This past summer, six Princeton students from different academic backgrounds embarked on the inaugural year of the language immersion program in Pisa, Italy. For four weeks, students explored various themes, ultimately improving their Italian language proficiency while simultaneously gaining a deeper understanding of the country’s rich and diverse cultural heritage.

When most people think of Pisa, their first — and perhaps only association — is of the city’s iconic leaning tower. And while the tower and its neighboring 12th-century buildings in the “Campo dei Miracoli,” or Field of Miracles, remain the focal point of Pisa, they are just a few of the many reasons that Anna Cellinese, director of the Italian language program and senior lecturer in French and Italian, chose Pisa as the location for Princeton’s Italian language immersion program.