, fresh meal, and it is always packed, especially on weekends. With a small venue and limited hours, Le Vespe remains focused on quality, rather than quantity. However, the owners just announced in October that they have plans for expansion in 2020, which is exciting news for a mom-and-pop cafe that has successfully made a name for itself in Florence. Le Vespe will gladly accept FSU meal vouchers, just make sure to tell your server you’ll be using them when you order!

EBY’S RESTAURANT Eby’s is a Mexican restaurant in Florence, Italy, located on Via dell’ Oriuolovery mere steps from the study center. It is home to a wide array of Mexican cuisine essentials; burritos, tacos, and quesadillas to name a few, along with a variety of delicious empanadas and croquetas.

The restaurant makes its food with only the best ingredients: chicken, carnitas, beef, fresh guacamole, and vegetables. The quesadillas and burritos are superb, making their food a must-have in Florence if you’re in the mood to switch it up. Their service is always warm and welcoming, preparing your food quickly without skipping out on any flavor. Eby’s never disappoints when you’re craving some excellent Mexican food, and the drinks are amazing as well.

Eby’s Restaurant is split into two sections, one for food and the other for drinks. During the day, Eby’s is always a fantastic restaurant to eat at, but night, Eby’s turns into a party. Their funky shots, made by Eby himself (pictured above), include eclectic combinations like Tabasco and crazy presentations such as being served in a banana. The atmosphere is always a fantastic time. Good wine pairings with Eby’s bur-

Eby’s Restaurant in Florence. ritos and quesadillas include a lovely Sangiovese or for a specific option, a 2014 Brunello di Montelcino. For the tacos, a dry Rosè or a Lambrusco would also pair well.

Whether you are craving Mexican food or are looking to experiment with bizarre alcoholic beverages, Eby’s is always a go-to, and no one leaves disappointed. Personally, I go to Eby’s once a week, going back for their delicious carnitas quesadillas. I can never get enough of Eby’s, sometimes returning more than once in a single day. Going to Eby’s Restaurant and Bar is guaranteed to be a fantastic experience, and every student and Florentine citizen has to try their food and drinks at least once.

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SUSHINAMI Located just a 5-minute walk from FSU Firenze’s study center, Sushinami is a Japanese restaurant which is incredibly popular amongst local Florentine adolescents as well as with international study abroad students. Opening fairly recently in Florence, Sushinami catches the eye of the passer-by with its gorgeous and welcoming storefront and inside layout.

They provide an all-you-can-eat sushi menu for a set price each day, 12 euros for lunch and only 20 for dinner, a very appealing price for students. The staff encourages ordering however much you please, as their options come in small portions, which is great for hungry students who want a taste of everything. Sushinami has only one

Sushi Platter, 2019. rule: order only what you will finish, otherwise, a charge will be added to your check for each unfinished dish.

Sushinami offers an abundant menu. Their options range from sushi rolls to traditional Japanese appetizers like edamame, all the way to complete dishes like phad thai and chicken stir fry. With this many options, every guest will find something they like. Although their options seem endless, they take extra care in preparing each and every dish. Sushinami prides itself on only using fresh ingredients and preparing every dish made to order. The quality, presentation, and taste that Sushinami offers are unmatched anywhere else in Florence.

One of the go-to orders for Florida State students is the Sushinami mix, an 18 piece mixed sushi plate including various selections of Nighiri, Hosomaki, and Uramaki.

This is a perfect selection for the whole table to share because everyone can choose the pieces they prefer.

Another sushi favorite is the Sushinami roll, which is a 6-piece fried roll with salmon and cream cheese inside.

Aside from these two signature sushi combos named for the restaurant, students also love the Ebi Yaki Meshi, or fried rice, and the Phad Thai. In addition to the delicious all-you-can-eat food, Sushinami also serves saké, a tradi-

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tional Japanese alcohol made from fermented rice which is somewhat similar to wine. Though it is not a personal favorite, warm saké is a must-try when visiting Sushinami, and it is highly encouraged by the restaurant’s owner.

One thing that stands out the most about this establishment is the outwardly welcoming environment. Not only is this a place to eat, but a place to laugh, make friends, and take a little time out of your day to enjoy yourself while you eat.

At many of the restaurants you visit in Italy, the staff and servers are not very attentive and a little distant, unlike the overly kind servers in the US working harder for tips.

It is nice to go to an establishment and be able to sit down and not worry about anything except what are you going to order off the menu. At Sushinami, the staff and servers are incredibly kind and attentive. It also helps that this restaurant is small and cozy, yet still allows our weekly lunch group of 10 people to be seated every time. The staff always goes out of their way to ask how your day is, see if they can bring you anything extra, and offer any recommendations.

After visiting the restaurant for lunch only twice, the staff recognized us and greeted us cordially, making sure we were seated as quickly as possible. This extra attention shows just how caring and considerate this establishment and its staff are, and Sushinami continues to top the list of students’ favorite meal-voucher restaurants semester after semester.

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FANTASTIC PAIRINGS & WHERE TO FIND THEM

By Erinn Lyden, Cate Adams, Eliza Satterfield, Daniela Rodriguez and Martha Hadley

BISTECCA & BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO Bistecca Fiorentina is a traditional Italian steak that can be found at nearly any restaurant in Florence. It is made of veal which is marinated in olive oil and high-quality salt and garnished with rosemary. A 2 ½ to 3-pound porterhouse, strip steak, and filet mignon combined in one beautiful cut make it a classic Tuscan dish that pairs wonderfully with a Brunello di Montalcino. This is one of Italy’s most popular and prestigious red wines, made exclusively from Sangiovese Grosso grapes. With aromas of red and black fruit, underlying vanilla and spice, and a hint of earthiness, it couples best with a beef or venison dish, making Bistecca a perfect pairing.

When drinking it with Bistecca Fiorentina, our recommended vintage of this bold wine is 2004.

GOAT CHEESE & LIBELLO In the Langa Astigiana and the area around Acqui Terme, this cheese was once known as furmagetta, robiola or arbiora. It was traditionally prepared by women, using goat’s milk, sometimes with the addition of a little sheep’s milk. The women would sell the cheese at the market or to local traders, and use the income to buy sugar, coffee, pasta and oil. Then, in 1979, a DOC (controlled denomination of origin) defined a production protocol and the production area, but allowed the use of up to 50% of cow’s milk, thus denaturing the cheese’s tradition. The DOP (protected denomination of origin) obtained later allowed a maximum of 50% cow’s milk, but a small group of cheesemakers continues to make the cheese using pure goat’s milk. It is excellent fresh or aged.

Paired with a Libello, a wine made of grape varietals Sangiovese and Ciliegiolo, the raw wine’s unfiltered and biodynamic production provides an enriched, smooth and refreshing finish, working as a wonderful pair to the powerful cheese. Moreover, with soil as one of the most important factors for grape growth, the clay soil for Libello allows for a lively tannic texture, creating a balance for textures found throughout Florentine cheeses, breads, fruits or dark meat.

PORCHETTA & SALCHETO NOBILE Well-renowned for their Porchetta sandwich, Casa del Vino is often packed with visitors from Florence and beyond. Paired with a Sulchate Nobile, the light meat bounces off of the bright plum and cherry flavors of the prugnola gentile grapes, allowing leather, iron and sanguine notes to chime in and linger. This terrific intensity and balance between the wine and sandwich appreciates the 8-10 years of aging for the wine, as well as the Florentine ritual of preparing Porchetta.

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Italian Language Class Professor Costanza Menchi

PRACTICING ITALIAN TO BRIDGE GENERATIONS AT THE MONTEDOMINI SENIOR CENTER

By April D’Innocenzi, Nicholas Giammarino, Emma Huff, Andres Parkes

Antonio is one of our dear friends from the Montedomini Retirement Community. He was born in 1943 to an Italian father and an Ethiopian mother in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Antonio came to Florence when he was thirty years old, and has lived here for forty-three years, after arriving in 1976.

He very much enjoys Ethiopian cuisine, especially its spicy flavors, which are not as readily present in Italian food. He also explained that most of their dishes are meant to be eaten by hand. In terms of our local Florentine selections, Antonio’s favorite is Bistecca alla Fiorentina.

In his free time, Antonio enjoys betting on the horse races that take place around the country and watching Fiorentina soccer games; he has been a fan of the club for over thirty years. His favorite locations to travel to are England, France, and Spain. He has also

been to Kenya, Sudan, South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Egypt. He made his livelihood working as an auto mechanic. Antonio has one son, Stefano, who is twenty-eight years old. He currently has no grandchildren.

When asked about how Italy was when he arrived here, Antonio told us of a time when there were many political terrorist groups who carried out shootings.

He specifically recalled shootings taking place in Piazza di Santa Croce, where victims would oftentimes be shot in the legs. In addition to standard Italian, Antonio can speak the Tuscan dialect, albeit it is not very different. He noted that in this dialect, one of the main characteristics is the mixing of tu and te.

If you wish to learn more about his life, Antonio is more than happy to tell you about it on your next trip to Montedomini.

Students Interviewing Antonio at Montedomini, 2019.

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Gallery of Modern Art at Pitti Palace, Class Visit, 2019.

FIELD TRIP: HISTORY CLASS GOES TO THE PALAZZO PITTI

By Samantha Brenner, Olivia Diecidue, Thomas Etter, Logan Fenimore , Jackson Fite, Shulien Hernandez, Sean Hickey Valentina, and Lopez Antonio Sojos

Our class visited Florence’s biggest Palace - Il Palazzo Pitti- which dates to 1450 and has housed three dynasties. We visited its ornate royal apartments, its art gallery, as well as its extensive Boboli Gardens.

The palace is truly beautiful and there is so much history behind the works of art that have been collected and put on display there. In a way, we felt as if we had truly stepped back into a different time.

Usually, it can be challenging to walk through and understand an art gallery, but this time was quite different because we had been studying the eras that these works of art dated from. It was fun to be able to track the progression and development of art.

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While walking through the gallery you could see how it transitioned from very serious and elegant portraits with plain backgrounds and serious emotions to paintings that included landscape, color, and emotion. Working together we commented and discussed our favorite pieces. Some paintings struck some of us more than others, and we reflected upon these individually in our class learning log. “One piece showed a young boy sitting alone at a campfire at dusk with his dog. I felt a personal connection to the boy and his partner. The pair appear to be facing the world by themselves and each is depending on the other for companionship and warmth. I feel this painting is a metaphor for my own time in Florence. While the new environment is difficult to navigate, I have great companions to share my time with and depend on if I ever need anything. My friends here provide both the warmth and light of the embers of the

19th Century European History Class Professor Aoife Keogh fire as the night begins to creep upon the small boy, and the undeniable bond between the boy and his dog.”

Another painting by Giovanni Fattori “depicted a group of Shepherds herding their sheep over a broken bridge and a river. The colors used are so vibrant such as the bright greens, light blues, and browns used to decorate the landscape and bring it to life.”

Reflecting on another piece of art, one student wrote that “there was something about the painting that almost enabled me to transcend time. The landscape and atmosphere were so ambiguous and had no real defining characters. It felt as if it could have been painted yesterday, and that I could have been there in that moment. The painting heavily resonated with me and I could’ve stared at it for hours.”

Descending the wide staircase, we walked through the ornate royal apartments. It was difficult to imagine someone actually living there; everything was so ornate, gold dripped from elaborate furnishings.

As we looked out the window, we saw the never ending green and perfectly symmetrical statues surrounding the fountain. After walking around the

actual palace, we thought that we had covered most of the ground that made up the palace boundaries. But as soon as we got our tickets for the gardens and stepped outside, we realized just how small the palace was compared to its vast gardens.

Not only were the views of Florence from behind the Palazzo beautiful, but we also found the coffee house built up on the hill to be fascinating.

The Palazzo Pitti will always be one of the most interesting and important class trips and it did not seize to amaze for the three hours that we spent there. Its majestic size, its interior decoration, and its perfectly trimmed gardens really made this palace stand out.

After leaving the Pitti Palace, it was incredible to imagine that we had been standing in the same place where so many important historical figures such as Leopold II and Napoleon had once walked.

In a normal college setting we would have read about the palace, looked at pictures and maybe some videos. However, having the privilege to physically walk through it and see everything made us appreciate it even more.

The Majestic Pitti Palace, 2019.

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Views from Villa il Gioiello, by Professor Bufano, 2019.

Villa il Gioiello’s Courtyard, by Professor Bufano, 2019.

Students Enjoying the View, by Professor Bufano, 2019.

Vistas on Florence Class Professor Luca Bufano

FIELD TRIP: VISTAS ON FLORENCE CLASS AT GALILEO’S VILLA IL GIOIELLO

By Jacquelyn Mateosky

The last day before fall break, with my Vistas on Florence class, we went to visit a villa on the hills of Arcetri, where Galileo lived the final years of his life. This villa is outside the gates of Florence, near the monastery where his daughter Virginia had become a nun taking the name Maria Celeste. On the hour walk, after going over the Arno river, and as my legs ached from the incline, we went passed many interesting buildings such as Galileo’s previous house, a 17th century Villa with a beautiful garden, the small church of San Leonardo, an observatory, and the houses where some important 19th century artists, like the writer Mario Pratesi, the painter Ottone Rosai, and the Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, lived.

After visiting the orchard, we went through the patio and up the stairs to the balcony on the upper floor.

From there I could see the road we walked on to get to the villa, while in the distance there was a smudge that was the monastery where Sister Maria Celeste lived.

There was also an incredible view of lush green hills contrasting the view on the front side of the villa, obstructed by lines of houses. It was on this balcony where we read some of the letters that Maria Celeste sent to her father during the time that he lived in the villa.

Through these letters, we know that Galileo sent a lot of his produce to the monastery where Maria Celeste lived, and in turn, she sent back some baked goods.

When we finally arrived at the Villa Il Gioiello I was surprised to see rooms filled with chairs, but I soon found out the place is now owned and operated by the University of Florence. Although most of the original furniture is no longer there, the purpose of each room can still be envisioned because of the catalog drafted by Galileo’s son Vincenzo, after his father’s death.

After reading these letters from Maria Celeste, in or der to better understand her relation with his father, I would have liked to also know Galileo’s responses. But if most of Maria Celeste’s letters are today published and translated in English, the ones Galileo had sent to his daughter are impossible to find. This was because after Maria Celeste passed away, the nuns in the convent got rid of the letters as Galileo had been convicted for heresy by the Inquisition. On the ground floor, there is a room where, based on Vincenzo’s catalog, Galileo had set up his studio. In it there is a desk where I imagine Galileo had sat down to write these letters. On top of the desk were facsimiles of notebooks laid out over the desk with a quill as if Galileo had only just gotten out from behind the desk and was planning on returning.

Some rooms stand out as more interesting than others.

The kitchen is the place that looks the most like how it was during Galileo’s time: it has the same fireplace, and is furnished with facsimiles of the glassware described in Vincenzo’s catalog. Behind the kitchen is a cellar with large wooden barrels like the ones Galileo used to make wine. This wine would be made from the grapes grown in the orchard outside, and was said by Galileo’s daughter to be sour. At the time we visited it, the orchard had ripe olives and apples, and many had fallen onto the ground. There were enough olive trees to make all the olive oil needed for the family for the whole year. As I was tempted to pick one apple off a tree, I was told that it would be completely unpalatable unless made into a dish.

After seeing the small studio, we said farewell to the people who were giving us the tour, and set out for our trek back to the study center. But before that, we stopped in the Trattoria across the street to enjoy a cappuccino, which was a nice start to the rest of my day of exams.

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FASHION FOCUS

Our fashion students analyzed two of the most iconic Florentine luxury brands to understand their definition of ‘inclusivity’ and ‘sustainability’ in the contemporary world. The fashion editorial, in partnership with Advancing Women Artists, shines light on modern princesses and their ability to support and help each other through solidarity and sisterhood.

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Introduction to Italian Fashion and Culture Class Professor Costanza Menchi

BETWEEN HERITAGE & THE EVOLUTION OF THE CONTEMPORARY: FERRAGAMO’S SUSTAINABLE VISION

By Rachel Phillis, Cate Adams, Madison Hayes, Sydney Jackson, April D’Innocenzi, Stephanie Kindos, and Martha Pointer This semester, the students of Introduction to Italian Fashion and Culture toured the Salvatore Ferragamo Museum with their professor, Costanza Menchi. The museum honors the legacy of Salvatore Ferragamo by displaying his shoe collections along with other designs of the brand while collaborating with contemporary artists to portray different fashion concepts each year. The 2019-2020 exhibition demonstrates the concept of “Sustainable Thinking”, which highlights the importance of sustainability and conservation in the fashion industry. As fashion students, it is crucial to be aware of environmental and social issues related to the production of clothing. By combining the history of the brand with concerns for the future, the exhibit spreads awareness of this worldwide issue and supports the movement to prioritize eco-friendliness and sustainability in order to revolutionize the fashion industry as a whole.

The building that houses the Ferragamo Museum was acquired by the Ferragamo family in 1938 after Salvatre spent a significant portion of his life studying and practicing the art of shoemaking. He was born in 1898 in Bonito, a small town near Naples, to a poor family. He dreamed of becoming a shoemaker from an extremely young age, making elaborate shoes for his two sisters by the age of nine. Ferragamo studied with a local shoemaker in Bonito, but was so talented that he was able to open his first shop at twelve years old. At sixteen, he moved to Boston to study anatomy so that he could fully understand the function and makeup of the human foot. Shortly thereafter, he moved to Hollywood and became “the shoemaker of the stars,” making individual forms for each of his clients so that each pair of shoes would uniquely and perfectly fit her foot.

It was in 1927 that Salvatore Ferragamo returned to Florence to develop the brand we know as Salvatore Ferragamo today.

One of the concepts that the Ferragamo museum exposes its visitors to is the idea of recycled art and conservation.

When you first enter the museum, you are quickly consumed

by Pascale Marthine Tayou’s artwork “Invasion”, which was constructed with over 80,000 straws, blocks of wood, and

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‘Invasion’, by Pascale Marthine Tayou, 2019. glass sculptures of traditional figures from African culture. Pascale uses these scrap materials that otherwise would have no purpose in order to send a message. The pieces take up an entire room and are meant to give the visitor a sense of how our planet feels overwhelmed and attacked due to trash. The straws are connected and tangled together while the wood blocks have the geographical coordinates of the most polluted placed in the world on them. After the conclusion of the “Sustainable Thinking” exhibit at the Ferragamo Museum, Pascale’s artwork will be transported to other museums in order for the recycled materials not to go to waste. The Ferragamo museum utilized this piece in the beginning of the exhibition to leave the viewer questioning, ‘How may we turn something that has no other purpose into something else?’ and ‘In what other ways can we make the things we enjoy, such as fashion, sustainable and eco-friendly?’

The second room of the museum showcases models of Ferragamo’s shoes from the 1930-40s that are considered sustainable today because of all the natural

materials he used to create them. Salvatore Ferragamo made these shoes out of many odd and creative materials because during World War II leather was used strictly for the military and many traditional materials were expensive or hard to come by. All of Ferragamo’s materials were of Italian origin because of economic sanctions during the time. After this challenging time of finding alternative materials to make his shoes, Ferragamo decided to continue using them in the 1950s. In 2018, the brand created a new rendition of his famous sandal, “Rainbow Future”, which is made of 100% sustainable materials to honor Salvatore Ferragamo’s time experimenting with new materials.

A notable feature of the Ferragamo Museum was the numerous interactive components built into the “Sustainable Thinking” exhibit itself. Some rooms had glass boxes filled with samples of sustainable materials used to make some of the clothing, in which visitors could reach their hands in to feel for themselves. Other rooms had interactive components that included panels of various sustainable fabrics that visitors could touch while reading about the fabric. Some of the most memorable fabrics were the ones made of orange peels and the shedded fur from baby yaks. Giving visitors the ability to interact with the exhibition allows them

Italian Traditional Crafts, 2019.

to better understand that sustainable clothing is a very real and possible thing to achieve without sacrificing comfort or appearance. Fabrics were made from materials that would never normally be thought to be made into clothing, yet by being able to physically touch the materials, we understand that there are alternative options for clothing that are better for the environment as well.

The Ferragamo exhibit also contains examples of beautiful clothing created with recycled materials. Ferragamo likes to call this “Doing Things Better.” By using old clothing and scraps that would have otherwise been thrown away, the company shows that every piece of fabric should have the chance to become something new. This also displays its commitment to diverging textile waste from landfills to avoid contributing to the over-accumulation of trash on our planet. Take, for example, a dress that the Ferragamo brand created using scrap leather from its own facilities. The luxury company creatively put together a gorgeous dress to symbolize that there is no need to waste precious fabrics when they can create something beautiful. Besides the dress, Ferragamo has invested in clothing made from recycled fishing nets, rubber, and even repurposed military materials.

The idea of reusing materials and wasting less is becoming increasingly popular in today’s climate, particularly among the eco-conscious younger generations. The Ferragamo Museum does a great job of highlighting its efforts to be more sustainable, as well as to support and shed light on other designers and brands doing the same, for its visitors. Ferragamo is ahead of the curve compared to other high-end luxury designers when it comes to investing in materials that show its commitment to a cleaner future, and this environmental awareness is helping to connect what has long been a traditional brand that targets an older market to the up and coming younger generation of fashionable, yet environmentally conscious consumers. The Ferragamo museum is fresh, forward-thinking, and changes every year with a new theme and design, drawing people back again and again with something new. This year’s exhibit, “Sustainable Thinking”, will be open until March 2020. Tickets cost 8 euros and the museum is open every day from 10:00 until 19:30.

Rainbow Sandals, Salvatore Ferragamo, 2019.

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Quote by William Blake inside the Gucci Garden, 2019.

Iconic Double G Logo Dress, Gucci.

Gucci Garden Class Experience, 2019.

Symbolism Mural Details, Gucci.

THE GUCCI MUSEUM’S GARDEN OF LOVE

By Madison Hopkins, Sydney Spratt, Ali Hutchings

In recent years Gucci’s popularity has increased, especially with Millennials and Generation Z. According to a report by Bain and Co., in 2017 55% of Gucci’s sales were made to consumers younger than thirty-five years old. Gucci’s appeal to the younger generations is most likely due to Gucci’s integration into pop culture.

The infamous “double G” logo has been sported by many celebrities ranging from Lil Pump to Kylie Jenner. This relationship between consumers and celebrities has been utilized by Gucci as a marketing strategy.

Gucci specifically keeps its relevance through the use of celebrity endorsements. One example of a Gucci celebrity endorsement is Harry Styles, who was featured in the Memoire D’Une Odeur fragrance campaign in 2019.

Harry Styles was also featured in the Men’s Tailoring Cruise 2019 collection. According to Statistica, leather goods make up more than 50% of Gucci’s revenue. It is hot ticket items such as the double G belts, leather slippers, and mini handbags that young people are buying, especially considering that they are entry price items.

At the Gucci Garden one can see many of these leather goods on display, especially famous models such as the Jackie Bag, the Dionysus Shoulder Bag, and the Sylvie Bag. Gucci Garden’s vision is to show the history of Gucci and its journey to becoming an international sensation through the lens of its current Creative Director, Alessandro Michele. Many of the rooms pay homage to Gucci’s origins. The museum subtly shows this evolution through juxtaposition. For instance, one room strictly displays luggage and travel bags, which is what Gucci first specialized in. On one shelf one can find a vintage luggage set with red leather and a diamond stitching pattern. On the neighboring shelf there is a luggage set with the double G stitching and the famous red and green stripes down the center.

The Gucci Garden also emphasizes the brand’s stance on discrimination against transgender, gender-fluid, and non-binary people. Gucci adopted the motto “The

Future is Fluid.” Under this campaign Gucci released a video that defines gender fluidity as an “inherently personal expression of what it means to be you.” Gucci now presents men’s and women’s collections together at fashion shows. Additionally, the perfume that Harry Styles endorsed happens to be a genderless perfume.

This emphasis on gender fluidity gained support from Millennials and Gen Z, resulting in increased sales. In fact, the campaign video only showcased people between the ages of fifteen and twenty-five, signaling that Gucci’s target demographic also takes into consideration consumers between those ages.

At the Gucci Garden there is a mural that appears on the first and second floors. One version of the mural is red-on-black paint while the other version is whiteon-blue paint. Both murals show bodies of all types embracing each other in love. It includes transgender, homosexual, and older couples. The bodies are nude to emphasize that people come in all shapes and sizes. Regardless of appearance, everyone deserves love.

Gucci is revolutionary in their efforts for social inclusion. Androgyny is also a new theme of their collections, making their items wearable by everyone.

The theme of the Gucci Garden is really all about how the brand has showcased their strengths and adapted to shifts in society, and by including androgynous pieces they are able to succeed through the times.

Shirts, shoes, bags, and other accessories have gained a following from men and women and non-binary individuals through the evolution of society’s acceptance of gender fluidity. Through the museum one can witness this change. Gucci is revolutionary because they are one of the first luxury fashion houses to completely change their brand to be all-inclusive. Its style has evolved, and the luggage room mentioned before is a great starting point from which to notice the changes the brand has gone through. Gucci is iconic with its ability to adapt to the times that it is living, absolutely succeeding even today. The Gucci Garden is an amazing showcase of Gucci’s designs and growth as a whole.

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FOCUS: GUCCI & SOCIAL INCLUSION

By Cate Adams

It is no secret that Alessandro Michele has affected Gucci, arguably in an extremely positive way, since he took the role as the brand’s Creative Director in January 2015.

While Gucci has always been incredibly renowned, Michele has taken the company to the next level by making bold choices in terms of design and brand representation. Within the last five years, the brand has seen a surge in interest from the younger generation of buyers, something that is not atypical for big labels, but no one would have predicted the extent of it. This is arguably due to Michele’s strong visual references, in combination with the growth of social media over the last decade, providing the company with a platform to expand their brand in the direction of a younger audience. With this advantage over its competitors though, the Gucci brand has become its own platform for social commentary, a difficult role to maintain in today’s status quo.

In February of this year, Gucci received immense backlash over the release of its Balaclava sweater, which was perceived by consumers as resembling blackface. Immediately revoking the item from the market and issuing numerous apologies online, the brand was faced with a dire need to improve their awareness and promotion of diversity, particularly in regard to social inclusivity. Following the “unintentional incident,” Gucci announced a comprehensive diversity and inclusion plan, beginning with four preliminary initiatives comprised of hiring global and regional

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directors of diversity and inclusion, creating a multi-cultural design scholarship program, initiating a diversity and inclusivity program to be completed by all employees, and launching a global exchange program allowing participants to work at the company’s headquarters in Florence.

This event, despite its negative reflection on the brand, brought awareness to an important issue not only from the perspective of the consumer, but clearly from the company as well. Particularly for Gucci, with its younger audience, it is imperative that social inclusion is not an afterthought of design, but instead one of the first considerations when creating and marketing new products.

Marco Bizzarri, the company’s President and CEO spoke on the issue, saying, “We accept full accountability for this incident, which has exposed shortfalls in our ongoing strategic approach to embedding diversity and inclusion in both our organization and in our activities.”

With the implementation of the new Diversity and Inclusion Plan and the hiring of Renée Tirado as “Global Head of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion,” the company’s future is looking up once again and it seems that consumers have received these progressive changes well, allowing the focus to once again turn to Michele’s incredible vision for the brand.

Gucci collaboration with Dapper Dan.

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Fashion and Media Class Professor Maria Michela Mattei

FASHION EDITORIAL: A MODERN FAIRYTALE

By Professor Maria Michela Mattei

This fall the Fashion Editorial Project is inspired by the mission and core values of our charity partner--Advancing Women Artists (AWA). AWA identifies, restores, and exhibits works of art by previously ignored women artists found in museum storage rooms throughout Florence. By doing so, AWA is committed to safeguarding art by women and rediscovering a vital part of the city’s forgotten cultural and creative heritage.

With this in mind, for this issue of ItaliaNoles we aimed to represent the strength of women as creators by defying the norm of fairytales which often characterize women as helpless. Instead, we have chosen to portray princesses: Cinderella, Belle, and Snow White, as powerful and in charge of their own kingdoms. From the pages of our childhood books, to the streets of our daily life, real princesses do not need a Prince Charming to save them. Instead, by working together they will come out of the shadows and overcome adversity.

Project by FSU Fashion and Media Class: Prof. Maria Michela Mattei stylist: Cristina Ferro photographer: Gianfranco Gori clothes : AVAVAV Firenze hat: MEMAR by Daniele Meucci location: Four Seasons Hotel, Firenze Models: Julia Mulder Madison Hayes Martha Pointer Paris Renda Daniela Rodriguez

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Make up artists, & Creative Direction Assistants: Catherine Adams Abigail Bedard Samantha Bloom Autumn Bowmar Kasidy Brown Giana Carew Sydney Jackson Rachel Phillis Catalina Rodriguez

“Cinderella, Belle & Snow White as powerful and in charge of their own kingdoms.�

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“Real princesses working together will overcome adversity.�

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INTERLUDE: CAPAREZZA’S VENGO DALLA LUNA Io vengo dalla luna Che il cielo vi attraversa E trovo inopportuna la paura Per una cultura diversa Che su di me riversa La sua follia perversa.

Non è stato facile per me Trovarmi qui Ospite inatteso Peso indesiderato arreso Complici satelliti che Riflettono un benessere artificiale Luna sotto la quale parlare d’amore.

Caparezza, an Italian rapper, wrote in 2004 ‘Vengo dalla Luna’ , a song about an alien coming to Earth and being surprised by the prejudice and close-mindedness of the humans he encounters.

It’s a song against preconceptions and fear towards immigrants, in general it’s a song against racism.

We collected a couple of verses that convey the message, because music goes beyond borders and diversities.

Enjoy the music!

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SEASON’S GREETINGS TO THE WORLD: TIME FOR GIVING IN FLORENCE

By Professor Costanza Menchi The holiday season brings out the best in Florence. The city abounds with lights, festivity, music, art, and the tradition of Christmas markets filling the most beautiful squares and buildings of the city. The magical atmosphere is even more special when the streets and piazzas become full of decorations of light, creating a radiant show, mixing with the glittering shop windows and sparkling ornamentation around the city center. During the month of December, a very special show illuminates Florence’s landmarks—the F-Light Festival returns to the city center. The great show starts on December 8th when the gigantic Christmas tree is lit in Piazza del Duomo. Landmarks like the Ponte Vecchio, Santo Spirito Church, and the Porcellino Loggia become the astonishing settings for video mapping, light projections and various visual installations. The focus this year is on the Moon, marking fifty years since NASA’s successful Apollo 11 mission in 1969. Many of Florence’s most famous monuments will be used as a backdrop for spectacular light shows designed by Stefano Fake.

From November 23rd The fabulous Santa Croce square hosts the lively Weihnachtsmarkt Christmas Market with stalls selling various crafts, candles, sweets, and Christmas-themed decorations from Italy and abroad. One can sample pretzels, strudel, and vin brulé to get in the holiday mood.

On the 7th and 8th of December to mark the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, the “Fierucola,” one of the most

Santa Croce Christmas Market, 2019.

traditional markets in Florence fills Piazza Santissima Annunziata with delicious, organic foodstuffs and handmade art-crafts. In addition to these events, Florence’s festive atmosphere has a tradition dedicated to embracing and supporting those in need, helping them with various initiatives, bringing light, joy, and concrete help.

The AILO American International League of Florence Association organizes the Christmas Bazaar, one of the oldest charity markets in Florence, in the large nineteenth century greenhouse inside the Giardino dell’Orticoltura of Florence. A bit of everything is sold here--from brownies and cupcakes to vintage clothing, toys, and handmade ornaments, all proceeds going to local charitable associations.

This lasts from November 30th until December 1st.

Emergency Association organizes a market and temporary shop in Via dei Ginori 14, presenting many of its volunteers’ stories illustrating its commitment to alieving suffering in countries affected by war and poverty.

This year its proceeds will be donated to the Emergency hospitals in Afghanistan and Iraq. This market takes place from November 30th until December 24th.

From November 29th to December 1st, The Red Cross Italy Association also organizes a market for families in need within the beautiful venue of Palazzo Capponi.

Nataleperfile is the traditional charity event organized in Palazzo Corsini by the Italian Lenitheraphy Foundation, a program that provides free assistance to those who are seriously ill and their families. Their Christmas Market takes place between December 6th and the 8th. The Nataleperfile panettoni and pandori are lovingly wrapped by volunteers and always prove a treat for friends and family.

These charitable events in Florence bring people together within a festive atmosphere but highlight with a simple gesture the true spirit of the season.

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From FSU Florence

Via Tornabuoni in the Lights Festival, 2019.

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Santa Croce Christmas Market in the Evening, 2019.

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25 i r e N i e d Vi a

back cover Design by FSU Florence Program professor alan pascuzzi