Voyage to Italy: A renaissance of Study Abroad

Submitted photos courtesy of Charles Zola

As a group of 14 Mount students and faculty boarded their flight to Florence, Italy, this summer, it marked the first step in the journey of a lifetime – as well as the rebirth of the college’s Study Abroad program, which had been dormant since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Friendship in Renaissance Florence” began in late March as an online course, laying the groundwork for the hands-on trip to Florence in June. It was taught by Charles Zola, assistant to the president for Mission Integration, associate professor of Philosophy, and director of the Mount’s Catholic and Dominican Institute; and Sr. Margaret “Peggy” Murphy, OP, a Dominican Sister, a retired Mount Religious Studies professor, and a current adjunct at the college. 

Topics in the course included everything from friendship between spouses to friendship in the religious life, with a particular focus on the Dominican tradition that has shaped Mount Saint Mary College since its earliest days. 

“Renaissance ideas on [friendship] were greatly shaped by a reappreciation of the works of Plato, Aristotle, and Cicero, and Boccaccio,” noted Zola. “Of particular importance was the friendship between mentor and protegee, as described in Dante’s Divine Comedy between Dante the poet who is guided on his journey through the patronage of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Saint Lucy, Beatrice, and Virgil, the ancient Roman poet.”

During their two weeks in Italy, the 12 students and their professors resided in apartments in the city of Florence and enjoyed excursions to Siena, San Gimignano, Bologna, and Acetaia. They also learned about the Dominican intellectual and spiritual tradition as it blossomed in Renaissance Florence.

For example, the group visited Santa Maria Novella and San Marco, two Dominican convents. San Marco is home to many frescos of the great Dominican artist Fra Angelico. And at Santa Maria Novella, the group met with a Dominican friar, Fr. Fabrizio Cambi, rector of the Dominican community in Florence. 

“He met us personally and gave us a private tour,” Zola explained. “Fr. Cambi explained the history of Santa Maria Novella and how the art of the church represented theological and spiritual ideas. The hospitality extended by Fr. Cambi created a personal connection between the class and our Dominican family in Florence. “

In the city of Siena, students visited the Church of San Domenico, where the group visited what was once the family home of St. Catherine of Sienna. Born in 1347, St. Catherine would become a lay member of the Dominican Order, caring for terminally ill patients and providing spiritual direction to men and women in search of God. Though she lacked a formal education, St. Catherine of Siena is known as the Doctor of the Church and would administer aid to plague victims.

“In the past, when we talked about how the Black Death or the plague and how that impacted people’s lives, it seemed like ancient history,” Zola said. “But this was a group of students who actually knew what it was like to go through a pandemic. So when we talked about these things, it was so real for them.”

The class also visited the city of Bologna, where Saint Dominic is buried. At the tomb of Saint Dominic, Sr. Murphy led the group in a prayer of gratitude for all the blessings experienced during the trip and asked Saint Dominic to continue to inspire them. Zola then asked students to reflect upon a passage from Dante’s Paradiso that speaks about Saint Dominic and his legacy. He pointed out that Dante’s text was speaking about them, as they were all connected to the Dominican tradition through the Mount.

Another highlight, especially for Nursing students, was a visit to the University of Bologna. Founded in 1088, Bologna has the distinction of being the oldest university in the world. Here students visited the Anatomical Theatre of the Archiginnasio, one of the very first places where cadavers were dissected and studied. The room was paneled in wood to absorb unpleasant smells and examinations were only carried out during the cold of winter to help preserve the corpses. 

An aspect of the trip that stood out to Zola was “the joy of accompanying the students on their journey as well, of discovering something new through their eyes. It was exciting watching the students not only learning the material of the course, but also learning how to navigate a whole new culture, a whole new language, and a whole new city.”

The Mount’s Study Abroad program was recently revived by the Office of Academic Affairs, in conjunction with MSMC faculty members, said Barbara Petruzzelli, Assistant Vice President of Academic Affairs.  

Zola is pleased to see Study Abroad return to the college. It offers students a chance to bring a new dimension to their studies. From the comfort of the classroom, the stories Mount students learn about St. Catherine of Sienna and St. Dominic might feel detached from reality – almost like fairy tales. But traveling in the footsteps of the saints really brings that education to life.

“Yes, you can study the Italian Renaissance anywhere,” he explained. “But it’s that experiential learning of actually being in the places, actually seeing it, actually being present in these locations that makes it so real.”