As the birthplace of the Renaissance, Florence naturally draws artists from around the world in search of artistic inspiration. During the 2012 winter intersession, a group of creative writing students and faculty from SUNY Southampton gathered for a nine-day creative writing seminar where they explored writing as travelers in Italy. "Being in a new place resets you," said Meg Wolitzer, New York Times' best-selling author and guest lecturer for the seminar. "The students are energized about being in Italy, and it's reflected in their writing." The workshop was part of SUNY Southampton's MFA program in Creative Writing.

During the seminar Wolitzer emphasized about the importance of atmosphere and shared some of her favorite aspects about Florence: the narrow side streets closed during lunch hour, small artisanal store fronts and train rides filled with interesting characters.

She encouraged the students to really take note of their surroundings, particularly as it related to history. "The oldness [of the buildings] can be moving," she said. "You feel the sense of lives lived and lives that are currently living." In addition to classroom time, students took field trips to Pienza, Montepulciano and a Puccini opera at the Florence's Comunale theater.

SUNY Southampton is a part of the State University of New York system of schools. The campus currently offers studies in Marine and Atmospheric Sciences and the MFA Program in Writing and Literature, which FUA directly collaborates with. The MFA program features a summer conference at the Southampton campus led by distinguished writers and poets, as well as a winter writers' short program in Florence with FUA.