Author: Avery Boland | Major: Architecture | Semester: Fall 2024

The jaw dropping St. Peters Basilica

I spent my final semester of studying architecture in the ancient city of Rome, Italy. As a 5th-year architecture student at the University of Arkansas, living and studying in Rome was the perfect way to round out my education.

As studying abroad is a requirement of receiving a bachelors in architecture at the U of A, Rome is one of the many great options. Because the school has established its own program in Rome (in which I was enrolled there for the fall semester of 2024) it makes the experience the perfect blend of comfort yet immersion.

My academic experience at the Rome Center consisted of a main design studio (6 credit hours), an “Architecture of the City” course (3 credit hours), and a professional elective course “Women in Art and Architecture” (3 credit hours). We were assigned one professor who taught both the main design course and the “Architecture of the City” course, and I was lucky enough to have a true Roman architecture professor .

One of my favorite parts about the program was getting to learn from and experience Rome with our professor, Ricardo D’ Aquino. His passion for Rome and its deep layered history shined through in his teaching. He took us all around the city exposing us to ancient architecture, urban design, and the historic streets of Rome. In the studio, he encouraged us to take what we would learn in our city class, and use it in our proposal of a new housing building in the Flaminio neighborhood.

In my professional elective course, our professor would also take us out to different museums and sites of Rome. Teaching us about women, art, and architecture, her passions were also very evident and inspiring to our class. In the end, she tasked us with a research paper of a specific women artist, exposing the class to even more history on women in art and architecture.

Aside from academics, I personally did most of my traveling in the month before the fall semester started, but still traveled a few times on the long weekends! My absolute favorite trip was the faculty led hiking trip to the Dolomites. The program director, Francesco, took eight students to northern Italy for a weekend in the mountains. It was the perfect weekend for two reasons. One being that I got to escape the busyness of the city for the most beautiful retreat in the mountains where there was peace, quiet, and fresh air . The second being, I got to meet seven new people! Going into the program I had ambitions to push myself outside my comfort zone by meeting new people and trying new things.

I knew that I wanted to go on this trip, no matter if anyone else I knew was going! It was truly the best decision to go and getting to meet people from different universities and different majors was so refreshing and interesting!

Throughout the semester, there were plenty of ups: Italian coffee, seeing beautiful architecture, and living with my best friend, etc. But there were also some downs: culture shock, graduating, homesickness, and exhaustion. There is only so much you can do to prepare yourself for your study abroad experience, but my advice would be to not take everything so seriously.

The Rome Center created a balance around academics that allows you to have time to experience Italy in all its glory, while also traveling to other countries. I would say to take advantage of the experience that you have of living in a city setting, with roommates from all around the U.S., in a place that is fueled by its people. I would also say to try your best not to limit yourself by trying to live the same life you live in the United States. Instead let the culture of the place you’re at sink into your daily routine. Take notes of the locals, talk to them, and immerse yourself in the local community the best you can. I could not be more thankful or more satisfied with my experience abroad. Ciao!