After a long flight of airplane movies, airplane food, restless sleep, and sitting in the middle seat, I finally touched down at the Florence airport. The first notification on my phone was a text message from the CEA CAPA Florence Center Director, Emily Schiavone, who is amazing and was part of the team which arranged for my transportation to my new home for the next six weeks. Joined by my friend Kiera from the University of Miami, who I would be sharing the coolest apartment with, I already felt at home as we lugged our big bags up to our loft—after grabbing a coffee from the bakery that I visited at least once a day. 

The first night we had a group dinner as an entire group of UMiami biomedical engineering students ready to take Biomaterials. This class was going to be taught by Gianluca D’Ippolito, a UMiami professor who was actually born in Florence, where he spent most of his childhood before moving to Miami. With Gianluca’s guidance and connections, we not only became Biomaterials experts, but we also got to explore Florence and other Italian cities, like Lucca, Sienna, Viareggio, and Pisa, with an authentic touch and through the lens of a local. 

Our UMiami BME group at the first night group dinner in Florence, Italy. 

 The Adventures Begin 

The very first day of classes, Gianluca took us on a walk to places around Piazza della Repubblica, where we met Marco, one of his good childhood friends who now runs a jewelry business. Marco kindly gave us all a discount, and I bought a bracelet made of Japanese glass proudly marked with the Giglio di Firene (Lily of Florence symbol) that I wore every moment of the trip and still wear to this day! Later that day, Gianluca took us a little outside of Florence to Imaginalis, an engineering company that manufactures CT scanners, and his friend Leonardo gave us a tour of the facilities. We couldn’t come as a group of BME students and not do something nerdy! 

One of the first overnight trips we did as a whole group was to Viareggio, a beach town in Lucca about an hour and twenty minutes from Florence. While enjoying the fantastic food and the beach during sunset, we get a text from Gianluca – the first students to meet him and the other professor on the trip, Charles Huang, at Libreria Lungomare, get to do karaoke with them! We were so confused: karaoke in a library?  

To our surprise, when we arrived, it was a library with a stage, live pianist, and projector screen with lyrics for karaoke outside—and people ask why Viareggio is my favorite city. Gianluca knew the owner, Ricardo, as a kid, and he let us skip the queue to all sing our hearts out as a group! After giving the performance of our lives, we walked back to the hotel, and got up the next morning to spend the next day on a lovely beach before heading back to Florence that night, ready to start the next week of classes and more adventures! 

A week later, my friends and I were coming back from a day trip to Cinque Terre and were quite literally ravenous—the Eurorail can really take it out of you. After changing out of bathing suits at the apartment, we went downstairs and beelined to the first restaurant we happened upon—Florentia. Our experience was incredible, due to both the food and the owner, Antonio, making our entire experience so fun and getting to know us.  

We went back to that same restaurant at least ten more times, trying everything on the menu, and enjoying the free desserts that Antonio gave us every time after our meals. We brought Gianluca to the restaurant the second to last night we were in Florence, where he learned he has a mutual friend with Antonio.                   

   My friends and I with Antonio, the owner of Florentia. 

A Bittersweet Goodbye 

The last hurrah our group had was twelve hours before our flight took off to transport us back to the United States. We all joined Gianluca with Stefano, another old friend, to enjoy one last dinner together at his restaurant, Tarocchi. Over lots of laughs, what seemed like eight different courses of food, and a walk back to get gelato, we reminisced. With over 20 cities visited, four countries, and countless restaurants, my friends and I felt as though we had gained invaluable experiences and knowledge that could guide us through the rest of our lives.  

Me and all the other BME students at the last dinner in Florence! 

However, we all agreed that many of the best experiences were the ones where we felt most connected to Florence, and for that we can thank Professor Gianluca and his many childhood friends that gave us not only a glimpse into what life as a local in Florence might be like, but a glimpse into history.