Florida State University International Programs Italy: Florence

Week 6 of !🌟

Meet Tamara and Maria, who work on our financial team! We are so grateful for all the work they do in our study center📚

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Meet Lucrezia and Leandro, two essential people who work behind the scenes to make sure our daily operations run smoothly!

Week 5 of 🌟

Meet Giacomo and Costanza, two team members that help support our students throughout their academic journeys here at FSU Florence! 📚

Week 3 of 🌟

Meet our Housing Team! Together, they work behind the scenes and on-site to ensure our student residences run efficiently!

This week we are launching the new campaign:
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Let’s meet the FSU Florence crew🇮🇹

We’re introducing you to Charlie and Laura, our Program Director and Associate Director!

✨ Welcome to an exciting 2026 in Florence & Italy 🇮🇹 ✨

As the new year begins, we’re excited to guide our community through the best events, celebrations, and must‑do experiences in Florence and across Italy.

🌸 Florence
• The 60th anniversary of the historic Florence flood
• The ever‑expanding tram network, making the city more connected than ever
• Major urban transformations ahead, including the new look for Piazza Beccaria and developments along Via Palazzuolo

🇮🇹 Italy
•The Winter Olympics arrive in northern Italy from February 6–22
• Verona will host the spectacular opening and closing ceremonies
• Sporting events will take place across:
– Lombardy: Milan, Livigno, Bormio
– Alto Adige: Anterselva, Cortina d’Ampezzo, Tesero, Predazzo

🎉 There’s so much to look forward to—stay tuned for more highlights and updates throughout the year!

FSU International Programs
FSU Florence Program & Cetamura Archaeology in Tuscany Alumni Network
FSU Alumni Association

The first week of Spring 2026 at FSU Florence is officially in the books!✨ Students kicked off the semester by moving into their residences, attending orientation, and enjoying a beautiful welcome dinner at Le Murate, an unforgettable first taste of Florence’s vibrant atmosphere. 🍽️🌆

With classes now underway, students are diving into their academic journeys while beginning to explore the city they’ll call home this semester. Here’s to new friendships, inspiring cultural courses, and an incredible semester ahead! 📚💛

“Brianna Connelly, FSU Florence alumna (Fall 2023), shows us that the world opens up when we dare to explore beyond the familiar. ❄️🏔️

As Nobel laureate André Gide reminds us:
‘Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore.’

May her journey inspire you to chase horizons, embrace change, and find beauty in every step.

🌍✨ ”
FSU International Programs
FSU Alumni Association

✨ **Full Circle Moment** ✨
This week we are excited to share the story of the FSU Florence Alumna Stacey Luna Stubler, who studied in Florence in 1987.
Stacey contacted us via FB, sending us her pictures and memories.

Do you also want to share your memories, we can't wait to hear from you!

Enjoy the reading!

Studying abroad in Florence was pure magic — a pause in time when life felt slower, kinder, and wide open. It was the only semester in college I didn’t have to work. Instead, I spent my days traveling across Europe and Africa, learning Art History inside museums and on cobblestone streets where history was made. Many of the friendships from that time are still with me today.

Now, I’m preparing to send my own daughter, 19, to Paris for her semester abroad. Same dream, completely different reality.

In 1997, there were no cell phones, no pagers — just slow mail and a 20-minute walk to the payphone for a collect call home. We were truly on our own, and it shaped us.

Her experience will look different: Life360, real-time updates, an apartment in Paris, and classes at the Paris School of Business. More independence, less of the cozy FSU bubble I had in Florence.

And while I trust her deeply, I’d be lying if I said I’m not a little nervous — probably the same way our parents felt all those years ago.

Here’s to new adventures and the timeless magic of studying abroad. 🌍❤️

***
📸 Throwback to 1997 — no cell phones, no Wi-Fi, just slow mail and a payphone down the street. Studying abroad in Florence was a world of cobblestones, art history lectures inside museums, and friendships that lasted decades.
Fast forward to today: sending my daughter off to Paris for her own adventure. Different times, same magic. 🌍✨

FSU International Programs
FSU Alumni Association