Learning about Rinascimento in the New Summer 2024 Course
In the Summer 2024 Notre Dame Rome inaugurated a new one credit course led by professors Daria Borghese and Chiara Sbordoni as a spinoff of the foundational course “All Roads lead to Rome”. The course is entitled “Focus on the Renaissance courts of Italy” and consists of four appointments.
The first one is an in class focus on the Italian Renaissance that then leads to a field trip to Florence and one to Naples to conclude with an in class wrap up.
The Italian Renaissance (Rinascimento) was a period in Italian history covering the 15th and 16th centuries. The period is known for the initial development of the broader Renaissance culture that spread across Western Europe and marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity. The Italian term rinascimento means "rebirth", and defines the period as one of cultural revival and renewed interest in classical antiquity and its arts, architecture, languages and literature.
The Renaissance began in Tuscany in Central Italy and centered in the city of Florence where the course takes the students to visit the Galleria dell’Accademia, Cappelle Medicee, Palazzo Medici Riccardi, S. Croce, Cappella Brancacci, and the Uffizi.
In Naples students visit and learn about the Duomo, the Church of Gesù Nuovo, the church and cloister of S. Chiara, the Pio Monte della Misericordia, and the Sansevero Chapel.
The visits to Florence and Naples provide the students with a better knowledge of the idea of rinascimento and contribute to creating critical parallels with the city of Rome. The course helps understand the correspondence between these cities and their civilization which will let the students better understand the Italian people, language and culture.
Students who attend the course come from different backgrounds and colleges. Each of their academic backgrounds provides them with a unique approach to the history of Italy looking at it through their distinctive lens.