Donovan Hernandaz

Studying and living in Florence, Italy, as an architecture student was an incredible journey over the past few months. We physically engaged with history through drawing, documentation, and analysis in our studio and in our other classes with site visits and fantastic professors. In addition to exploring Florence, I was also blessed with the architecture program to travel to other parts of Italy, including Elba Island, Venice, Vincenza, Rome, Torino, and Follonica, which were all incredible eye-opening experiences. I was also lucky enough to explore Europe for the first time and get to experience a beautiful array of cultures all across the Mediterranean, the Atlantic, and the Alps. Italy has surpassed my expectations in architecture, education, and cuisine, and I am immensely grateful to have been able to travel and for the generosity of others who helped make it happen.

Our biggest trip for the architecture program was to Elba Island, located just southwest of Pisa in the Tuscan Archipelago, and this was a mind-blowing experience for me. I got the opportunity to go to school for architecture not only in Italy but on a small island in the middle of the sea on an abandoned mining site, truly a once in a lifetime experience. This trip and others really opened my eyes to what an array of architecture exists in Italy, from all of the historical wonders to the contemporary work now that responds to these while also being unapologetically new. I was lucky enough to write a paper for my Architecture & Fascism history class, titled “Sogni di ‘Utopia’ Tresigallo and Fascist Italy’s Città di Fondazione” which will be published into an internal Syracuse publication on Italian fascist history through architecture. Many of the areas of history I learned more about while in Italy including the topics that this paper touches on, I find to be extremely provocative and plan to research further perhaps even for my Directed Research.