Washington & Jefferson College

Rachel Mastromarino standing in Piazzale Michelangelo with the city of Florence in the background

My Journey with Michelangelo

By the end of my freshman Fall semester, I already knew I wanted to travel abroad. I found myself in the Study Abroad Office looking at W&J’s list of over 40 approved programs. Italy was on the top of my list. To be more specific, it was Florence.

My interest grew when I discovered the program Firenze Arti Visive, located in the heart of Florence. Firenze Arti Visive is the only school in Florence where American students can learn the techniques of traditional printmaking from a native Florentine.

Two years later, I flew into Florence, Italy, and studied traditional Italian printmaking for four months. As an art major, this was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

I wandered around the streets for inspiration. I loved thinking that Florence is not very different now from the time when Michelangelo walked the streets during the Renaissance. Sure, some might say the city is marred by the intervention of the modern world. But take away the antennas and Florence is pretty much the way it was when Michelangelo was alive.

Nothing is more inspiring than getting ‘lost’ in a side alley and stumbling upon the city’s most breathtaking landmarks, like Piazza della Signoria, where a cast of Michelangelo’s David stands amongst many other sculptures.

I miss biking past Santa Croce every day on my way to class and getting the best espresso from the corner shop. I can still taste the pistachio gelato on my tongue and feel the cobble stone streets under my feet as the vespas zoomed by.

But Florence was an experience that I will never forget thanks to the W&J study abroad program.

Rachel Mastromarino
W&J Class of 2010