Teaching Diversity through Heritage: Florence as a Case Study

Targeted to Intermediate English (B1+) speakers.^{Read more}

This is the standard requirement for most courses. Participants at this level can participate actively in discussions and manage everyday and professional situations. If they are unsure about their English level, they can test it here or explore our courses facilitated in Basic English.

Cross-Curricular.^{Read more}

The listed audiences are those for whom the course is especially recommended, but courses are not exclusive to them and are open to everyone. In fact, most of our workshops are built around the collective sharing of participants’ experiences and having a variety of profiles enriches the learning process and is highly encouraged!

Description

European classrooms are becoming increasingly dynamic and diverse in terms of culture, language, religion, social background, and personal experience.

In other words, managing cultural and social diversity has evolved from a relatively abstract principle to discuss to a central daily teaching practice that requires concrete tools, meaningful examples, and learning environments where every student can feel respected, recognized, and valued.

However, finding concrete, urban-based models that show how diverse heritage can be embedded in education remains a challenge.

This course uses Florence as a living case study to examine how cultural heritage reflects ethnic, religious and social diversity, and how these aspects intersect in everyday urban life and educational practice.

Beyond its iconic Renaissance façade, Florence has always been shaped by movement, exchange, migration, craftsmanship, religious life, markets, tourism and European connections, and offers a rich tapestry of multicultural history and modern social dynamics. Its streets, museums, neighbourhoods and archives offer rich opportunities to reflect on identity, diversity, coexistence and belonging.

Participants will explore how urban spaces and heritage sites can reveal both historical and contemporary forms of diversity.

Visits and activities will focus on places such as the San Lorenzo neighbourhood and its historic Central Market, alongside unique cultural hubs like Oltrarno —the historic district of artists and artisans.

Participants will also discover Florence’s religious pluralism by visiting areas of worship beyond the Catholic tradition.

A key highlight of the itinerary will be a visit to Villa Salviati, with its historic palace and gardens. As the seat of the Historical Archives of the European Union, Villa Salviati represents the roots of European culture – a culture that has consistently placed inclusion and unity in diversity at its core.

The course combines guided visits, Visual Thinking Strategies, group tasks, heritage interpretation, self-narration activities, collaborative challenges, and practical workshops.

Participants will learn how to turn cultural sites, artworks, archives, family objects and urban observations into inclusive classroom activities that encourage dialogue, critical thinking and participation.

Also, the focus will always be on educational transfer. Participants will not only discover Florence’s cultural heritage, but also design activities that can be adapted to their own cities, schools and communities.

They will reflect on how local heritage can help students explore different perspectives, connect personal and collective stories, and understand diversity as part of everyday social life.

By the end of the course, participants will be able to use museums, archives, urban spaces and local traditions as learning environments for inclusive education.

They will leave with practical ideas for creating participatory, heritage-based activities that promote cultural awareness, social inclusion and intercultural dialogue.

Concept by Layla Dari

Learning outcomes

The course will help participants to:

• Understand how cultural heritage can support inclusive and intercultural education;
• Identify key elements of Florence’s cultural heritage and their role in a multicultural society;
• Identify how museums, archives, neighbourhoods, markets and urban spaces can become learning environments;
• Analyze how heritage sites and cultural institutions present stories of identity, diversity and coexistence;
• Use Visual Thinking Strategies, heritage interpretation and self-narration activities to foster dialogue and critical thinking;
• Acquire a deeper understanding of Florence’s cultural heritage and its relevance to European identity;
• Connect students’ personal, family, and community stories with wider European and cultural narratives;
• Design course content, examples, and reading that reflect diverse cultures and perspectives;
• Collaborate with peers to exchange ideas and apply best practices in promoting diversity;
• Encourage participation across different cultures, learning backgrounds, and language-confidence levels;
• Adapt inclusive heritage-based strategies to their own educational contexts.

Tentative schedule

Day 1 – Introduction to the course

• Introduction to the course and the Academy;
• Introduction to the host city and the week’s cultural activities;
• Icebreaker activities;
• Presentations of the participants’ schools and institutions.

Cultural heritage in Florence

• Florence beyond the Renaissance: multicultural, touristic and urban transformations;
• Tangible and intangible heritage: places, objects, memories, languages and traditions;
• Participants present an element of their own cultural heritage;
• How cultural heritage can support inclusive teaching practice;
• Group reflection: heritage, identity and belonging in participants’ own schools.

Day 2 – Guided tours focusing on inclusion in Florence

• Guided tours of culturally significant neighbourhoods in Florence, focusing on history, heritage, and contemporary inclusion;
• Group tasks: investigating different themes like traces of the past; markets and gastronomy; multicultural areas; informal art; religious places; green areas, etc;
• Discussion on inclusion, social integration and diversity in urban life;
• Reflection: how can city spaces become resources for inclusive education?

Day 3 – Archives, European memory and personal stories

• Visit to the Historical Archives of the European Union at Villa Salviati;
• What archives are: spaces for memory, dialogue and shared stories;
• Dialogue with an archivist and guided exploration of archival materials;
• Activity: building a chronology of European integration through documents;
• Activity: connecting personal and family stories with European history;
• Workshop: self-narration through family objects and personal memories.

Day 4 – Inclusion through art: museum visits and reflection

• Visit an art museum, exploring the collection with a focus on diverse perspectives and cultural representations;
• Visual Thinking Strategies (VTS): using art, monuments, and urban spaces to foster observation and critical thinking;
• Group reflection on museums as spaces for inclusion and participation;
• Workshop: designing art-based activities for inclusive learning;
• Brainstorming local cultural projects or classroom adaptations.

Day 5 – Design activities that promote social inclusion in the classroom

• Heritage interpretation and strategies for fostering social inclusion in the classroom;
• Designing activities linking local heritage to students’ own communities;
• Group work on final projects and presentations, sharing practical ideas for inclusive activities that can be applied in cultural, educational, or community contexts;
• Course evaluation: round-up of acquired competencies, feedback, and discussions;
• Awarding of the course Certificate of Attendance.

Day 6 – Structured cultural activities

• Structured cultural activity(ies) according to the hosting location;
• Learning journal: individual written reflection on the course experience;
• Course reflection: self-reflection and review of course materials and resources.

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