Location

Florence, Rome, Italy

Program Description

Where would you rather learn - sitting in a classroom staring at your laptop, or wandering the halls of a 16th-century Roman palace? (It’s still inhabited by a prince!) Or maybe standing under a 2000-year-old concrete dome? Sitting on a marble park bench in the gardens of a lavish villa? In Michelangelo’s Italy, we trade in the classroom for four weeks of on-site visits to the archeological ruins, monuments, and museums of Florence and Rome. This 6-credit program provides first-hand experience of the art, architecture, and culture of Italy from antiquity through the 18th century.

We begin in Florence, a city often referred to as the cradle of the Italian Renaissance and celebrated for its contributions to art, literature, philosophy, science, politics, and cuisine. We will traverse streets and piazzas once familiar to Donatello, Leonardo, Raphael, and Michelangelo. (All the TMNT!) We will become intimately familiar with Florence’s most famous family, the Medici, through the visible legacy of their power and patronage.

After 1.5 weeks in Florence, we will follow Michelangelo to the Eternal City. Over the course of 2.5 weeks in Rome, we will consider the evolution of Roman art and architecture, beginning from the city's days as a small settlement on the banks of the Tiber River, to one that became the seat of the Roman Republic and Empire, where Julius Caesar was both assassinated and deified. We will make our way through the Renaissance of the "divine" Michelangelo and his papal patrons. Our journey concludes with the Baroque glories and dramas of Bernini and Caravaggio as they redefine the conventions of painting, sculpture, and architecture.

Class meets each day on-site for 2 sessions (approx. 3.5 hours each). We typically meet for our first session in the morning, break for lunch on our own, and then reconvene for the afternoon session. Most evenings are free, and you will have weekend days for relaxing, wandering, or traveling within Italy. A small number of pre-departure, on-campus meetings will be required during the Spring 2026 semester.

There are four courses offered on this program, and students must enroll in two (6 credit hours).

HUM 250: Foundations of Western Culture - Ancient & Renaissance Italy - Fulfills GenEd Arts & Humanities: Human Questions & Contexts requirement

ARTH 205: Survey of World Art: Prehistoric to Renaissance - Fulfills GenEd Arts & Humanities: Visual & Performing Arts requirement

ARTH 327: Topics in Pre-Modern Art - The Cities of Rome & Florence

ARTH 489: Special Topics in Art History - Patrons and Curators: Building Italy's Greatest Collections

As a whole, all four courses offered focus on the cities of Florence and Rome in the Ancient, Medieval, Renaissance & Baroque eras. The Art History courses closely examine the art and architecture of the two cities, while HUM 250 incorporates the literary traditions as well. All four courses offered are taught on-site, in museums, churches, archaeological sites, and city streets.

There is no classroom time in this program! The majority of the instruction is provided by the program director, with the exception of a few sites that require their own guides. Our itinerary will include the most celebrated sites of Florence and Rome - Brunelleschi's Dome, Michelangelo's "David, " the Roman Forum & Colosseum, the Sistine Chapel - but we will also take time to seek out the quieter corners of the cities.

Watch a 5-minute program info session!

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Location Description

Location 1: Florence, Italy (1.5 weeks) Florence has long been celebrated as the birthplace of the Italian Renaissance, home to artists, writers, and thinkers who had a profound influence on the Western tradition. Built around the banks of the Arno River, the small scale of the city allows for an unhurried exploration, encountering Florence’s rich cultural heritage at every turn.

In a single piazza, one finds the intersection of Italian ingenuity across six centuries – the haute couture Italian powerhouse Salvatore Ferragamo faces off against the church of Santa Trinita, home to Ghirlandaio’s 15th-century frescoes for the Sassetti family. It’s only a few steps more to Ammannati’s Ponte Santa Trinita, destroyed in 1944 and rebuilt with stones raised from the Arno.

Program itinerary includes:

Cathedral & Brunelleschi’s Dome, Uffizi Gallery, Accademia Gallery – Michelangelo’s David, Palazzo Medici, Santa Maria Novella – Masaccio's Trinity, and many more

Given the small size of Florence, daily transportation will be on foot.

Location 2: Rome, Italy (2.5 weeks) Often referred to as the Eternal City, Rome has been a site of continuous cultural development and change for several millennia. Though Rome is the largest city in Italy and a bustling center of modern life, evidence of its past can be found everywhere, woven into the fabric of Roman daily life. A visit to the Feltrinelli bookstore at Largo Argentina reveals ancient temple ruins now converted to a cat sanctuary, a stroll down the shaded Via Giulia meanders past Raphael's house, a gelato from Venchi is best enjoyed while sitting on the low walls next to the Pantheon. This is our classroom.

Program itinerary includes:

Colosseum & Roman Forum, Pantheon, St. Peter’s, Vatican Palace & Sistine Chapel, Galleria Borghese, Catacombs of Priscilla, and many more

Daily transportation will utilize Rome’s extensive public bus lines. The subway, necessarily limited by Rome’s status as a sprawling archeological site, will be used as well. The cost of public transportation passes is included in the program fee.

Admission fees for all sites visited as a group are included in the program fee.

Director

Jessica Stewart | stewa2jl@jmu.edu | SADAH - Art History

Accommodations

Accommodations will be provided through furnished apartments or hotels with 2-4 students per room. Accommodations are centrally located, and public transportation in Rome is easily accessible. Students will be able to take advantage of vibrant summer markets, as well as a wide array of open cafes, ice cream shops, and outdoor entertainment, all within walking distance of the accommodations.

Students will be allocated a meal stipend, which will be distributed every 3-5 days. We will have two group meals (welcome and farewell).

Italian cuisine is among the most celebrated in the world, and summer markets are teeming with fresh fruit and vegetables, cheeses, and meats. Students will be able to explore an abundance of cafes, espresso bars, bakeries, gelaterias, and pizzerias.

Additional Items to Consider

A valid passport, with at least 6 months of validity remaining, is required.

Due to the site-specific nature of our study, we spend a lot of time walking through archaeological sites, museums, and the cities themselves. Students must be comfortable with physical activity and summer weather (heat and occasional rain).

Mobile service: US cellphone plans can be extended to Rome through the student’s carrier, or students can purchase an e-SIM if eligible.

Language: No knowledge of Italian is required for this program. Italian is the native language, but English is widely spoken and common on signs and menus.

All logistics, including these, will be fully discussed in group meetings leading up to the program.

Pre-Departure Coursework: There are some pre-departure online assignments.

Applicant Criteria

Applicants must have a minimum GPA of 2.0

Open to all undergraduate majors and class levels

Open to non-JMU students