There are many ways to say Made in Italy: through art, culture, fashion. However, Italy is also world-renowned for good food as well. Italian cuisine is known and appreciated all over the globe: there is no country in the world that has not tried to reproduce or imitate traditional Italian recipes. If you’ve just arrived in Italy or intend to stay for a while, there is one dish that you must try: spaghetti, which has become a symbol of our national heritage. But, where and when does spaghetti actually come from?

Valentine's Day is coming up and every opportunity is good to talk about love and, why not, organize a romantic getaway. For those who live and study in our beautiful city, it is no secret that Florence is a magical place for those in love to spend this holiday, between walks on the Ponte Vecchio and breathtaking views from Piazzale Michelangelo. But that’s not all! In Florence, there is no square, riverside or architecture that is not permeated by the most poetic spirit of love, that gentile spirit sung by Guido Cavalcanti and Dante Alighieri, inspirators of the Dolce stil novo.

Kitija Ernstsone is from Latvia and is a musician. In her country, she studied piano and saxophone, under classical training. When it was time to decide which direction of studies to pursue, she felt she had to cultivate her growing passion for jazz. She also wanted to enrich her experience with a period of study abroad, and began to look around. And so, in 2016 she arrived at AEF. "The course offering at AEF rich and interesting, and the opportunity to come to Florence fascinated me, so I made my decision.

Palazzo Niccolini, the AEF Headquarters, is a historic building located on via Cavour n. 37, one of the most important streets of the city of Florence. Originally, it was called via Larga degli Spadai due to the presence of numerous workshops of armorers who forged swords, but soon the name is simplified in Via Larga in everyday use.
During that time, what made the road magnificent was its breadth compared to others, as evidenced by the 18th century engraving by Giuseppe Zocchi. The current name is dedicated to Camillo Benso, Count of Cavour, a central figure in Italian history, who fundamentally contributed to the unification of the Italian State. He died a few months after the proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, which took place on March 17, 1861, and in the wake of patriotic emotions and enthusiasm, on June 27 of the same year, Marquis Ferdinando Bartolommei, standard-bearer of Florence, proposed to name the street after him, which up until then had been called Via Larga.

What is the best way to learn about Italian culture? Through food, of course! In Italy, every single city has its own culinary traditions, and Tuscany offers so many dishes that you will have to try. To start you off, we’ll tell you about the most famous dish that you will have the opportunity to taste if you come to study at AEF in Florence: the Florentine steak.