Prisca Zaccaria grew up in Cortona, Italy, and every summer for as long as she can remember, she anticipated the day when the Americans would arrive in Cortona from Rome by bus. These Americans were students in the University of Georgia’s study abroad program in Cortona.

“I remember growing up seeing these different people in town. They would wear shorts and baseball caps and running shoes. Rayban sunglasses,” Zaccaria said. “They took their cameras everywhere, and they would be photographing, painting and sketching everything they saw. The views, the architecture, and art that the American students marveled over were all things we locals took for granted.”