The architecture students at the Vatican Museum in Rome
Author: Kristin Rouse | Major: Architecture
My name is Kirstin Rouse, and I’m a 5th Year architecture student in the Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design. My study abroad experience took place in the Summer of 2021 in Rome, Italy. I am very excited at the opportunity to be able to study architecture in one of the oldest cities in the world. I’ve always been very interested in the deep history of European cities, especially involving the preservation and adaptive reuse of spaces and buildings that are hundreds, or even thousands of years old. Rome prides itself on its continuous layering in architecture, where a building will evolve and change to adapt to the city’s needs over time.
During my summer in Rome, I have the opportunity to study architecture inside the U of A’s Rome Center at Palazzo Taverna. I am able to take an architectural studio, as well as Architecture of the City, which focuses on studying the history and culture of Rome, both in the past and present. This course has both a lecture component inside the Palazzo, as well as a sketching component that allows the students to explore the cityscape. These courses are very fast-paced in comparison to the typical semester at U of A, but the pace make the exploration of my 10-week home all the more thrilling and engaging. I find it amazing that on my typical walk to school, I regularly pass architecture that is centuries old, with breath-taking views constantly filling my vision
For Architecture of the City, we are encouraged to analyze components of the Italian cities we visit through our sketches, where the ways we analyze the architecture is only limited to our own imaginations (and the time available to view the site). I was the most surprised about the contrast of the winding, compact roads of Rome to the more open, outspread layout of our Arkansas homes. I find myself often sketching the dynamic sections and plans of the Roman streets, radiating out from the plazas and piazzas. The buildings facades that blur together in passing, are widely varied in color and style, speaking of the street’s evolution through many architectural styles in past years. Despite this diversity of façade, I find an underlying consistency, where specific shapes and details emerge that are uniquely Italian, tying the streets together into one unified aesthetic of place.
For Architecture of the City, our professors took us to explore the beautiful city of Florence. Florence is a city steeped in Renaissance architecture and style, with a pure color palette free of extraneous ornament. I was unbelievably excited to finally see the birthplace of the Renaissance, which had become one of my favorite points of the past after my education in architectural history courses at the U of A.
We started off the trip taking what was my first ride on a high-speed train through the countryside. We passed many beautiful rural villas and rolling grassy hills as we sped toward our destination. After arriving, we took a walking tour with our professors as our guides, learning more about the rich history and culture of Florence. I was finally able to see the iconic locations that continue to inspire architects to this day, including Palazzo Medici-Riccardi, Loggia of the Innocents, Florence Cathedral, Basilica of Santa Maria Novella, and Palazzo Vecchio. We stopped at the Pazzi Chapel and sketched the inner courtyard, as well as the interior of one of Brunelleschi’s last works. We were free to explore the area for a few hours on our own, so my friends and I headed back to get some lunch at a restaurant in the Piazza della Signoria next to the Fountain of Neptune
We followed lunch with a visit to the Palazzo Medici-Riccardi, the first Palazzo to be constructed for a major Florentine family. This beautiful palazzo set the precedent for this type of architecture, inspiring other families with its Renaissance style and dignity. The richness in material and design inside was spectacular, leaving those of us who were able to visit it with a lasting impression. Exploring the long, curving streets on our walk back towards the Duomo, I noticed how different the style of the streets were in comparison to those of Rome, in both scale and aesthetic. It was clear the region had developed over the years while always staying connected to its Renaissance principles. We were able to finish the afternoon sketching at a small café just outside of the Florence Cathedral. I was able to study how the narrow city streets converged towards the Duomo in my sketches, highlighting the importance of the cathedral as a landmark and symbol of the city for centuries
After finding a restaurant boasting uniquely Tuscan dishes, we walked across the city to find our Airbnb, which was inside a building from the 1800s. The interior featured old stone and mosaic tile floors with a private courtyard for us, so it was a very exciting location for us to stay while enjoying the region. The next morning, we explored the local shops and spoke with artisans, where we discussed local traditions in leather craft and glass smithing. We also visited street painters with beautiful paintings of the city. I was glad to continue exploring and sketching the architecture, returning to the Loggia of the Innocents, the Basilica of Santo Spirito and the Basilica of Santa Croce to sketch their pure geometries and observe the light filtering in from above. As the sun began to set and we took our final pictures, we started making our way to the train station to head back to Rome after our Florentine adventure. I will fondly remember my time here and am so glad to have had the opportunity to visit this sunny Tuscan city.