Since 1967 the Warwick History Department (joined later by the Warwick Art History Department) has sent a group of final year undergraduates to Venice every autumn term. We are now based at the Warwick Venice Centre which is in the Palazzo Giustinian Lolin on the Grand Canal.

Knowledge of Italian is NOT a requirement of the Venice Programme though, if students wish, there is the opportunity for them to study it at Warwick in their first and second years.

All students rent flats during their time in Venice, and our Venetian administrator, Chiara Croff, helps students to find accommodation. Please note that this is not University accommodation; the contract is between the student and their landlord.

The cost of living is comparable to that in Leamington or Coventry. The University guarantees accommodation on campus for final year students on their return so they don't have to worry about renting a flat in England during the autumn term.

While they are in Italy, History students take a module on the history of Venice in the Renaissance which is taught by Warwick staff. The history of the city and its empire is studied in all its principal aspects: cultural, economic, political, religious, and social. The point of the module is to give students a unique opportunity to study the history of a great Mediterranean city while living in it, and Venice is well-suited for the purpose, since its overall appearance and structure have changed so little in the last four hundred years. Guided tours of the major monuments of Venice as well as visits to Palladian villas on the mainland and to the city of Mantua are a key part of the module. Students also study one of the Advanced OptionsLink opens in a new window taught by Warwick staff in Venice. At the midpoint of term, students have the chance to spend ten days’ travelling across Italy.

Warwick has close links with the University of Venice Ca' FoscariLink opens in a new window and our students have access to facilities such as its libraries.

Photo credits: Timothy Ball

The Warwick Venice Centre