Strada: A City-Centric Digital Magazine on Florence, Italy

More than 45 American university and colleges run programs in Florence, Italy, translating to more than one student center per square mile of the city. And the young American presence is apparent in Firenze. Students fill the city center, flock together in coffee shops, flow in and out of markets and museums and discoteques. But from this stronghold springs an Florentine catering to Americanism: there are restaurants that will speak English rather than Italian, shops that will sell American labels from home, and piazzas that are bustling not with young Italians, but students from the States. It can be remarkably easy to slip along this surface of Florence, as it is the face first presented to those who speak with American accents. This prototypical issue of Strada (Street), a travel magazine designed for Americans studying in Italy, serves to pull back another level of Florence and its culture for abroad students. Created exclusively for interactive use on the tablet, the digital magazine is unrestrained by the bounds of mailing subscriptions, airline luggage weight limits, and transatlantic trekking. It aims to draw students into a more intimate, authentic Florence. By pushing readers to quiets neighborhoods and away from the major tourist tracks, the magazine compels students to unlock more insight into aspects of the Florentine way of life. And with early discovery, they can maximize their time in growing this understanding to become fiorentini in their own right. While the magazine is conceptualized to capture study abroad in Italy as a whole, each issue focuses on a new city where Americans spend their semesters. The May 2015 issue (“Buongiorno, Firenze!”) was developed from my four months living and learning in Florence. The magazine can be accessed by downloading the Best of Newhouse app for the iPad. A demonstrative video of its features can also be found at https://vimeo.com/125647008. And a non-interactive version can be found at http://issuu.com/gabrielariccardi/docs/strada_may_2015__pdf_/1