Siena, Italy
The incredible city of Siena is located in the heart of Tuscany, and is the perfect city in Italy for study abroad. Just far enough off of the beaten path that it isn’t overrun with tourists, it is close enough to major cities like Florence and Rome making experiencing Italy and Europe right at students’ fingertips.
Students with SIS Intercultural Study Abroad live centuries of history everyday just by walking down its streets. During the Middle Ages, Siena was arguably one of the most influential cities in the region, comparable in size and prestige to both Florence and Paris. What’s even more incredible is how some of these medieval traditions have survived contemporary cultural shifts, and nothing illustrates this more than the traditions surrounding the famous Palio, the yearly horse race held in Piazza del Campo.
Siena is a smart small city with high standards of quality of life, a great historic, artistic and cultural heritage and a great tradition of hospitality towards students. In fact, Siena is continuously ranked among Italy’s safest and most liveable cities. Its historical center was nominated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1995, and is geographically in the middle of three of the world’s most important wine producers: Chianti, Brunello di Montalcino and Vino Nobile di Montepulciano.
Students with SIS Intercultural Study Abroad will get to truly understand what it means to feel Sienese through cultural and linguistic immersion in host families and participation in service learning projects within the community. With language immersion at its core, various excursions and activities in Siena and its surrounding areas enrich these intercultural experiences.
Come discover why Siena is the ideal for a study abroad experience and why nobody does it better than SIS!
Enjoy this beautiful video produced by the Siena Awards an international photography festival in Siena.