Pedro De La Torre
Pedro De La Torre (he/him) - Stanford in Florence
Major: Biology (BSH)
College year while abroad: Spring 2025-26
About the photo: My first visit to Piazzale Michelangelo.
Contact
Email: pedro05@stanford.edu
Q&As
Why did you choose to study in Florence?
I knew I wanted to study in Florence since the beginning of my Stanford journey. While at first I couldn't yet name why I was pulled to this program, my first few years at Stanford helped define those reasons. A life goal of mine is to learn each of the major Romance languages, and with Spanish and some Portuguese already under my belt, Italian felt like a natural next step. I was reunited with that original awe through my study of Italian on campus, and I knew I had to take up the opportunity to live and study in the country where this language, and culture, was born. As a premedical student, it made perfect sense to study in the country that produced figures like Leonardo da Vinci, who extensively studied human anatomy and biomechanics; Andreas Vesalius, the father of modern human anatomy (while he wasn’t Italian-born, he trained at the University of Padova); and Florence’s own Antonio Benivieni, a physician often credited as the founder of pathological anatomy for the autopsies he performed to understand the causes of his patients' deaths. Florence's remarkable Renaissance history was another motivating factor, leaving me eager to study art history in a city that, in major ways, defines the field itself. I would be remiss not to mention food. Italian cuisine taught me a great deal of cultural history I hadn’t anticipated. Learning, for instance, that the simplicity running through so many Italian dishes wasn't a stylistic choice, but was instead born of the country's rural past, and that many dishes now considered luxuries have modest origins. Learning the story behind dishes I hadn’t tried before - ribollita, lampredotto, peposo di manzo, to name a few - gave me a fuller picture of Italy that I could not have understood without this experience. I chose Florence because I knew it would offer an experience I never could have had had I remained on campus. There is something uniquely transformative about studying abroad, as you'll discover for yourself at some point during your own time abroad should you (and you should!) decide to study away.
How did studying away support your academic growth?
I took my first art history course in Florence, which was especially enriching because I was able to see the actual Renaissance works I was studying in person, whether through class visits or using the Amici degli Uffizi card Stanford in Florence gave us for access to the city's museums and gardens. This was a true privilege that turned traditional coursework into something akin to primary research. Language learning came with its own kind of growth: I finished the currently offered Italian language curriculum at Stanford while abroad, which felt like a fitting way to complete my study of Italian grammar in the country where the language lives. I believe this learning environment helped me develop a strong handle on the Italian language that I feel confident using moving forward in both academic and professional settings. I also got a taste of Italian literature through the Circolo dei lettori reading group. I plan to continue studying Italian literature in the coming school year. Lastly, all my coursework counted for WAYS which was a plus.
What did you learn about yourself during your study away experience, especially through any challenges or major cultural adjustments?
A few adjustments I recall included longer and sometimes late Italian mealtimes, learning the hours during which stores operated (there’s a pause that's common in Italy), and the surprisingly well-enforced cappuccino rules (...maybe this was a major adjustment for me, as someone used to drinking afternoon cappuccinos). Each of these were but small recalibrations that are part of the experience abroad, the kind that remind you daily that you're learning a new rhythm. What stayed with me longer than any of them, though, was something our program director, Professor Campani, offered us in our first few days in Florence: the concept of distinguishing between being a tourist and being a traveler. While it may seem trivial, this idea governed my time in Florence as I made real efforts to align more with the traveler who, instead of rushing through sites to visit, really invest the time to understand the personality of the place they’re inhabiting. I realized that, prior to Florence, I had not been a traveler. Not in the way that meant staying somewhere long enough for a place to stop being foreign. Long enough to notice the transition of a language spoken by native tongue – complete with accents and deviation from the traditional grammar rules - from being something only partially comprehensible into something more natural. Long enough that you catch yourself thinking in Italian. Maybe even dreaming in it. There were days that I would spend simply tracing the parts of the city that were at that time new to me, as part of my ambitious goal to develop a mental map of the city. Through friends I made through the Friends a Firenze (FaF) program, I got to appreciate spots only locals frequented. It was the small things, such as being able to see the Ponte Vecchio before it wore its daily hordes of tourists and jewelry sellers, or the family-run frappé stand located on the opposite side of the city that had just celebrated 50 years in business, that were the sources of my pleasure in Florence.
Briefly describe a typical day and your favorite part of daily life in your program location.
My typical day began with a cappuccino and an apricot-filled cornetto. After, my walk to class became its own small ritual. The stretch between The Social Hub and Palazzo Capponi took me past the Mercato Centrale, the Basilica di San Lorenzo, the Duomo, Palazzo Vecchio, all the leather markets, until the Ponte Vecchio came into view as the sign I was almost there. After class, I tried to experience Florence a little differently than the day before. Some days that meant catching the sunset from Piazzale Michelangelo; others meant meeting up with friends from FaF who each time showed us new local spots I never would have found on my own. Gelato somehow always found its way into my day. Over the quarter, I developed a sense for telling the real thing from the tourist-trap version (there’s a difference). But the best part of any day was simply getting to speak Italian. In the beginning, I'd catch locals switching to English almost the moment I spoke my first words. A couple of weeks in, though, something shifted, and I started being spoken to in Italian by default. That was the real gift.
If applicable, how did participating in an internship, volunteership or experiential-based project help you grow professionally? What specific skills did you gain?
My internship experience, though brief, was rich. Through a connection made by Dr. Pier Francesco Indelli, I shadowed at an orthopedic surgery clinic in Fucecchio. I observed several surgeries, including two reverse shoulder replacements. In watching the instruction of residents in their final year of training, I was reminded of a dynamic that felt familiar coming from Stanford, a teaching hospital, even in a clinic this much smaller and more intimate. I was moved by the approach to care in this clinic. The doctor I shadowed stayed with each patient from the moment they arrived, through the nerve block, through the procedure, and all the way to walking them back out to the nurses afterward. There was a genuine warmth to the environment; the nurses and doctors were curious and welcoming toward the visiting student in their midst. Dr. Indelli also gave me, and fellow interns, an introductory lecture on his research into knee kinematics and gait analysis. His work engages current debates in orthopedic surgery, from kinematic versus mechanical alignment to whether patient-reported outcomes alone are sufficient without objective kinematic data. Professionally, this experience shifted something for me. It sparked a genuine interest in expanding my medical and research interests into a more global context. I'm now exploring opportunities to return to Italy during my gap years before medical school. This is a path I wouldn't have known to want, let alone pursue seriously, without this internship.
What was the most essential item you took with you on the program?
A camera. I often find myself scrolling back through the photos I took, each one bringing me back to a specific memory associated with the moment I had captured.
What advice would you give students who are considering studying away?
Definitely make an effort to learn the language before arriving in your host country! It makes a real difference in how you experience your time away. You'll notice it in the ease with which you navigate spaces that would otherwise feel more foreign, but more than that, you'll notice it in the conversations you're able to hold and the people you're able to actually get to know, rather than just get by around. Also, be a traveler.