Above: Medici Chapel in Florence, Italy. (Photo by Anna Burgess)
Going to college in Charleston is special, but then spending a semester in Florence, Italy โ well, it just doesnโt get much better than that.
The 26 students who spent the spring semester there couldnโt agree more. And, after more than two years away from the Tuscany capital due to COVID-19, program director Celeste Lacroix was ecstatic to accompany the students.
โWords cannot express how excited I was to be back in Florence,โ says the professor of communication. โWe have so many Florentines connected to our program โ local tour guides, farmers, artisanal gelato makers, chocolate and pasta producers, winemakers, chefs and restaurant owner/operators. The pandemic was the longest we hadnโt seen some of these friends of the program in probably close to a decade.โ
This year, classes were held in the Piazza della Repubblica, only steps away from the Duomo, the landmark cathedral (above in photo). The curriculum is focused on food and sustainability, with weekly field trips to farms, wineries and artisanal producers to learn about the slow food movement that originated in Italy.
โThis experience abroadโฏchallenged me, brought me to new heights and taught me more about myself than I ever imagined,โ says Ciana Feliccia โ22, who earned a degree in communication. โIโm humbled to have taken part in this long-awaited, unparalleled experience.โย
Left: Basilica di Santa Maria Novella. Right: An interior dome at Medici Chapel. (Photos by Melanie Rocha)
Left: Katy Macklin โ22 and Calley Goulet โ22 with truffle pasta. Right: Ciana Feliccia โ22 at the Piazzale Michelangelo. (Photos by Courtney Smith and Celeste Lacroix)
Students attend a Slow Food cooking class. (Photo by Courtney Smith)
