Architecture in Greece and Italy
Architecture in Greece and Italy
Explore the architectural and urban legacy of the Mediterranean in Greece and Italy.
The KU Architecture in Greece and Italy Program offers the opportunity to explore the architectural and urban legacy of the Mediterranean. Students will travel throughout famous cities including Athens, Rome, Naples, Florence for 22 days, across areas that have greatly shaped Western civilization and the field of architecture. By means of site visits, guided tours, and lectures, learners will acquire a better knowledge of the historical, cultural, and environmental setting that have molded Mediterranean architecture. This interactive investigation helps one to see how ideas of spatial organization, climatic adaptability, and material innovation have changed over millennia. Examining the great legacy of architects like Vitruvius and Palladio together with contemporary practitioners will help students to see the worldwide impact of Mediterranean architecture.
Students will experience the architectural development of the Mediterranean. The program begins in Athens, Greece, the cradle of democracy and the source of classical architecture. Students will visit the Acropolis, a timeless emblem of architectural excellence that stands remarkably apart from the modernism of Northern Italy. Along with Byzantine structures and historic temples, students will see how this energetic city's many layers of history, culture, and architecture interact. The program then travels to Rome. In Rome and Florence, students will study grandeur of Renaissance and Baroque masterpieces—by luminaries including Brunelleschi, Michelangelo, and Alberti—showcases the heights of human inventiveness and artistry. In Northern Italy, students will tour modern cultural hotspots like Milan and Turin, where works of contemporary architecture by Zaha Hadid, Renzo Piano, and Herzog & de Meuron show the dynamic mix of history and modernism.
Estimated Dates:
Depart Kansas City: December 27, 2025
Arrive in Athens: December 28, 2025
Greece: December 28, 2025 –January 2, 2026
Italy
• Rome: January 2-7, 2026
• Naples: January 7-9, 2026
• Florence: January 9-12, 2026
• Turin: January 12-15, 2026
• Milan: January 15-18, 2026
Depart Milan and arrive in the U.S.: January 18, 2026
**DO NOT BUY AIRFARE UNTIL NOTIFIED BY KU STUDY ABROAD.
Itinerary:
Students will spend approximately 6 days in Greece and 17 days in Italy. Most of the program will consist of planned group activities along with some free time.
Greece (6 days): Acropolis, Calatrava’s Olympic Stadium and modern buildings
Italy:
Rome (4 days): Colosseum, Roman Forum, Pantheon, St. Peter’s Basilica, Piazza Navona, Trevi Fountain
Naples (2 days): Capri Villa, Malaparte
Florence (3 days): Uffizi, workshop with Archea
Turin (3 days): Architecture Workshop with Politecnico di Torino
Milan (3 days): Contemporary architecture by Zaha Hadid, Renzo Piano, and Herzog & de Meuron, Prada and Feltrinelli Foundations, Bocconi Campus and Politecnico di Milano Campus
5 Year Master of Architecture Students who entered KU before AY 2022-2023 will enroll in:
Arch 590 Study Abroad (6 Credits)
Arch 699 Documentation (2 Credits)
5 Year Master of Architecture Students who entered KU in or after AY 2022-2023 will enroll in:
Arch 590 Study Abroad (6 Credits)
2 or 3 Year Master of Architecture Students will enroll in:
Arch 790 Study Abroad (6 Credits)
Interior Architecture Students will enroll in:
IA 690 Study Abroad for Interior Architecture (5 credits)
All other majors will enroll in:
Arch 590 Study Abroad (6 Credits)
Students will use on-site sketching, photography, and videography to record their path, capturing the spatial arrangements and cultural values noted in the places they visit. Emphasizing critical thought and creative synthesis, the program produces a final deliverable—a 2' x 4' collage poster that graphically expresses every student's particular viewpoint. Including a QR code-linked movie, this poster will present a multimedia story of their experiences and observations.
Through traversing this unique path, students will not only deepen their knowledge of the cultural and historical roots of architecture but also develop a worldwide viewpoint of design and urbanism. Beyond Anglo-European paradigms, this curriculum prepares participants to actively interact with the rich traditions and modern problems of Mediterranean architecture, therefore promoting a lifetime respect of architectural variety.
Participants will stay in hotels or hostels in program cities.
SAGE is dedicated to creating international engagement opportunities that meet the needs of all our students and providing resources to support you through the process of studying abroad. Study abroad is achievable for students of all identities including our BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ students, students with disabilities, and students with religious/non-religious viewpoints. Before selecting a program, consider how your identities may impact your experience abroad in unique ways and talk with your Program Coordinator about any program-specific concerns. Students with documented disabilities should discuss any accommodation needs with their Program Coordinator early in the planning process.
Check our Identity Abroad page and resources listed below for information specific to you and other students who may be on your program.
The program is open to all Architecture and Interior Architecture Students with Study Abroad requirements. Prior to the study abroad program, the KU Masters of Architecture Students (3 year or 5 year program) should have completed ARCH 209 or ARCH 502 and Interior Architecture Students should have completed Arch 109.
The following additional students are eligible on a space-available basis:
• KU Architectural Studies Students who have completed third year
• KU Architectural Engineering students who have completed ARCH 200
• KU Design students who have completed third year and have drawing experience
Priority will be given to KU Architecture and KU Interior Architecture Students.
Professor Francesco Carota, Italian-Born architect and researcher is qualified to lead a study abroad program in Italy and Greeks. His research, teaching and professional work focuses on the design and understanding of the intertwined relations that weave architecture and urban development process together, particularly in less developed countries. On the topic of transcultural practices in architecture, he published a variety of academic articles and he coedited the volume China Goes Urban. The City to Come for Skira Editore. His last book, New Silk Road. The Architecture of the Belt and Road Initiative, (2025 Birkhauser), brings global architectural objects to critique and problematize the simplification of world architecture through taxonomic scientific frameworks, resisting the idea that urban architecture is a stable knowledge object, a thing that can be studied with the same (universal) framework wherever we are.
In addition to academic publishing, he dedicated a great deal of effort to disseminating research and architectural culture to the broader public. He was scientific director of an exhibition on Chinese architecture and urbanization held at the MAO, Museum of Oriental Art in Turin, Italy, co-curator of the Italian Pavilion at the Shenzhen Design Week – 2018 Edition, and co-curator of the exhibition Design Assemblies at the Singapore Design Week - 2023. Other than carrying on academic activities, he works as a licensed architect, and he is the cofounder and principal of the architecture and design firm Calibro Zero Srl. His work and voice as a curator and designer appeared in different media sources, and among the many the Italian magazine Domus, the Singapore based title d+a Design and Architecture, the fashion magazine Vogue and the architecture platform Archdaily.
Professor Gustavo Amaral, Brazilian-born researcher and faculty member focused in architecture, urbanism, and urban data science, Professor Gustavo Amaral offers a multidisciplinary perspective to the curriculum. Having taught Ancient Architecture in Georgia Tech's History and Criticism Department, Gustavo links historical architectural ideas with modern design issues. Examining the link between these buildings and their surrounding metropolitan surroundings, his work on stadiums includes the stadiums built by Pier Luigy Nervi, the Stadio Comunale in Turin, the Olympic Stadium in Rome, the new Juventus Stadium, and the Giuseppe Meazza/San Siro Stadium in Milan. By means of these initiatives, Gustavo investigates how the social, political, and cultural aspects of their towns form and define major buildings.
Gustavo also incorporates urban data science and big data analytics into his studies, therefore offering fresh understanding of how metropolitan systems develop and operate. His creative application of data-driven approaches helps students to examine closely how urban planning and architecture interact with more general socioeconomic patterns. Gustavo's knowledge spans the use of architectural ideas by political governments, especially Fascism in Italy and its architectural impact on South American cities like São Paulo, brought about by early 20th-century Italian immigration waves. Gustavo makes sure students really interact with the complexity of architecture's influence in world history, urbanism, and modern difficulties by linking historical, political, and technological aspects.
For more information, contact:
Francesco Carota, Assistant Professor
University of Kansas
Architecture Department
francesco.carota@ku.edu
Gustavo Garcia do Amaral, Assistant Professor
University of Kansas
Architecture Department
gustavo.amaral@ku.edu