Faculty biography - Josephine (Jodie) Rogers Mariotti
Jodie Rogers Mariotti has been teaching Art History to American students studying in Florence for over 20 years. Her introduction to Europe began at age 16 when she herself spent a summer studying in France. She traveled to Europe twice before finishing her undergraduate work at the University of Iowa, an experience that was determining in her choice to major in Art History. After graduation, she chose once again Italy as a place to pursue her interest in art, residing there for an extended stay in order further her knowledge of the art she had studied.
Her permanent residency in Florence began shortly thereafter. After her marriage to a Florentine, she undertook an intensive three year study to learn the language, becoming a licensed parliamentary interpreter. Her love of art history, however, soon brought her back to the university, this time, the Università degli Studi di Firenze where she earned her doctorate in Art History, under the guidance of Professor Mina Gregori.
She has taught at Middlebury College Vermont Program in Florence, as well as the University of Michigan, University of Wisconsin and Duke University program at the Villa Corsi Salviati (Florence). She has joined the ACM program in Florence as the director and as an instructor of Art History, taking on the role held for many years by Janet Smith.
Her area of specialty is Florentine Renaissance art and over the years she has taught courses on various aspects of its birth and development. Her courses take place largely on-site and are designed to help students interact with the art and culture surrounding them. Courses she has offered in the past range from the early to the high renaissance periods, the mannerist movement, masters and workshops as a unit of artistic production. Her major focus is the study of masters and their works within the history, culture and social context in which they were created.
Jodie has published in her field and written two books in Italian, the most recent, on that famous Florentine lady, Mona Lisa. For the past 25 years during the summer months, she and her husband have navigated throughout the Mediterranean, visiting archeological and cultural sites when and wherever possible.