MOLLY VANDENBERG
Special to The Leader
It’s typical for college students to spend their summer working to save some extra money or just relaxing with familiar hometown family and friends.
However, many of us are craving a new and exciting experience that staying at home simply can’t offer. ‘Arts of Italy,’ a summer study abroad program through Fredonia’s Department of Visual Arts and New Media, does exactly that.
Italy is famous for its Renaissance art, world-class museums and Roman architecture, as well as its many historical cities.
The program is open to all majors and students get three credits for the art history class, Renaissance Arts of Florence. The course introduces students to Renaissance visual arts and immerses them in the history of Italy, spanning across 2,000 years. The accompanying coursework provides the opportunity to study Renaissance painting, sculpture and architecture.
Tuscany, the capital of Florence, becomes your hands-on classroom. Who wouldn’t want to walk the same streets as Giotto, Dante, Donatello, Leonardo de Vinci and Michelangelo?
Peter Tucker, an associate professor in the Visual Arts and New Media Department, is the course instructor. He strongly encourages studying abroad, and in regards to this program said, “As a study abroad experience, it’s incredibly important to get a different perspective on our world and not only do you get to live a couple weeks in another country, but live in a country that is very different and approaches life in a very different way. Plus, you get to see these incredible masterpieces and … it puts into perspective the age of our country compared to Western civilization.”
Depending on how high course enrollment is, Laurie Detenbeck, an Italian professor, also attends as an instructor. She also strongly encourages studying abroad.
“If you can study abroad in any way, you see that the rest of the world isn’t necessarily the same as you or the country that you come from, and I think that it’s an enriching and wonderful experience,” said Detenbeck.
Rebecca Martin, a junior musical theatre major, went on the 2016 trip. A highlight of the trip for her was “climbing to the top of il Duomo [because] you could see all of Florence. It was so beautiful.” “Il Duomo” means “the dome” in Italian, which is referencing the roof of a church.
“Studying abroad is a wonderful chance to get to go travel, and it’s really safe, too, because you’re with a bunch of other students and there’s always people checking up on you to make sure you’re okay. There’s a set plan for what you can do, so there’s not days where you won’t be doing anything. You get to live it up as much as you can,” Martin continued.
In previous years, the group spent 14 days in Florence and four days in Rome. The 2017 trip will include a few changes. Rome is being taken off the itinerary due to high costs and the fact that the only Renaissance artwork in Rome is at the Vatican. Instead, students will be spending 15 days in Florence.
“It is a change in the trip, but I think it’s a good change to make it more affordable and more accessible for students,” said Tucker.
Additional day trips will also include Fiesole, Siena and Arezzo. Two of the final days will be spent hiking and relaxing on the beach at Cinque Terre.
The 2017 trip will run from May 15-30. For more information about this study abroad program, you can visit the website http://artsofitaly.weebly.com/.