A friend recently wrote a simple statement to me. We were PMing about a personal matter as I prepare to return to Urbino for a semester. She referenced seeing Italy this time through a different set of eyes. She has no idea how much that phrase circles around in the back of my mind. Now I am asking myself, “Whose eyes do I really want to see Italy through?” and “Do I even have a choice in that?”

The Historian’s Eyes: My first semester in Urbino, I was a neophyte to the world of history and cult...