Castiglion Fiorentino (or CF for short) is a walled city with a population of about 13,000 people. CF has been the home of ITALART (a study abroad program) for 30 years. About 12,000 students from several universities have gone through this program over the years and have walked the charming streets of CF. ITALART used to hold classes in the Santa Chiara Study Center. Because of the pandemic, this semester is the first time CF has seen a study abroad group back in town since the spring of 2020 (the semester students had to return to the U.S. less than halfway through the program).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shortly after arriving to CF, I realized how big of an impact the study abroad program has had on the community. We\u2019re basically local celebrities! Locals will approach us on the street and ask if we\u2019re \u201cthe <\/em>Americans,\u201d or simply say \u201cTexas?\u201d A local cafe near our classroom\/studio has several Texas A&M flags hung up with signatures from students that have been here before (we plan on leaving one, of course). The young owners have even made their way to College Station to visit the friends they made in years past.<\/p>\n\n\n\n