The historic Villa Rossa has welcomed generations of University students to Florence—and a recent renovation has made it even more inviting.

University staff and Italian officials gathered Jan. 19 to inaugurate a new accessible entrance to Villa Rossa, the home of the Daniel and Gayle D’Aniello Syracuse University Program in Florence, at the Piazza Savonarola campus.

The entryway—made possible as part of a $10 million gift by alumnus Daniel D’Aniello ’68, H’20 and his wife, Gayle, in 2022—sits level with the sidewalk and offers more space and improved lighting to community members going in and out of the building.

Originally, visitors to the villa needed to climb two steps to enter the building through a small door. The renovation relocated the main entrance to a larger carriage door that originally provided access to the villa’s garden.

The change eliminates barriers for people with mobility impairments and offers improvements to security and operations, says Sasha Perugini, director of the Florence program.

“This renovation honors Villa Rossa’s heritage while meeting the needs of our community today,” Perugini says. “As Syracuse Florence’s home since 1959, this building serves approximately 350 people daily. The new entrance reflects our commitment to preserving the beauty and history of this space, while ensuring it is accessible, welcoming and safe for everyone who enters.”

In addition to the redesign of the main entrance, the gift made by the D’Aniellos allowed for the renovation of the welcome and front desk area and the overhaul of the building’s cafeteria, which previously had stairs at its entrance. The eating area is now directly accessible from the main entrance.

Daniel D’Aniello’s ties to Florence and the University’s campus there go back decades. He studied abroad in the city in the fall of 1966 and became one of the “mud angels” who worked to save Florence’s artistic and cultural heritage after a devastating flood.

He was given the Keys to the City in 2023 in recognition of his actions, and the University’s Florence program has been named for the D’Aniellos since 2022, in honor of the transformational nature of the gift to expand opportunities for students, attract exceptional faculty and improve the program’s facilities.

Perugini says D’Aniello embodies what Syracuse University Florence believes in: study abroad creates authentic, meaningful bonds that endure across decades, enriching both students and the communities that host them.

“Our relationship with the local community has always been central to our mission,” Perugini says. “We created the Gigliucci Archive, named after the family who owned the villa and first welcomed Syracuse University, to preserve this shared history. This renovation represents another chapter in the continuing story of both the building and Florence’s evolving landscape. We express our deep gratitude to Daniel and Gayle D’Aniello.”

The inauguration of the new entrance on Jan. 19 was attended by Florence officials, including Dario Danti, city councilor for universities and research; Bernard Dika, undersecretary to the president of the Tuscany Region; and Michele Pierguidi, president of the city’s District 2.

Danti reflected on the longstanding relationship between the city and the University, calling the school an “authoritative presence” in the community.

“Over all these years, the Florentine campus has grown and evolved while maintaining the same objectives as its beginnings: the deepening understanding by its students of Italian art and society and the creation of a solid intercultural relationship with the city that hosts it,” he said. “We are certain that in the coming years Syracuse University in Florence will continue to be a cultural bridge between two worlds through the exchange of stories, ideas and visions.”

Dario Nardella, a member of the European Parliament who was the mayor of Florence when D’Aniello was given the keys to the city, said in a statement he was delighted to see the project completed. He lauded D’Aniello’s contributions to the city both as a student responding to the 1966 floods and more recently, with his support for the University’s Florence program.

“Now as then, a love story repeats itself between Syracuse and Florence, between D’Aniello and our community,” Nardella said. “A story that will remain forever in the memory of future generations of Syracuse students and Florentines.”

Syracuse University Florence is organizing its alumni reunion for November, when the city will be hosting commemorative events marking the 60th anniversary of the floods.