Brenna Moya

HN Study Abroad

30th May, 2023

Study Abroad Post-Travel Essay: Italy

Just like that, my time in Italy is over. This whole semester the anticipation and

excitement for this trip was building, and in a blink in an eye we are already back.. While I am

very sad that that trip is at an end, the memories and experiences will last a lifetime. I love the

quote, “Investment in travel is an investment in yourself” because it sums up my beliefs. The

sites, culture, history, and people from this trip will impact my life. I walked away from this trip

with an understanding of new culture and amazing friends.

It has truly been a dream of mine to travel to Italy as it is a country that is filled with

history with two of my greatest passions: art and science. During my time in Italy, I got to see

and do things I have always dreamed of being able to do. Getting to see the artwork of

well-known artists that I have always admired, such as Leonardo Da Vinci and Michelangelo,

was an unforgettable experience. The Sistine Chapel, which is located in the Vatican in Rome, is

one of the few paintings done by Michelangelo as he was primarily a sculptor and it was beyond

incredible to see this masterpiece in person. With Italy being one of the main contributors of

modern medicine, some of the very first medical schools were established there. While we were

in Bologna we were able to take a tour of the University of Bologna, which is one of the oldest

medical schools still in operation today. The tour of the University’s museum and facilities was

such an amazing experience. I really enjoyed getting to see their specimen collection as it

contains items that I have never seen before in person, such as fetal skeletons and a very intricate
ear model that was created using paper mache. Experiencing a culture that is rich in the history

of art and science was incredible.

During our time in Italy, we traveled to many different cities within Italy, such as Venice,

Florence, Siena, Bologna, Rome, Pompeii, and the Amalfi Coast. In Venice we visited the

Leonardo Da Vinci Museum and San Servolo Island. The Da Vinci Museum was such a fun

experience, miniature models of some of Da Vinci’s inventions were available for us to build

according to his directions. San Servolo Island was also an unique experience, one of my biggest

takeaways was that many of Venice’s nobility that were admitted to the psych ward on the island

were actually suffering from disease induced dementia. While we were in Florence, we climbed

the Duomo and had a walking tour of the city where we got to see Michelangelo’s David. The

Duomo was one of my favorite sites of the whole trip; we all climbed a total of 463 stairs and

was rewarded with one of the prettiest views I have ever seen. In Siena we visited a medieval

museum, where we were able to see the some of Andreae Vesalii’s texts and they were incredible

works of art to see in real life. The next city we went to was Bologna, where we had a walking

tour and were able to see all the medieval architecture of the city. We also saw the first

anatomical theater. My favorite thing about the anatomical theater was all of the family crests of

those who had graduated from there. I love seeing how different and unique each family crest

was, it was quite a beautiful site. In Rome we were able to see the colosseum and tour the

Vatican and Bone Church. The Bone Church was by far my favorite sight that we saw during the

trip. It was incredible what the friars could do with bones, specifically knee caps in terms of the

decor. I also loved the message that the bones and decor weren’t supposed to make one fear

death, but rather see it as part of the journey to heaven. On that same day, we got to tour both
Pompeii and the Amalfi Coast. The Amalfi Coast had some of the best lemon desserts and the

ruins of Pompeii were unbelievably amazing. I got to cross many items off my bucket list during

this trip!

The country Italy and its culture was unique and invigorating. One of the things I love

about traveling is getting to know a whole new way of life. A piece of their culture that didn’t

surprise me, but was hard to get used to was the public transport system. Many Italians don’t

have personal modes of transportation, so they use public methods such as water taxis, the metro,

and subways. As a person who does value their personal space, it was hard to acclimate to people

being very close in proximity. Another surprise was the lack of chicken in Italian cuisine. I do

have a red meat allergy, so I was shocked to see that there really wasn’t any other meat options

other than fish for me to eat. I ate a lot of vegetarian meals and also some meals that had sea

bass, and every dish I had was absolutely amazing. My favorite meal during this trip was gnocchi

with shrimp and zucchini. I will forever dream about that meal and will one day have to try to

recreate it. I also fell in love with Italian pastry shops while on my trip. I had the opportunity to

try an assortment of pastries and all of them were truly delicious, though anything that had a

pistachio cream always took the cake for me.

To say that I enjoyed my study abroad trip to Italy is a severe understatement. This trip

was truly amazing in every way. I got to see fanatics sites, see beautiful cities, experience a

unique culture, try incredible cuisine, and get to know some amazing people. I went on this trip

knowing very few people, but left this trip with so many new friends. I can’t wait to share all of

my new experiences with those around me and show off all of my photos from my trip. I can’t

wait for the next adventure!