VISION Who we are and where we are headed
Palazzi is a group of academic, interdisciplinary institutions located in the historical center of Florence, Italy.
Palazzi has the purpose of enriching international higher education for students and partner institutions throughout the world.
Palazzi’s name bears the core of our educational mission and philosophy – a group of prestigious, meticulously renovated historic buildings (“palazzi”) that have witnessed the civic, political, and economic life of Florence since centuries – which strives to bring innovation to the present and future in the midst of a rich historical context.
Palazzi mirrors the contemporary face of Florence and invites its students and institutional partners to partake in an educational endeavor for a study abroad experience that challenges and shapes the mind.
Our institutions are one of a kind throughout all of Italy and Europe, and sets the standard for international education.
We sustain our local culture by bringing to life the arts that have shaped our economy in the past and creating a vital space for them for the present and future.
We promote and nurture local, small greenmapped businesses that support sustainability and share with our students their lore, craftsmanship, and expertise.
Palazzi is an integration project that allows students to break through the surface of the academic experience abroad by offering the opportunities that allow them to not only study but to live the past and present while building the future of Florence.
PALAZZI is
Palazzo Bombicci Guicciardini StrozziFUA Florence University of the Arts, FAST Fashion and Accessories Studies and Technology, Apicius Int’l School of Hospitality
Palazzo Doni
DIVA Digital Imaging & Visual Arts
Palazzo Ramirez de Montalvo
Squola Center for Contemporary Italian Studies
Villa Brilli Peri
Apicius Culinary Institute of Florence
Palazzi supports the following sustainable institutions:
Ganzo Cultural and Gastronomic Association
AFT Academic Field Trips
Altarosa, biodynamic and ecological clothing company
Mauro Volponi, artisanal leather accessory designer
Mazzanti Piume, traditional feather and flower accessories
Ingorda for Florence Campus Publishing
OUR MISSION
All of the educational institutions belonging to Palazzi are cross-disciplinary and interrelated; students have open access to all curricula and program offerings for a truly wide-reaching choice of areas to study. Palazzi is the singular governing entity that unites the institutions and appoints designated Deans and Administrators to each.
The programs at Palazzi range from a variety of short term up to professional certificate and four-year academic programs offered in Florence, Italy. The main schools of our institutions address liberal and studio arts, business, fashion and accessory design, hospitality management, culinary arts, food communications and publishing, digital and visual media and imaging, and contemporary Italian language studies. These areas have been developed and expanded with the fast growing changes in higher education and the demand for international collegiate experiences. We are committed to excellence in learning and seek to carry out this mission by shaping students who are sensitive towards global understanding as a result of their academic and social interactions in Florence.
Palazzi continually seeks to strengthen its relationships with international partners and is proud of academic partnerships established all over the world. We are open to study abroad affiliation with colleges and universities (community and 4 year, public and private) in order to foster academic collaboration and create meaningful programs for the students of such institutions. We are members of several international associations and organizations and partake in key global events each year.
Our presence in Florence contributes a new outlook on how humans approach learning here. The past centuries have produced great minds in this city whose works densely populate the streets. Palazzi proposes innovative learning strategies that allows students to live in a historic city like Florence with the clarity, curiosity, and creativity that will enrich without a doubt the Florence that they will leave behind at the end of their studies.
VALUES
The foundations of the institutions that constitute Palazzi are based on the following core concepts:
Cross-cultural and interdisciplinary learning for students through their direct interaction with the academic and social fabrics of our institutions and the city of FlorenceA full immersion approach to our entire range of academic programs abroad whether created for short term, short term faculty-led, or long semester term lengths of time.
The practice of responsibility and integrity in relationships with our partners, a 100% personalized approach that enables students and faculty from a partnering institution to rely upon the support system created by Palazzi institutions and the partner.
State of the art facilities for students to have the latest technological advances at their fingertips
A highly competent and expert Italian and foreign faculty who come from international backgrounds
The promotion of student extracurricular life through volunteer and community service opportunities, the Student Services and Academic Field Trips departments, and integration projects at Ganzo Cultural and Gastronomic Association.