Feeling Florence
Photo provided by Logan Kennedy
When I speak with friends and family back home, I’m often asked what it’s like living in Florence, Italy. Although there are negatives to any culture or environment, I wanted to share all the positives I see in this amazing city.
One of Florence’s best parts is the aesthetic of the city. When flying in, you’re immediately greeted by the red roofs that swallow every structure in sight. From a common home, to the famous Duomo, every roof has the same red tile.
Then there’s the food. When I was coming to Italy I wondered if the food would live up to the hype. I can tell you with certainty that I’ve never seen a place so obsessed and prideful of the food their culture has to offer. From a simple Margherita pizza to Gnocchi alla Pomodoro, I haven’t once been disappointed by a meal prepared off campus.
Something Florence has on almost every street corner that I hold dear to my heart is gelato. Although at times I’d love to have some ice cream with peanut butter, Italian gelato is unmatched.
When the other ACA students and myself first arrived at Villa Aurora, we spent a large amount of money the first month of school binging on any new gelateria we could find. Even though a cone with two flavors is only $2.30, we still spent too much money in search of our favorite location. If you ever find yourself here, you can’t miss going to La Carraia.
As I mentioned with the red roof tops, in general I love the architecture. The antiquity of so many different sites and structures is priceless. All the buildings are filled with rich history and there will always be someone there to tell you how absurdly old a building is. At Villa Aurora, there’s a class called History of Italian Art. In this class, we’ve spent the whole year learning about different buildings and pieces of art found around Florence. There are endless stories to be told, many beautiful buildings to see and plenty museums to explore.
For anyone with an interest in renaissance art, this place has been a dream come true. Florence is the birthplace and home to many renaissance pieces, and it’s been exciting go see these works with my own eyes. From the Uffizi Gallery to Galleria dell’Accademia—Where Michelangelo’s sculpture of David is held— it’s been humbling to see what I’ve been learning about for years.
I’m blessed to have the opportunity of spending the year in Florence and would like to extend an invitation to anyone who would like to visit me before the end of May. Enjoy the rest of your school year!
Logan Kennedy is a junior studying at Villa Aurora in Florence, Italy.