Italy - Curriculum & Courses

Italian Cultural Immersion

• TopArt History
  • Introduction to Art History: This course is a general introduction to the visual arts from Greek art to the Italian High Renaissance and Mannerism. Great importance will be given to those artistic events and personalities which contributed to the artistic development of the different periods. Throughout this class, historical, social and religious points will be treated in relation to art. Emphasis will be on Italian art, especially during the Renaissance. This class is divided into lectures, walking tours, visits to museums, churches and monuments in Florence as well as field trips out of town. The student will learn to recognize the main characteristics of art and architecture from 600 BC to 1600 AD.
  • Florence and the Medici: Art as Power: Art as Power Murder, political intrigue, and the end of the world; these were daily issues for a Medici prince during the Renaissance. This dramatic history of the Medici family flows throughout the streets of Florence, visible in the city’s most famous paintings, sculpture, and architecture. These objects and spaces tell a story where truth really is stranger than fiction. These places and objects bore witness to assassination plots, political coups, and the most extravagant festivities ever produced in early modern Europe. The class will investigate artists such as Michelangelo, Botticelli, and Donatello and the works they created for the most powerful Florentine family that ever lived. Class time will be spent primarily on site at locations throughout the city such as the Palazzo Medici, Palazzo Vecchio, and the Uffizi. Ultimately, the goal of this course is to familiarize students with the historical city of Florence, the Medici, and how this prominent family shaped the early modern world.
• TopBusiness
  • Introduction to Marketing: Marketing is a dynamic and an exciting field, a key tool in confronting the challenges that enterprises are facing every day. The purpose of this course is to introduce marketing principles and concepts. In this course students will learn about the "real" nature and scope of marketing management. They will be introduced to aspects of marketing, such as: Marketing Strategy, 4 P’s, Market Planning, Retailing and Wholesaling, Target Marketing, Market Segmentation and Services Marketing. You will also learn about the strategic importance of marketing to an enterprise, whether it be a profit oriented business firm or non-profit organization.
• TopCuisine/Cooking
  • Current Trends in Italian Cuisine - Cooking Italian Style: Using Lorenzo de’Medici’s state-of-the-art culinary demonstration kitchen, students learn the mystery and magic of Italian food history and hands-on food preparation and presentation. This course will examine the philosophy behind Italian cuisine today, including the increasing necessity for lighter and healthier food and the rediscovery of numerous typical local products with an ever-present underlying note of creativity and innovation. Taught by English speaking, animated, professional Italian chefs, this course also surveys the regions of Italy and their very different yet rich culinary traditions. ($295 supplement) $295
• TopFashion Design
  • Introduction to Fashion Design: This course is designed to familiarize students with the fashion world and to provide them with a general knowledge of the history of style, current fashion and trends, and the fundamental techniques of fashion design. Students create their own fashion project, from the conceptual phases to the presentation of the sketched collection. Special attention is given to fashion illustration and sketching. Students experience the use of various mediums for rendering fashion designs, such as markers, color pencils and watercolor.
• TopJewelry
  • Jewelry Making: This course is meant to give students a first approach to jewelry making. The main equipment and tools used (machinery, pliers, files, saw) together with safety regulations are explained in this course. Students will work at silversmith's bench, learning the basic techniques for creating simple pieces of jewelry with design transfer, sawing, filing, soldering, polishing and simple settings for cabochon stones. The course will also introduce the wax casting methods and wax carving. The aim of the projects is to develop manual and creative ability. This course has very limited availability.
• TopPainting and Drawing
  • Florence Sketchbook (Separate Beginner and Advanced Classes): Learn drawing and painting skills in a refreshing way. This course consists of gathering research in the traditional form of sketching from the works in the museums, streets, and environments of Florence as artists have done for centuries. Includes working from sculptures, paintings, architecture, and formal gardens. Students will be encouraged to write notations and observations as well as to research their areas of interest. Students will gain firsthand knowledge of the original works by studying them to create sketchbooks that can be used as source material for future projects.
• TopPhotography
  • Digital Photography: Introduction to digital photography with a particular focus on the most updated techniques and the ways to incorporate them in classic fine art photography. The course will explore the use of state-of-the-art computer techniques, while introducing students to classic black and white darkroom work, and the ways they can be combined for a new interpretation of the photographic medium. The instructor will help students to master the use of photo software, show how to control the scanning of a picture/ transparency/negative, and how to make high quality digital prints. Elements of photo composition and graphic design, photo history, and relationships with other art mediums will also be addressed in the course. Digital camera required, with a minimum of 6 megapixels and manual focus option.
  • Classic Photography: This course starts with a basic approach on how the photographic camera works, while examining the technical aspects of developing and printing photographic (black & white) film. The student is expected to gain confidence on how to use the photographic medium in a creative and expressive way. In the final part of the course, the student works on an individual project, using personal ideas for this assignment. The aim is to impart a working vocabulary of basic photography, in order to allow the student to become familiar with the technical aspects of the photographic camera as the main tool in converting visual and personal expression onto photographic film and paper. 35mm film camera with manual focus required.
• TopSAT Prep
  • SAT Classroom Course with an ACT Boost by The Princeton Review : Prepare for both the SAT and ACT this summer! The SAT course is structured to produce high score improvements through effective, proven verbal skill-building and math instruction. Includes The Princeton Review guarantee and Live Online Wrap-Up in the fall. The ACT Boost course builds on the skills you’ll learn in your SAT program and will help you get your highest ACT score. ($795 supplement - includes all books and classroom materials, satisfaction guarantee, fall Wrap-Up)
    
    The Princeton Review SAT/ACT Preparation with Special Summer Bonuses and Year-Round Follow-Up!
    
    The world’s best test preparation available this summer continues all year with the following free benefits and courses. During the school year, take advantage of three Princeton Review (TPR) benefits, just a click away:
    -Take our Princeton Review 101 courses for FREE
    -Admissions 101: Overview of the College Application Process
    -Financial Aid 101: Understanding the Financial Aid Process
    -FREE unlimited access to our online SAT and ACT courses
    -FREE online wrap-up courses before your SAT/ACT test date
    -FREE TPR apps for your iPad, iPhone, and Blackberry
    -Exclusive Live Online Summer Discovery events hosted by Princeton Review staff
    -Access to our best-fit college search program and the extensive admissions/financial resources of PrincetonReview.com
    $795 Supplemental Fee
• TopSculpture
  • Beginning Sculpture: This course is an introduction to figurative work in clay. It covers the major techniques required in clay work, such as wedging, joining, pinching, coiling and slabbing as well as the techniques of building a figurative sculpture and the use of mark and surface in figurative work. Possibilities of various surfaces and finishes will be discussed. Students will be guided through exercises in the basic forms and anatomy of the body. Work will be both from models in the studio as well as from museums and sculptures in Florence.
  • Intermediate Sculpture: This course is designed for students who have either covered the foundations of figurative sculpture or who have worked with other approaches and wish to improve their technical skills through class exercises. Students will work on independent projects focusing on subject matter from observation and reference to personal issues. The course is designed to introduce students to more sophisticated and critical approaches to their chosen areas of focus in the context of contemporary sculpture. Project work will revolve around given themes, and students will be taken through a process of how to develop their projects. The course covers work in clay, wire and plaster, casting from plaster and flexible molds in gesso, wax and paper. Structured exercises to assist the students will be given so that one will be able to better interpret any relevant concepts.
• TopSports d'Italia
  • Soccer: What better place to learn and practice the world’s most popular sport than in a country that is the reigning World Cup champion? Learn from the best Italian coaches with competitive drills, conditioning and match play at the Salles Associazione Sportiva, the best soccer facility in Florence.
  • Basketball: Professional and amateur basketball is amongst Italy’s most popular sports. Enjoy European rules (wider key, easier 3-point line) basketball with great instruction, drills, scrimmages and game play. We’ll put together a Team USA and challenge the locals. Takes place at the Salles Associazione Sportiva.
• TopWriting
  • Academic Essay and Creative Writing Combo: Colleges and universities place a high value on students’ ability to write effectively, persuasively, critically, and creatively. Take advantage of your time while on our pre-college program to sharpen your writing skills with Florence as your backdrop. The course uniquely focuses on both academic essay writing and creative self-expression. This combination will improve any student’s writing abilities and will be specifically useful for college application essays, which are used to assess both student writing ability and to discover the “real you.” Techniques and exercises aim to stimulate the creative imagination and strengthen writing skills of college-bound students.