On my first day in Italy, I saw breath-taking views of Florence from S. Miniato al Monte, a church on the top of a hill. From that moment, I knew the trip was going to be one of the best experiences of my life.
Throughout our three weeks in Italy, we visited so many sites and learned so much that it would be impossible to share all of them. Professor Ahl's extensive knowledge of Renaissance art history and Professor Pribric's literary explanations of Dante's Inferno added so much to the experience. They also provided us with a wealth of information on the history of Italy, Europe, and the cities and towns we visited. This provided us with a sound foundation for all we were to see.
Beyond the amazing sites, this trip also provided a great opportunity to meet new people. I was able to get to know Lafayette students from a variety of different majors that I would not regularly interact with on campus. Together we sampled pizza from the 2002 world pizza champion's kitchen and threw coins over our back into the Trevi Fountain.
As a mechanical engineering major, I chose this class to experience and learn things that I usually would not be able to during the regular academic year. I learned how to look at art and compare different styles from varying time periods. As I read Dante's Inferno, I was reminded of the ceiling of the Duomo, which depicted the poem.
Surprisingly, however, different parts of this class did pertain to my engineering studies. For example, the different structures could be analyzed based on structural engineering with their uses of arches and vaults. In addition, many of the old churches have tie rods to support the arches from collapsing based on poor engineering.
The connection between engineering and this wonderful experience came full circle in my final paper. I went to an exhibition of Leonardo da Vinci's inventions in Florence and related these to current day mechanical devices, which I have learned about at Lafayette.
This course exceeded my expectations. I will never forget these three weeks. The sites, students, professors, and food were all amazing.
Two goals in Lafayette's new strategic plan are to provide students with more educational experiences focusing on the creative arts as well as globalization. The College is taking steps to strengthen its core instructional programs in art, music, theater, creative writing, and film and media studies. The College also plans to expand the geographical and cultural scope of its global offerings by enhancing study abroad opportunities, possibly creating a Center for Global Studies, and expanding the number of languages available for study.
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