ByBeyond
Art historian and storyteller Linda Falcone has spent two decades recovering women’s contributions to Florentine art history, from co-founding Advancing Women Artists to her current work with Calliope Arts. Her projects restore not just artworks but the histories behind them, including one of the world’s most remarkable women’s archives.
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Fulbright researcher Catherine Nardi compares how school feeding programs in Florence and Washington, DC navigate local short-chain food procurement. Her findings confirm that policy is the decisive driver, and that scale, cost, and climate variability remain shared obstacles, regardless of how deeply food culture is embedded in a given society.
ByBeyond
ISI Florence and Umbra Institute alumni describe a pattern that research confirms: the discomfort of studying abroad builds skills that follow students into careers, redirect professional paths, and reshape personal identities. From architecture studios to cookbook publishing, the semester abroad often turns out to be the most important one.
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ISI Florence’s contributions to the 2026 “Open Minds, Open Doors” disability awareness conference challenge the standard logic of inclusion. Through a field practicum built on reciprocity and a design-based critique of academic accommodation, Serena Giorgi and Nina Peci argue that genuine inclusion requires rethinking systems, not just adding workarounds.
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Drawing on Renaissance Florence’s civic institutions, Byzantine medical traditions, and modern civil economy theory, Dr. Spyridon Kogkas argues that medical humanism offers a practical framework for realigning healthcare with human dignity, ethical investment, and community responsibility, without sacrificing scientific rigour or economic sustainability.
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Filipino ambassador and scholar Virgilio A. Reyes Jr. reflects on the surprising depth of Italy-Philippines relations, from the Fiesole-born Dominican Vittorio Ricci navigating seventeenth-century East Asia, to Filipino artists exhibiting at the Florence Biennale today. A personal and historically grounded account of an often-overlooked intercultural connection.
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Two Florentine Dominican friars, Angelo Cocchi and Vittorio Ricci, spent their lives navigating seventeenth-century Asia at the intersection of Ming China, Spanish Manila, and the Zheng maritime empire. Their stories offer a vivid lens onto early modern intercultural encounter, missionary adaptation, and the global reach of Medici Florence.
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Study abroad transforms students, but it also burns significant jet fuel. Three West Chester University scholars examine how carbon offsets, sustainable program design, and systemic thinking can help higher education institutions reconcile their international education missions with genuine climate responsibility.
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Beyond n.9 explores sustainability, East-West cultural exchange, and the humanistic tradition — bringing together scholars, alumni, and practitioners to examine the transformative power of study abroad in Italy.
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Christine Staton prepared carefully for studying in Florence but not for the emotional and cultural challenges of returning home. Despite support and a reverse culture shock workshop, readjusting to life in New Jersey proved difficult, revealing how deeply her study abroad experience had reshaped her identity, habits, and sense of belonging.
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An open-minded journey from Italian studies to startup logistics shows how curiosity, studying abroad in Florence, and embracing unexpected opportunities can shape both career and identity. Alexandra Garey highlights the lasting impact of international experiences, personal growth, and pursuing what genuinely inspires you.
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Carla Hill Galfano reflects on how her study abroad experience in Florence shaped her career in museums, her academic path, and her personal life, as she closes one professional chapter and begins another—revealing the lasting, transformative power of living and learning in the city of art.