Renaissance Awards
Educational competitions connecting students with Renaissance culture — and with the opportunity to experience it firsthand in Italy.
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Education • Culture • Opportunity
Opening Doors Through Education, Culture & Opportunity
The Palazzo Strozzi Foundation USA creates transformative educational opportunities for high-school students, connecting young people with the art, history and culture of the Renaissance.
Every student deserves the opportunity to discover what is possible.
Through educational competitions, cultural programs and international experiences, the Palazzo Strozzi Foundation USA connects students with opportunities that can expand their horizons and inspire their futures.
Learn About Our MissionThe Student Journey
From the Classroom to Italy
A student begins in their classroom. They discover the Renaissance. They participate. Their achievement opens a door — and they experience Italy, returning with a broader view of the world and their own possibilities.
Where every journey begins — the classroom
- I
Discover
Students learn about the Renaissance and participate through their schools.
- II
Compete
Students complete the required educational assessment or competition.
- III
Be Selected
Outstanding students are selected for the Renaissance experience.
- IV
Experience Italy
Winners travel to Italy for an immersive educational experience, with expenses covered.
Featured Program
High School Renaissance Award
An educational opportunity designed to introduce students to the history, art and ideas of the Renaissance while opening the door to an unforgettable international learning experience.
- High school students
- Participating schools
- Educational competition
- Italy experience
Our Impact
The Impact of Opportunity
Behind every number is a student whose horizons have widened — a classroom that discovered the Renaissance, a school that found a new door to open.
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Students Reached
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Participating Schools
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Students in Cultural Programs
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Years of Educational Impact
Stories
Stories That Stay With Us
The measure of this work is not found in reports — it is found in what students, educators and families say afterward.
“The experience opened my eyes to a world I had only read about in books. It showed me that opportunities like this could be possible for me.”
Amara J.
Former Student Participant
Class of 2026
“Programs like this give students a chance to see themselves in places and experiences they may never have imagined.”
Daniel R.
Educator & School Partner
Class of 2025
“When our daughter returned from Italy, she talked about art, history and her own future in a completely new way. It changed the conversation at our dinner table.”
Michele T.
Parent
Class of 2025
Why Italy?
Learning Beyond the Classroom
Some lessons cannot be taught from a textbook. Standing before the art and architecture of the Renaissance — walking the streets of Florence — turns history into an experience students carry with them for the rest of their lives.
The Italy experience is an immersive month of study: Renaissance art, culture and history encountered not as subjects but as surroundings.
Explore the Renaissance ExperienceOur Initiatives
More Ways We Create Opportunity
From competitions to laboratories to cultural exchange — each initiative is another door for a student to walk through.
Biology Internship
The Columbia System Biology Internship introduces students to hands-on scientific research and laboratory experience.
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Educational & Cultural Programs
Programs, visits and initiatives that bring Renaissance art and history to life for students and educators.
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Palazzo Strozzi At-Large
Programs and connections associated with Palazzo Strozzi in Florence and its international community.
Learn MoreNews
Latest From Palazzo Strozzi Foundation USA
Program News
Educational Competitions Expand to New Partner Schools
Additional schools join this year's educational competitions, extending the Foundation's mission of opportunity to more students from underserved communities.
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Foundation News
Annual Renaissance Award Gala Celebrates Educators and Honorees
Supporters, board members and friends of the Foundation gathered for an evening celebrating the honorees and partners who make the Foundation's educational mission possible.
Read MoreProgram News
Biology Internship Opens Doors to Scientific Research
Students in the Columbia System Biology Internship spent the summer working alongside researchers — a different kind of Renaissance experience, in laboratories instead of galleries.
Read MorePhilanthropy
Help Open the Door to Opportunity
Your support helps create educational experiences that can change how young people see themselves, their communities and their futures.
Our Partners
In Partnership With Schools & Communities
- New York City Department of Education
- Los Angeles Unified School District
- Detroit Public Schools
A Future Begins With Opportunity
Whether you are a student, educator, school partner, volunteer or supporter, there is a place for you in this mission.
Palazzo Strozzi Foundation USA — established 2010 in New York.