Shakespeare’s Italy I:

Florence, Venice, Verona

online classes: March 23 - April 27, 2027

travel: May 6 - 16, 2027

Register now!

Immerse yourself in some of the most beloved literature in the Western world, on the page and in person. Shakespeare’s Italy I begins with 6 weeks of online classes in which we’ll dive into three of the Bard’s most famous Italian plays, plus a selection of other poems and texts. Learn how the rich literary culture of Florence, the birthplace of the Renaissance, spread throughout Western Europe and England, giving rise to many of the most beloved works of western art and literature—and even influencing Shakespeare to set one-third of his plays in Italy and create the feuding families, love-soaked soliloquies, and star-crossed lovers we know so well.

At the end of our course, we’ll take a 10-day trip to Italy to visit the cities where these works are set, seeing the places that inspired Shakespeare and tracing the footsteps of his characters—and perhaps even the author himself, as some would argue (but that’s a Pandora’s box we’ll save for our class).

While you may have been to some of these cities before, we promise you haven’t visited them like this. Our itinerary is built around exclusive experiences we’ve designed with local Italian colleagues, friends, and other experts. You’ll go behind the scenes at sites you may have heard of and visit others you almost certainly haven’t. Alongside, we’ve built in ample time for sightseeing, enjoying local food and wine, and other non-academic pursuits.

Our adult study abroad programs let you capture all of the exploration, wonder, and romance of a college study abroad program with the comforts and necessities of a luxe adult vacation. Join for a travel experience like no other!

Register now!

Program Highlights

  • Engaging, Expert-Led Classes

    The centerpiece of the program is the academic course, designed and led by professors who are experts not only in their fields, but also in teaching interesting, engaging classes for students at all levels. The instructors will be your personal guides from start to finish, helping you to unlock our famous, sometimes daunting texts, and to learn how literature can make travel—and even the whole world around you—more meaningful.

  • Unique, Private Excursions

    Our 10 days in Italy are planned around a series of exclusive activities designed to connect our readings and classes to the places we visit. We’ll have behind-the-scenes tours of Shakespearean locales and visits to other literature lover must-sees you didn’t even realize were hidden in these world-class cities. In between our excursions, you’ll have enough free time to hit the big attractions and find your own new favorite places,

  • Luxe Accommodations and Travel

    Enjoy 4-star accommodations in our three different cities—because you can’t study the beauty of the Renaissance without similarly stylish lodgings. We’ll handle all the logistics and make moving among cities, hotels, and excursion sites smooth and carefree. Leave the planning to us while you relax. We’ll even take an artsy photo of you on a private water taxi in Venice with the wind in your hair.

  • Concierge-Style Service

    One of the best things about our Adult Study Abroad programs is the small size. With fewer than 10 students in each group, we can provide one-on-one assistance from the day you register to the day you fly home. Need help choosing travel insurance? Planning a couple extra days in the Veneto after the end of the trip? Deciding whether Franco Zeffirelli’s film of Romeo and Juliet is superior to Baz Luhrman’s version? We’re always just an email or a phone call away.  

  • La Dolce Vita

    It wouldn’t be an Italian getaway without time to relax and experience the good life—and we have plenty of recommendations for where and how to do that, including the most helpful Italian phrases to use to feel veramente italiani. Plus, reward yourself for your hard work and experience a classic Italian tradition with our group aperitivos, when we treat you to our favorite local haunts, snacks, and drinks (wine, cocktails, and/or nonalcoholic choices).

  • Intellectual Community

    It’s not always easy to make time for the life of the mind, let alone find a group of people to enjoy it with—especially once you leave college behind. Give yourself the gift of joining a community of others who want to dive into classic literature, complex ideas, and beautiful language. Luxuriate in learning and travel like you never have before in a small group of like-minded, well-read travelers.  

Shannon & Q talk
Shakespeare’s Italy

Hear about our favorite parts of the first ever Shakespeare’s Italy adult study abroad program in fall 2025 and learn why you should join us for the next one!

Classes

For six glorious weeks, we’ll explore Shakespeare’s northern Italian plays and the places and culture that inspired them. Together, we’ll discover why these texts are so important and influential, even 400 years later, and how Shakespeare—a man who supposedly never set foot in Italy—came to write so many works set in that country, with such peculiarly accurate descriptions. Whether you’re a Shakespeare aficionado or a novice, whether you love him or fear him, this class is for you. We’ll walk you through everything you need to understand these plays, to unlock the secrets of Shakespeare and see what all the fuss is about. We’ll even send you all the books you need. Trust us—it’s worth it!

Class Syllabus
(subject to change)

Week 1: The Renaissance in Italy and England

Week 2: Sonnets, Shakespeare, and Petrarch

Week 3: Romeo and Juliet

Week 4: The Taming of the Shrew; women writers of the Italian Renaissance

Week 5: The Merchant of Venice

Week 6: Shakespeare in the 21st century

Each week we’ll have a two-hour online seminar focused on one of Shakespeare’s plays and other related texts. Most weeks there will also be an extra, optional session dedicated to more in-depth discussion of our class material, or to a topic such as helpful Italian phrases for traveling or a modern television or film adaptation of one of our literary works. All classes will be recorded for anyone who’s unable to attend live.

Travel Itinerary

Day 1: Florence
Arrive in Florence. Meet for a welcome aperitivo and our first on-the-ground lesson on the Renaissance culture that inspired Shakespeare and so many others.

Day 2: Florence
Visit a private 14th-century villa just outside the city center for a taste of Renaissance Italy and a lively lesson on Shakespeare’s green worlds, then enjoy an afternoon and evening to yourelf to explore the city.

Day 3: Florence
Spend the morning on a tour of one of Florence’s most beautiful private gardens, and learn how spaces like these played a part in shaping Renaissance literary history. Relax on your own in the afternoon before we enjoy a farewell-to-Florence dinner as a group.

Day 4: Florence—Venice
Enjoy a leisurely final breakfast in Florence before boarding our private coach to Venice. Wander this watery dreamscape of a city on your own until we meet for aperitivo and a discussion of The Merchant of Venice.

Day 5: Venice
Take a walking and food tour of the Cannaregio neighborhood of Venice, setting for much of Merchant and today a vibrant neighborhood filled with food, wine, and music. After lunch together, enjoy the afternoon and evening on your own.

Day 6: Venice
Visit one of Venice’s hidden gems, a quirky private library and museum in the Castello district, for a tour and talk about the rich history of Venice’s book trade and its influence on Shakespeare and other writers. After an afternoon of free time, take a glamorous private water taxi to our farewell-to-Venice dinner.

Day 7: Venice—Verona
Toast Venice with a final cappuccino before the short private coach ride to Verona. Spend the afternoon getting acquainted with this charming city, then meet up for an aperitivo and introduction to Montague-Capulet territory.

Day 8: Verona
See Verona on an exclusive walking tour and performance led by local Shakespearean actors. Visit the city’s attractions or relax on your own in the afternoon, then dine together at a private cooking class at the home of a local chef.

Day 9: Day trip to Vicenza
Go even further off the beaten path on a day trip to the nearby city of Vicenza, home of the Teatro Olimpico, one of only three Renaissance theaters still in existence. After lunch, return to Verona and explore the city’s culture, restaurants, or burgeoning nightlife scene on your own.

Day 10: Verona
Explore the further reaches of Verona on a tour of some of the beautiful natural spaces that may have inspired Romeo and Juliet and its fascinating cousin, The Two Gentlemen of Verona. After an afternoon on your own, meet for our final group dinner in the heart of the centro storico, the historic center of Verona.

Day 11: Farewell
Say a final farewell over breakfast at our hotel before heading home—or extending your travels!

*itinerary subject to change, though we don’t plan on it!

Hotels

Each of our hotels is a 4-star stunner, in a quiet location only steps from the heart of the city.

Florence: Ad Astra

A fairy tale of a hotel in a converted palazzo set in a spectacular private garden in our favorite neighborhood, Florence’s Oltrarno, just across the river from the bustling city center.

Ad Astra

Venice: Ruzzini Palace

This elegant hotel, formerly home to several of the dukes of Venice, overlooks the quiet Campo Santa Maria Formosa and boasts a glamorous water entrance.

Ruzzini Palace

Verona: Hotel Accademia

This 18th-century palazzo is the perfect combination of vintage elegance and modern comfort, set on a side street in the heart of Verona’s centro storico.

Hotel Accademia

Program Costs

Total Program Cost: $7500

($7800 after October 1)

Registration and Payment Details

  • $400 non-refundable deposit due at registration

  • Price reflects double occupancy

    • additional fee of $2400 for single occupancy

    • If you’d like to inquire about other room configurations or the possibility of room shares, please indicate so on the registration page

  • Register before October 1, 2026 to save $300

  • Pay in installments, or pay your balance in full within 4 weeks of registration to save an additional $150

  • For more details about payment methods and deadlines, see the registration page

Register now!

What’s Included

Trip preparation

  • 2 pre-trip meetings to get to know the rest of the group

  • One-on-one consultations and recommendations to help you plan your travel and make the most of your free time

  • Detailed guides on travel tips, packing suggestions, selecting travel insurance, and other trip logistics

  • Extensive local recommendation lists covering experiences, food and drink, and shopping in each of our cities

Course

  • 6 weekly, 2-hour, interactive seminars before the trip, led by a team of experts on Shakespeare, Italy, theater, and Renaissance literature

  • 5 lessons in Italy to connect our in-person activities to our course readings (in addition to the activities led by our local experts)

  • All books and other course materials

  • Bonus lessons on Italian language and optional readings

Travel

  • Accommodations at 4-star hotels

  • All transportation between cities and to/from our excursions

  • Tickets for group trips to museums and other attractions

  • All fees and gratuities for expert-led tours and talks

  • Daily breakfast at our hotels

  • 2 group lunches

  • 3 group aperitivos

  • 4 group dinners

Add-ons (for an additional charge)

  • Airport transfer from Florence Peretola airport (FLR) to our hotel, Ad Astra, at the start of the trip

  • Airport transfer from Verona to either Florence Peretola airport (FLR) or Venice Marco Polo airport (VCE) at the end of the trip

  • Custom-designed excursions for your free time

What’s Not Included

  • Airfare to/from Italy

  • Travel insurance for yourelf: all students must have a minimum of $50,000 in medical, evacuation, and repatriation insurance covering the entire span of the trip. For more details, see the FAQ

  • All lunches and dinners not specifically listed on the itinerary above

  • Costs for any optional activities during your free time

  • Incidentals

Key Details

Shakespeare’s Italy I is open to students ages 18 and up.
Additionally, the list below outlines activities and skills that will be essential for students to do to participate in the program safely and successfully. If you need help figuring out any of these, just let us know—we’re here to help!

For travel:

  • Walk continuously for 15 minutes at a moderate pace, including navigating some stairs (unavoidable in Venice!), for ~60 minutes per day—not including any walking you do during your free time.

    • This includes carrying your day bag with anything you want to bring on a given excursion—water, a sweater, etc.

    • As a rule of thumb, if a destination is ~10 minutes away on foot, we’ll walk, weather permitting. If it’s further than that, we’ll arrange taxis. For more information, see our FAQ.

  • Step into and out of a motorboat/private water taxi in Venice (with assistance for bags and balance from the driver and us)

  • Receive and make/send phone calls and WhatsApp messages abroad.

  • Navigate our cities on your own, so you can plan and enjoy your free time.

    • Google Maps is an essential tool for this; we’ll also introduce you to some Italy-specific apps that might be useful for your own adventures.

    • You don’t need to be able to speak Italian to get around our cities, but we’ll give you some language basics anyway!

For the course:

  • Access documents shared via email and/or Google drive.

  • Join and participate in a Zoom meeting.

Photo Gallery: Shakespeare’s Italy I, 2025

  • Venice walking tour

  • Few things feel more glamorous than a private water taxi ride in Venice

  • Celebratory final meal in Verona

  • The private garden of our Florentine hotel, Ad Astra

  • On a Romeo and Juliet tour with actors from Verona's Casa Shakespeare

    On a Romeo and Juliet tour with actors from Verona's Casa Shakespeare

  • Day 1 aperitivo and lesson in Florence

  • Making gnocchi at the home of a private chef in Verona

  • Talk and performance at the stunning Villa la Pietra in Florence

  • More water taxi glam

  • One of Florence's famous wine windows

  • The charming Piccola Farmacia Letteraria (Little Pharmacy Bookstore) in Florence

  • At the Uffizi galleries in Florence

  • View from the newly reopened Vasari Corridor in Florence's Uffizi galleries

  • Regrouping outside Florence's Medici library

  • A quiet corner at Florence's Villa la Pietra