Classes at the Villa

Classes began this week and I am really excited about my schedule. I am taking an Italian language class, an Art History class about Florence & the Renaissance, Galileo Galilei: Life and Times, and Comparative European Fascist Cultures: Germany and Italy. As I've mentioned before the art history class meets both in Florence to go to the museums, churches, and other monuments, as well as at the villa for a discussion. All of the rest of my classes are at the villa, however, we do have some other excursions planned. This year is a huge for Galileo; it is the 400th anniversary of his discovery of the moons of Jupiter. There's an exhibit in the Museum of Science that we will get to explore. We also have a day trip scheduled for Pisa, Galileo's birth place.

The one of the coolest things about the classes at the villa is our interaction with the professors. First off, the maximum class size is 20 students, and many of my class are closer to about 15 students (something I've never experienced). Secondly, most of the professors also live in the villa. That means we eat our meals together, and get more time to interact with them. It's been an awesome experience so far, and I'm excited to be able to get to know them better. All of my professor are extremely passionate about their field of study, which should make for really engaging classes!