Housing & Meals

As part of your SART application, you will complete a housing form that allows them to arrange a suitable placement for you. Your host family will provide you with linens & towels, weekly laundry, and daily breakfast and dinner with their family. The homestay does not include lunches. Therefore, you will be responsible for purchasing and/or preparing your own lunch and budgeting appropriately (we at the Study Abroad office can help with strategies!). Students may prepare lunch at SART’s kitchenette or enjoy the many cafes nearby the Porta Romana. Host families live either in the historic center of Siena or in nearby neighborhoods, a short walk or bus ride from downtown. (Note: the The Siena Art Institute program fee covers the cost of an all-access city bus pass for students living outside the city center.)

There aren't accommodations at SART which allow you to live in a dorm or apartment with fellow SART students and/or friends.

Your Italian family will provide you access to laundry, whether that means doing it for you or teaching you how to use their machine. Some families own dryers, some do not. Drying racks are the norm in Italy. You will want to remain flexible and open-minded as you learn to embrace cultural differences! 

Food in Italy is relatively inexpensive and exceedingly good. In fact, it's typically amazing! Whether you eat at home or in a restaurant, the expectations Italians have about the quality of their food and the way specific dishes should taste are exceptionally high; you therefore can anticipate the truest tomatoes or olive oil or savory meals possible in this slow-food-minded nation. And then there is the gelato ... 

This said, you most certainly will have access to grocery stores, open produce markets, and privately owned mom-and-pop style forni (bakeries), fruit and vegetable stands (frutterie) and delicatessens (salumerie). Buying your lunch at any one of these places will provide you with nourishing, delicious food options while giving you a chance to practice your Italian language skills! 

Ask your Italian family (and fellow SART friends!) for grocery store, cafe, and/or salumerie suggestions. And keep your eyes peeled as you get to know Siena! There is nothing more satisfying that finding your own special places to eat and getting to know the people who work there.

You will not be charged the Holy Cross standard board fee (meal plan) when you study abroad at SART. We recommend that you reserve the funds you would have normally used to cover the meal plan for sourcing your own meals (primarily lunches) in Siena. 

Keep in mind that Siena has a range of food options, from economical to high-end. How much you spend on depends on the choices you make from day to day and situation to situation. Will you eat a quick panino or pizza a taglio (pizza slices are fresh, cheap, and typically amazing) or eat out often at hip sit-down restaurants? We recommend doing some quick googling (check out Numbeo.com!) to get an idea of how much food and drinks cost in Siena so you can budget accordingly. 

Although you will walk EVERYWHERE in Siena, we understand that may not feel the same as a gym work-out. For that, you will need to seek out a local gym and pay for a membership yourself. Your Holy Cross study abroad program fee DOES NOT COVER a gym membership while you study in Siena.