Winter in Italy

The following post is from Deryn Cro, Class of 2012, as she prepares to leave for her winter intersession in Florence, Italy.  This is the first of three blog entries that Deryn will contribute as she chronicles her study abroad experience.

When I first heard about the Verrazano Study Abroad Scholarship I knew I wanted to apply to study in Florence, Italy. As a History and English Literature major this seemed like the perfect opportunity to explore a city influential in both subjects. This program will also give me an advantage in regards to my future plans. After graduation I plan on attaining a Masters in Library Sciences with a concentration in Archives and Special Collections. I hope to find work in a museum and having the chance to study in a city famous for its art and history would help me to achieve this goal. The experience of studying abroad will provide me with an opportunity to visit a country that has strong ties to the art world.  I will then be able to apply this knowledge when working in a museum setting. As an archivist or museum curator, it is important to understand the background of one’s material. Art from the Antiquity to the Early Renaissance has been hugely influential into the modern day. Having a chance to closely study art and architecture from a specific period of time will allow me to put my future work into a framework I would not otherwise have.

I will be taking the Antiquity to Early Renaissance class while studying abroad. I chose this class because of my interest in Art History as well as for the first hand experience it will provide me with. I hope that by being able to visit the works I study in class, I will be able to better understand them. Being able to take trips to see what I would otherwise only be seeing in a text book is what really made this class appealing. One does not get this type of opportunity often and I hope to take full advantage of everything this class has to offer! When not in class I am looking forward to exploring Florence and other cities in Italy. I have made arrangements to spend a long weekend in Rome, where I have reserved tickets to visit the Vatican Museums. I am especially excited about seeing the Sistine Chapel given its importance in the art world. On the following weekend I will be visit Milan for the day. While there I will be taking a tour to see The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci. This will be my first experience with traveling in Europe and I think the Winter Intersession is a perfect introduction. I can’t wait to start exploring Italy and everything it has to offer. I am of course also very excited about the food!

Prior to landing in Florence I have two layovers, Montreal and Frankfurt. They are only an hour each so at the moment my main concern is not missing my connecting flights!  I look forward to sharing my experience in Florence with the Verrazano Voyager in the coming month and hope students will benefit from reading.