A Collection of Italy

A COLLECTION OF ITALY

AN INTRODUCTION + to italy +

This is a collection of photos inspired by people, places, and feelings.

Giving a chance to explore a new geographical location, a chance to see places and streets unbeknownst to our eyes before, and a chance to become at home to a place others call home, what sets Italy apart from her other European counterparts?

Italy presents a place to detach from our own personal culture, what we call comfortable and what we call home, and become one with the culture of another to the point it doesn’t feel foreign anymore. To find a home in the homes and daily life of another.

Where you become inspired, where you become a different version of yourself, a version previously untouched, now made alive, through the steps on the streets and flowers in your hair.

What will remind me of Italy when only a memory remains?

This.

ABOVE: Palazzo Montecitorio, or the Montecitori Palace, is a palace in the Piazza di Monte Citorio in Rome designed by architects Gian Lorenzo Bernini and Carlo Fontana.

RIGHT UPPER: Overgrown flowers flood the building of the Farmacia dei Monaci Benedettini Olivetani of Florence, located outside of the Basilica San Miniato al Monte, and radiate the character and aesthetic of the country.

RIGHT LOWER: Blooming flowers blanket the Farmacia dei Monaci Benedettini Olivetani at one of the highest points in the city of Florence.

THE STREETS + of florence +

In the backstreets of Florence leading to the infamous Duomo, an Italian local, also known as a gypsy, adds the feeling of Rome to the surrounding streets with the music from his accordian.

Built upon a hill in the 19th century, the Piazzale Michelangelo offers panoramic views over the city of Florence, creating a vision similar to a scene straight out of a movie from back in time.

MoveOn, a music-themed pub with a hidden record store on the second floor, boasts the most picturesque views from the second floor windows overlooking the city of Florence and the Piazza S. Giovanni, the same piazza as the Duomo, seen in the background.

Two Vespas, a hallmark of Italy, parked along the Lungarno Torrigiani, a street along the Arno River, which runs through Florence, leading to the famous Ponte Vecchio bridge.

Belonging to an owner of a small shop along Via Calimaruzza, a backstreet of the Piazza della Signoria in Florence, one of many gentle dogs throughtout the city wandered the streets near the Uffizi Gallery and the piazza, greeting tourists and locals alike.

LEFT UPPER: Via Ricasoli, the street along the entrance of the Galleria dell’Accademia di Firenze, or Gallery of the Academy of Florence, is home to Michalangelo’s sculpture David.

LEFT LOWER: A tourist, identity given away with the audio guide and listening device around his neck, standing on Via Ricasoli, the street outside the entrance to the Galleria dell’Accademia in Florence.

RIGHT UPPER: Sofia Ramos, student along Southeastern University’s study abroad trip to Italy, admiring the beauty of the streets of Florence during our first few hours in the city.

RIGHT LOWER: A building, located along the Via dei Martelli and the backstreets among the Duomo, is decorated with a neon “Hotel” sign.

“I want a life measured in first steps on foreign soils and deep breaths in brand new seas.

I want a life measured in Welcome signs, each stamped with a different name, borders marked with metal and paint.

Show me the streets that don’t know the music of my meandering feet and I will play their song upon them.

Perfume me please in the smells of far away, I will never wash my hair if it promises to stay.

I want a life measured in the places I haven’t gone, short sleeps on long flights, strange voices teaching me new words to descibe the dawn.”

— Tyler Knott Gregson —

RIGHT: A sign for Saporetti e Cappelli along Via dei Conti, a music store among the streets of Florence. Music, like art, smiles, and emotions, is one of the few components of life that can transcend languages.

THE FLOWERS + of florence +

Jordan Randall, student along Southeastern Univeristy’s study abroad trip, in front of flowers covering an apartment building among the streets of Florence in the section of the city across the Arno River and sat on a hilltop.

Blooming flowers wrap around a balcony and outdoor space of an apartment on the hilly streets near the Piazzale Michelangelo.

Flowers climbing an apartment building among the backstreets of Florence between the Basilica San Miniato al Monte and the Piazzale Michelangelo, located in the section of the city sat on a hilltop across the Arno River.

A basket of flowers overflow a parked bicycle of tha backstreets of Florence near the Uffizi Gallery, representing two characteristics of Florence: bicycles and flowers.

These flowers, parked on a mode of transportation, are going somewhere. They could be someone’s wedding flowers, flowers celebrating the birth of a child, or a graduation — events that only happen once in a lifetime. Wherever the destination, they are flowers of celebration, making them even more beautiful.

Jordan Randall and Bran Santos, two students on Southeastern University’s study abroad trip, near a rare blank wall along Via Calimaruzza, a backstreet of the Piazza della Signoria near the Uffizi Gallery in Florence.

Upon arriving in Italy, Sofia Ramos, a student with Southeastern University’s study abroad program, taking in the views of Florence from the breakfast room of the Hotel Eden, a bed and breakfast located in the historical part of the city.

THE MUSEUMS + of florence +

ABOVE: Among the Galleria dell’Accademia di Firenze, or Gallery of the Academy of Florence, is a 19th century hall “Gipsoteca Bartolini.” The gallery also showcases Michalangelo’s sculpture David in an adjoining hall.

RIGHT: The works of art in the “Gipsoteca Bartolini” hall are scullpted by Lorenzo Bartolini, usually for celebratory, private, or momumental purposes and intended for sepulchers to honor those passed.

THE LIFESTYLE + of rome +

A caramel cappuccino, made from Angelina a Trevi, a French cafe and restaurant in the quiet backstreets between the ever-sopopular Trevi Fountain and the Piazza Spagna and Spanish Steps. The two owners’ of the shop were from Germany and France, hailing the different European aesthetics between the shop’s decor and food.

Jordan Randall, a student from Southeastern University’s study abroad program, venturing down the side steps at the foot of the Trinità dei Monti and the Spanish Steps, the Renaissance church at the top of the stairs.

THE ARCHITECTURE + of rome +

The Basilica di San Pietro, or St. Peter’s Basilica, is the world’s largest basilica of Christianity and is located in Vatican City in Rome. St. Peter’s Basilica connects to the adjoining piazza, the Piazza San Pietro, which is the square that Catholics and others alike gather every Sunday during Mass to see the Pope.

Recently restored, the Carcere Mamertino, or the Mamertine Prison, is located at the foot of the Capitoline Hill in Rome near the ancient ruins. The prision holds the legend that Peter and Paul were both imprisoned here in the 5th century, which has yet to be fully confirmed.

THE STREETS + of rome +

ABOVE: Hailing as a trademark of Italian cuisine, gelato is found on almost every street in Rome, sometimes more than once. The top-rated and most popular gelato shop Giolitti handcrafted this hazelnut, dark chocolate, and vanilla mixture.

RIGHT: Among the shopping streets near the Spanish Steps, a tourist or Roman local strolls along the Via Tomacelli.

Travel with your friends. Get outside of yourself. Get outside of your comfort zone.

Push each other to better yourself. Find home in others’ homes.

Then, you’ll grow.