Life in Florence
Kent State Florence is a comprehensive academic and cultural program. In addition to completing a full course load, students have many opportunities to get acquainted with Florence and Italy. Below are examples of several activities that introduce students to Italian life and culture.
- A Night at the Opera: Enjoy a celebrated opera by one of the great Italian composers performed in beautiful St. Mark’s Church.
- Kent State Cinema: Great Italian films shown with English subtitles, including classics like Fellini’s 8 1/2 and Rossellini’s Open City.
- River Rafting: Admire the architectural beauty of Florence from a new perspective: a relaxing rafting trip down the Arno.
- Volunteer: Through Caritas Diocesana Firenze, you can befriend neighborhood nonni, and keep Florence clean with Angeli del Bello.
- Soccer Match: Join 40,000 Italians in going wild over their national sport as you wear purple and cheer on the Fiorentina.
- Italian Cooking Class: Prepare classic Italian dishes under the guidance of trained chefs, and then enjoy every delicious bite!
- Ferragamo & Gucci Museums: Florence and fashion are inseparable. Bask in the work of two geniuses of 20th-century Italian style.
Upcoming Lectures
Monday, February 6, 2023 | 6:00 pm | Palazzo Vettori in Florence.
Machiavelli and Beyond with Riccardo Bruscagli
It’s always difficult to detach Machiavelli from the black legend of ‘Machiavellism’ (or better to say, ‘antimachiavellism’). At the same time, the distortions of the true thinking of Machiavelli can be used to clarify the actual ambiguities, the intricacies and the complexity of his works. In particular, the over-imposing of the classical heritage of the anti-tyrannical tradition on the text of the Prince reveals the ‘tyrannical’ subtext of Machiavelli’s treatise, and the disturbing interference especially of Seneca’s tragedies in it. To the point that the true scandal of the Prince can be identified in the spectacular mixing of the two figures of the rex and of the tyrannus, and, therefore, in the creation of a new character in the political and cultural history of the Western civilization
Student Experiences
- Kent Stater, Anna Hoffman, photo-blogged about her time in Florence.
- View photos and read stories about the adventures of students on the Kent State Florence program.
