Our last full day in Italy…I can’t believe it! This amazing trip has gone by too quickly. Although I wish I could stay longer, all the walking has really tired me out! Today we had our last company visit to Lineapelle in Milan. There are also locations in New York and London. This company…

                This morning we took the metro to Cattolica Univeristy, where we had an intriguing presentation about fashion business models and sustainability in the fashion industry by Professor Francesca Romana Rinaldi. She was very knowledgeable, and even wrote a book on the topic called The Responsible Fashion Company.                 One of the first things we…

Today we had the opportunity to have a day of Velasca. Velasca is a 100% Italian shoemaker company. Something that makes this company amazing is that it was started in 2013 by Enrico Casati and Jacopo Sebastio: two men who weren’t sure what they were doing but were sure that they wanted to make these…

Today we were lucky enough to visit not one but two amazing companies. Sartoria Cavour Tailoring Company and Mario Faroni Knitwear each have different business structures that give them unique approaches to production. The first business we visited, Sartoria Cavour Tailoring, was one of my favorite sight visits so far. It was a small workshop,…

Today’s company visit in Verona was to the Consorzio Della Moda. Although they have a headquarter in Italy, today we went to one of their company’s locations. The Consorzio Della Moda is one of the most interesting (and complex) companies we have learned about. It is not a company in itself, but a group of…

This morning I woke up to another sunny day and we took the train to Venice. If it was 1849, we could have feasibly entered by boat. The train system first appeared when Venice was taken over by the Austrian empire. They wanted to connect Venice to the mainland and that is when the bridge…

Today we arrived in fair Verona! To make the experience even better, we had a beautiful day with a cloudless sky. Verona is much smaller than the other cities (with a population of 260,000) we have visited and is unique all on its own. Verona was founded by the Romans in the first century before…

Today was our first full day in Florence. This morning we walked to the Leather School, the Scuola del Cuoio. This was one of my favorite sites we have visited. The school was founded after World War Two in 1950, and originally around 80 young boys (most of whom were orphans) arrived. They were then…

Today we ventured into beautiful Florence! After walking past the Duomo, we had a guided tour in the Uffizi Gallery. This magnificent museum contained works from artists including Leonardo Da Vinci and Michelangelo. Since fashion is an important aspect of Italian culture, it was interesting to compare the changes from what I see outside to…

Another successful day in the books! Today we visited our first company: Mantero Spa. We took an hour bus ride from Milan to the beautiful Lake Como for this exclusive opportunity. From what I learned in our group meetings, Mantero Spa is a family owned company that specializes in pure silk products. We even watched…

              When I think of Leonardo Da Vinci, the Mona Lisa automatically comes to mind. I was lucky enough to see this amazing piece of art when I went to France a few years ago, but today I learned more about him and began to appreciate his style and way of thinking. The Da…

            Already, this trip has been full of excitement. That excitement potentially began when we left over an hour late from Newark because someone unfortunately got sick on the plane! After that small hiccup, the rest of the trip was smooth sailing. When we first arrived in Milan and loaded on the bus, I initially…

Ciao! Il mio nome è Olivia Drohan! (Hello! My name is Olivia Drohan!). This is just one thing I have learned from the weekly Sunday meetings held in Benedum Hall. I will be traveling to Italy for the Pitt Plus 3 Program and I couldn’t be more excited! I am a freshman in the College…