6-week Gap Year Course in Italy | Art History Abroad

Going on the six-week gap year trip with Art History Abroad was one of the best experiences of my life thus far. I went in with no prior knowledge of art or art history and left feeling like I was able to hold meaningful conversations about nearly any piece of art placed in front of me. The tutors are incredibly knowledgeable and all wonderful, engaging teachers. Besides being great teachers, they are also amazing people and will feel like friends by the end of the trip.
This trip will present you with some of the most incredible opportunities you can imagine. You see all of the artistic highlights like the David, The Birth of Venus, and more, which are just as remarkable as they are hyped up to be. Beyond that, AHA takes you to places that you would likely never think of on your own. One of my favorite days was a day trip from Naples to the island of Ischia, where we explored a stunning botanical garden and got to spend the afternoon relaxing on the beach and swimming in the Mediterranean. Yes, this trip is about art, but it will teach you about so much more. You will learn about people, food, Italian culture, and life. This trip absolutely changed me for the better as a person and made me feel so much more confident in my abilities as a student and as a young adult. I could try to encapsulate all of my favorite experiences in this review, but it would honestly end up reading like a novel. And besides, seeing these things in real life and learning from these amazing tutors firsthand is even better than hearing about it. The fun memories and friendships I've made from this trip will last me a lifetime.
If you are even remotely considering doing this trip, I recommend you do it. You will not regret it!!

This trip still feels like a hazy dream. I am still trying to comprehend everything that happened. This trip was truly amazing. Our schedule was always jam packed with unique things to do. They took us to places I would never find by myself like Fiesole and the Brion Tomb, which quickly became my two favorite spots on the trip.

Fiesole is now one of my favorite memories. The crowded and long bus ride made it difficult to get up there, but once we were there it was all worth it. The view overlooked Florence, a sunset, and a rainbow. I brought my guitar, so I got to play a few songs for the group while looking at that view.

I feel like a new person after this trip. I'd say my confidence and inspiration have increased. I've made some incredible friends and memories on this trip.

I went on the Northern Italy summer trip with AHA this past summer, and it was without a doubt one of the best experiences I have had. I have always been interested in art, but was never able to take an Art History course at my school, but that did not at all limit my ability to participate in the program. The tutors are wonderful teachers and bring excitement to every piece of art, as well as each new city you explore. After going on this trip, I have a whole new view on art and the time periods we studied. Would absolutely go on this trip again!

I had planned to do something like this for over two years and can safely say that my expectations were exceeded. I found that an unexpectedly large part of this was due to the tutors: what I found most admirable (aside from their extensive knowledge and engaging teaching methods) was their flexibility in giving students freedom to spend more time on pieces they particularly loved, while still maintaining a sense of structure and organisation. Their patience and encouragement of going outside the schedule was commendable, especially given that in comparison to other courses, AHA packs the most into the six week period. We covered a huge range of artists and topics, while also going into a considerable amount of depth.
Thank you all!!! :*****

The six weeks I spent in Italy with AHA were definitely some of the best of my gap year!

The tutors were all exceptional, so knowledgeable and enthousiastic making the course accessible but also fun when you got to relax with them in the evenings over a spritz.

It was amazing how much more you got to see by travelling Italy with aha, a personal highlight was the private tour of San Marco in Venice, a once in a lifetime opportunity which I never would have been able to do without the course.

If you're looking for a trip which is the perfect introduction to an incredibly rich and interesting subject but at the same time offers a fun and relaxed approach to exploring all aspects of Italian culture (food included of course) then I would really recommend AHA. The people I met on my course were some of the most lovely people and we will definitely be staying in touch.

All in all the perfect combination of learning and fun

It is without question that this trip has taught me extraordinary things: I have learnt about the history of Italy, of Ancient Rome and Pompeii, of medieval Tuscany, the Renaissance, Byzantium, the Napoleonic wars and even the fascist government of Mussolini before and during the Second World War. I have learnt about Classical, Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance, Mannerist, Baroque, Modern, Postmodern, Supermodern art forms and ideologies. Of course we had our days off and would sometimes have a change from history of art; a Sienese cookery lesson one afternoon, a fascinating visit to a famous Venetian 18th century velvet factory, a deeply moving tour of the Jewish ghetto in Venice. However, all of these added to an incredible understanding of Italian culture and history.

It still seems unreal, too perfect to recollect. I went to Rome, Orvieto, Naples, Pompeii, Siena, Arezzo, Florence, Fiesole, Pisa, Verona, Vicenza, Castelfranco, Padua, and Venice. I know it sounds clichéd, but I saw Michelangelo’s David, I climbed Mount Vesuvius, I listened to an orchestra play Mozart in the Cattedrale di Siena, I heard monks sing evensong in the 11th century crypt of San Miniato, I watched the sunset over Verona, I saw rain fall through the oculus of the Pantheon, I ate some of the best pizzas on the planet, I made some incredible friends, and I saw the golden mosaics of Basilica di San Marco light up one by one like so many stars.

Jiddu Krishnamurti once said that there “is no end to education. It is not that you read a book, pass an examination, and finish with education. The whole of life, from the moment you are born to the moment you die, is a process of learning.” And in my opinion, the greatest form of education is that which makes you feel alive, teaches you things you never knew, and inspires you to change the world: it is the movement from darkness to light. This trip is that movement, and so so much more.

There are so many moments on AHA that made the experience unforgettable. I could talk about seeing Michelangelo's David in real life, or climbing Mount Vesuvius, or even savoring a slice of Naples pizza. But those are all things that you could find on a "Top 10 Things to Do In Italy" website article. The internet can't describe the close-knit bonds I made with the other students. People who, at first glance strangers, became like family within the first week. People who, being from different backgrounds, each had a unique perspective on everything we saw. You can travel to each city alone and see the same artwork, immerse yourself in the same culture, and follow the same itinerary to the dot. But nothing compares to that sense of enlightenment when someone else realizes a small nuance in the work that you would have never seen had you been by yourself. I gained so much on this trip. Yes, knowledge. Yes, leg muscles from all the walking. But most importantly, a newfound respect for the world and the people around me. There's no price on that.

I loved my six-week fall program in Italy with AHA and know that it thoroughly prepared me for University life. I learnt a lot about art, architecture, and history while developing valuable life skills along the way. I grew as a person and grasped how to live away from home, travel independently, responsibly have fun, and cooperate with my roommates. As a future architecture major, I appreciated how much I learnt from the course that I can transfer to my studies in 2017. My favorite city that we visited was Florence because we stayed in the heart of the city so it was easy to find activities to do on a night out with friends (plus the food there was amazing). Florence also had amazing art and architecture so the sessions in the city were extremely interesting. I would recommend this program to anyone who wants to learn about art history, develop valuable skills, make amazing friends, have fun, and expand their independence before University.