Villa La Pietra facade

Florence, the principal city of Italy's Tuscan region, is an ideal place to learn about the past and future of modern Europe, and about the central role of the humanities in any field of study. At NYU in Florence, you'll experience a different culture, acquire or improve your Italian language skills, while earning credit toward your major, minor, and general requirements.

Florence is a city where bankers, tradesmen, and religious people came together and sponsored and celebrated some of the great feats of human endeavor in the arts, architecture, music, sciences, and drawing.

New York University in Florence is located just north of the city center. Its 57 acres of tended grounds includes five historic and meticulously restored villas (for classrooms and student residences), outdoor recreation space, manicured formal gardens, and a vast olive grove allowing students to experience a comfortable and breathtaking home for the semester. The campus-like environment gives students a unique opportunity to experience a small campus environment while studying as a major American university.

Everyday Florence is a modern city with a strong Renaissance past. The Florentine population is multicultural, but the city’s urban design is based on its medieval and renaissance history. The blend of a modern urban setting with an historic past makes Florence a unique study in contrasts which is at once energizing and inspiring. As a participant of NYU in Florence, you will have the opportunity to experience Florentine life like an insider. You won’t want to miss the world renowned museums and historic landmarks while also exploring ordinary Italian life in the winding streets, tiny restaurants, and unique stores off the beaten path. Florence’s location permits easy travel to other nearby cities: the beach at Cinque Terre, the leaning tower at Pisa, the famous town square in Siena, and many of the picturesque and charming Tuscan towns and villages that elude the short-term visitor.

Some of your classes will take you into the city’s museums to study art first-hand, and some faculty members will provide as part of your course a behind-the-scenes tour of major historical locations (e.g. La Pergola, one of Europe’s oldest opera houses). NYU also offers classes inside Villa La Pietra, an impressive mansion, dating back to the 15th century, home to one of Europe’s first house museums. You’ll study objects that elsewhere can only be seen behind glass, and have experts explore with you how the 21st century can benefit from some of the thoughts first developed in Florence.