If you’re studying ancient Rome or the Etruscans, or Renaissance art and architecture, Italy will clearly expand your horizons. There again, students of modern Italian language, literature and film, will find plenty of reasons to visit this unique, boot-shaped country. For those with Italian ancestors, Italy is the mother country, the land of wine and olive oil from which grandparents or great-grandparents emigrated to America. But for all its glorious past and associations with la dolce vita (“the good life”), modern Italy is a fast-evolving, vibrant nation, an increasingly cosmopolitan part of the European experiment.

In between studying, you’ll want to take your Italian skills on the road, or railway. In the north of Italy, you can explore Venice, fashion-conscious Milan, alpine Turin, and the fishing villages of Cinque Terre. Moving south, there’s Bologna, Florence with its treasure house of art, the Uffizi Gallery, the vineyards of Tuscany, and the eternal city, Rome. And further down toward the toe of Italy you’ll find Naples, the extraordinary ruins of Pompeii, and Sicily. Whether you plan on spending a semester or a full year in Italy, you’re unlikely to exhaust its fascination, or its charms.  Rome, Italy’s capital city as well as its largest, was also the capital of the Roman Republic and Empire, and it remains the seat of the Roman Catholic papacy.

Testaments to Rome’s preeminence are found all over the city, in the shape of the Coloseum, the Pantheon, St Peter’s Basilica, the Villa Borghese, and a series of baroque piazzas. But despite the architectural backdrop, Rome is no ancient monument; it’s a fun, fast-moving city. In summer, the city’s calendar is packed with musical, theatrical, and literary events.

And Rome is a center of world cinema, too—you can visit the Cinecittà studios—with an international film festival in October. When it comes to nightlife, the city has more than its fair share of bars and clubs, only don’t expect things to get started early—the locals will likely still be enjoying dinner at 10p.m. Rome’s mild climate means you can be out on the streets and in the piazzas, strolling, enjoying the vibe, seeing and being seen, nearly all year round.

Program Description

John Cabot University (JCU), an American-style liberal arts university, is situated right in the heart of Rome. It’s named after the Italian explorer who was reckoned to be the first European after Columbus to “discover” North America. The university, founded in 1972, welcomes approximately 600 study abroad students a year, and offers a four-year education to some 350 Italian and international students. The student: faculty ratio is a healthy 25: 1. JCU is located in Trastevere, one of Rome’s most attractive neighborhoods.  Its core campus was formerly a cluster of convent buildings; these have now been transformed into state-of-the art classrooms and libraries, each with its own terrace. Just like in New Jersey, you can join any number of student clubs and associations. Popular choices include soccer, Italian cooking, yoga, Model UN, the Environmental Club, and sailing.

Information at a Glance

• Academics

• Academic Calendar

• Accommodations and Meals

• Program Costs

• Scholarships

• Travel Brochure

For more information about this program, please visit the John Cabot University website