There is something unforgettable about seeing Florence from above. The terracotta rooftops, the golden light reflecting on the Arno River, the silhouette of Brunelleschi’s Dome atsunset, the city becomeseven more magicalwhenadmired from a terracesuspendedbetween history and sky.

Reflections by AEF Students After Visiting Il Memoriale delle Deportazioni in Florence

On October 10th, 2025, students from Professor Floarea Vîrban’s History class visited Il Memoriale delle Deportazioni, also known as Il Memoriale Italiano di Auschwitz, an immersive and emotional space dedicated to memory, responsibility, and human dignity.

This week, rightoutside Accademia Europea di Firenze in Via Cavour, something unexpected caught our attention.A small table. A typewriter. And a simple idea: sit down, talk… and receive a poem.

Over the last two and a half weeks, a few words have taken on great importance in my vocabulary. Those include a rushed “Grazie!” when someone points me in the correct direction, a confidently uttered “Buongiorno!” or “Buonasera!” in greeting after taking a second to check on the time, and the most important word: a timid and rushed “Scusa” to get through almost any interaction. Just like in English, I unfortunately abuse the word “sorry” when speaking Italian.

From March 9 to March 12, 2026, Accademia Europea di Firenze hosted the second edition of its Sustainability Week, a four-day immersive experience that brought environmental and cultural responsibility to the center of academic life.More than just a series of events, the Sustainability Weekrepresented a meaningful step forward in AEF’s long-term commitment to sustainability as a lived, shared, and interdisciplinary practice.