Italy trip showcases Renaissance history

Students drew more than creative inspiration from their Maymester study away excursion through Florence and Rome, two Italian cities that influenced each other through their Renaissance and religious ties.

“In Rome’s Sistine Chapel, the 600-year-old building houses 65 individual compositions, more than half being done by Florence native Michelangelo,” said junior Collin Hardin. “It is also the site of the Conclave, the gathering of the College of Cardinals to appoint the pope of the Catholic Church, which happened just before our trip. I enjoyed being able to see several filming locations for the 2024 movie “Conclave,” some being in the Sistine Chapel!”

Hardin said it was surreal to experience the beauty of Rome on the day of the first American pope’s inauguration in Vatican City, an enclave surrounded by Italy’s capital.

“We could see multiple police escorts and convoys transporting either celebrities or world leaders to Saint Peter’s Square for the inauguration,” he said. “We went to the Vatican the next day and saw the rows of hundreds of chairs being put up and the takedown of cameras and barricades around the square. It was special to be in that area for such a historic moment.”

Senior Aria Mabry said she could not help but get emotional when visiting the Sistine Chapel.

“I have never had a room move me to tears, but that did,” she said. “It truly felt perfect.”

During their 10-day trip, they visited Florence and Rome sites that included the Leonardo Interactive Museum, Brunelleschi’s Dome at the Duomo of Florence, the Museo Galileo, the Pantheon and the Colosseum.

Study away trips offer students the opportunity to gain new perspectives about the world around them, according to Dr. Stacey Ernstberger, Professor of Mathematics.

“They learn to navigate places where English is not the primary language, and they get exposed to different customs and cultures,” she said.

The trip was made possible through the Smith Travel Grant.