ITALY- I want to STUDY ABROAD there for college ...what is THE best CITY in italy to stay in so...?

Question

that I can get a feel for italy, because i KNOW florence and rome are mostly tourist places and i dont want to be surrounded by tourist all day.. thanks

Answer 1

It also depends on what you'd like to study; for instance, for informatic and related Turin is the first choice, Milan for law, etc.

Answer 2

I advise you Bologna. Beautiful, lively, good and not overcrowded with tourists

Answer 3

Florence and Rome are both amazing cities, I would probably choose Florence over Rome as a place to study though.  But I did visit a friend of mine who studied in Peruggia (sp?) Italy last semester.  He loved it there, and I had a blast when I went to visit him. It was a smaller but very cool place.  Seemed like a perfect place for a college student to spend a semester abroad.

Answer 4

My 2 good friends studied in Italy.  One stayed Florence and LOVED it.  The other was in a small northern town and thought it was wonderful.  It just depends more on what you're comfortable with- city or country.

Answer 5

well to tell you the truth the best city to enjoy a study abroad is florence, why? because i was there and got a real taste of it all. first of all, have you decided on what schools are available for your college to accept the credit?  i attended SACI (Studio Art Centers Internatonal) its a well known school, practically american, all the classes are in english and the credit you get there is valid for almost any school in the us.  

the reason why i recommend you florence is because its small, you can get to and from easily wiht bus or without bus and everywhere you go in florence its beautiful. like in rome, you have to walk long long long distances to get to where you want to get, everything ther eis all scattered and you its not like florence at all.

the reason why i wouldnt really recommend you going to a little town in the middle of no where is because your not giong to like it. first of all, it would hard to find a school IN the middle of nowhere in which accept foreign students and credti available, second, your just not going to fit in with the peopel there, the people are not use to foreigners and they are not going to be open in helping much, second, its going to be tiny, clubs? bars? possibly two at the most.  im telling you because ive been to these little towns many tmies with the intentions of 'oh look! lets go hang out tonight..' and we end up not enjoying th enight at all..where as in florence, its full of excitment,  events, free shows, people you can interact, americans or non americans..its worht it.

in my situation after finishing school there i didnt want to leave, i was so in love with italy and yet i couldnt stay there for nothing, so i decided to apply to the univeristy of florence and ive been there since then. ill be graduating this november with hopes to later on remain even longer but with a job and the visa to work there.

have a safe trip and make a wise decision!

Answer 6

hi, i'm italian.

i'm sorry but only in rome there is LA SAPIENZA, best university.

can you say me the faculty that you have chosen?

Answer 7

I studied in Florence where they are used to foreign students (particularly American ones) as well as tourists. While Florence can be touristy, I think that the tourists will be confined to tourist districts, like in Florence, il centro. I happened to live on the next block from the David, so I had to make my way through seas of tourists on my way home from school, and that was the extent of how an excessively touristy Italian city has limited me.

Also, every weekend, I could easily by train go to cities like Bologna, or smaller towns like Lucca and Siena to experience that side of Tuscan living.

I actually think Venice is more touristy and the city where you'll feel the most hostility. I'll just say that their patience has worn thin. I spoke Italian, and people always responded to me sarcastically in English (which is a sign of disrespect, said my Italian RA).

I only spent one day in Rome but I wish that I spent my study abroad experience there, rather than in Florence. It was more of an international city, where you can kind of share the best of both worlds as far as "quintessential Italy" goes and a big, modern city. I thought Florence was bland.

All in all, if you want a slightly more authentic Italian experience, choose Florence. But if you need a little bit more "city" and urban life, still with that dash of old Italian style, pick Roma.

Answer 8

milan is the best city!!! there are the most famous universities of all italy (which are "bocconi, cattolica, politecnico")

Answer 9

Try "Universita' per stranieri" in Perugia, foreign students university, is located east of Florence.

Answer 10

i think rome is one of the most  important cities of italy... there u can choise between a lot of schools...roman people are very friendly.. trust me...u can ask them for help whenever u want...they will help u with your italian if u dont know it yet... anyway if u want to know more add me    [e-mail]

ps: im italian!!!     ciao.....

Answer 11

You should try Urbino.

Answer 12

I studied for a year in Florence.  I rarely felt surrounded by tourists.  For one thing, they really only inundated the city at the beginning and end of the school year (and the summer).  For another, I was going about my own life most of the time (classes, friends, errands, the whole bit) and so they weren't really noticed as much as you'd think.  Especially if you can find some way into some local scene (I played on the city's rugby team), you can make your life something like that of a local.  A lot of students didn't do that, and hung out a lot with other American students.

Florence is lousy with American students, but it's a good sized city, so you needn't be trapped by that (though you can, if you want).  Perugia also draws a lot of foreign students, and it's a much smaller city (I dig it though).  

Like others have said, there are a lot of great places to go, and you probably won't go wrong.  Personally, the Italian city in which I think I'd most like to live is Padova, but that's just me.

If you email me, I can give you more tips, particularly if you are from California.

Answer 13

any city in italy is great.... youll get the experience anywhere......