March 2007 – DEV – The Umbra Institute – Study Abroad in Italy

Leavening wasn’t the only topic yesterday during the Bread & Pasta Workshop, part of Professor Peter Fischer’s Food Cultures course. The workshop – one in a series of three – makes for a more hands-on academic course. Students learned about the history and biochemistry of bread, pasta, and other grain products. The hands-on part of the workshop included different doughs and even a thoroughly-sticky lump of gluten, while the tasting part, less sticky and more pleasing to the palate, consisted of a variety of breads.

First up were the unleavened gyro bread and the famous Sardinian “pane carasau,” a millennia-old shepherd’s bread. The students also tried the old Umbrian standby, torta al testo, a low bread traditionally cooked on a round piece of stone, the testo. Next came salted bread cooked in a wood-fired oven, along with the Italian standard, pizza. Professor Fischer’s students not only got an earfull, they got a stomach-full!

After almost three months of weekly Wednesday Tandem meetings, attendance is still high. Last night a great group of Italian and Umbra students met to enjoy a nice buffet of pizza and pasta, at a local dive the Zibaldone.
While in Zibaldone, you’re surrounded by big ancient stones in a sort of medieval underground cave. With the mix of languages, it seemed almost as if we were in a Babel of Italian and English words floating in the air in any direction.
Though it was the last official Tandem meeting for the semester, Umbra students will continue to meet the Italians on their own. Another last reunion will be at the farewell dinner at the end of April.

Tandem will resume in the summer, again providing students with the opportunity to meet Italians under the Umbrian sun.

Finland, a place of oddities and wonders, and the beginning of my spring break. While in Helsinki, the capital of Finland, I saw many a thing, but only a few are noteworthy. First and foremost, it is a city similar to Milan or Trieste, full of new life, new buildings and stores. It has large department stores and huge malls. The best story about Finland though, lies in its most trivial of places, the tourist shops. Unlike most big cities, Helsinki does not have a booming tourism industry, but there are a few shops here and there.
Finland, as is well known, is on the euro, but unlike other places they do not use the one or two cent coins. Instead, at each tourist shop and airport, they put these in little bags together and sell them for 3, 5, or even 8 euros. (in photo at left) What a country! Finland is a strange place and because of some disheartening events I will most likely choose not to return.

Leaving Finland, I went on to my final destination of Istanbul, once called Constantinople. This fantastic place is worth at least four or five days. They have many large beautiful mosques such as the Blue Mosque (in photo below) or Aya Sofia, and many fun museums too. They even have a royal palace that is filled with glitter and amusement, but the best part of Istanbul is their wondrous Grand Bazaar. The Grand Bazaar is one of the most interesting and fun places I have ever experienced. I felt like royalty as every merchant and business man approached me with an offer of some sort, ready to drop the price much lower than expected. It is a game, a constant game of wits and skill. Will they win and fleece you of a few extra dollars? Or will they get desperate and anxious enough to sell it to you for less than they had intended?

After going through the sixty-five streets of numerous goods ranging from clothes and normal items to marvelous chess sets and seemingly priceless artifacts, I took a Turkish Bath. This is the other must-have experience of Istanbul, a process of the best massages, saunas, steam rooms, and scrub downs that left me feeling entirely refreshed and ready to do anything. Every muscle in my body was relaxed. So I left the Turkish Bath with a smile on my face and headed over to a candy store to have some Turkish delights such as Lokum and then some baklava. These are the treasures of Istanbul and the joys of my spring break.

Blog and photos by: Dashiell Davis

This weekend the Leonardo da Vinci class went on an exciting trip to Florence and Milan in order to get a closer look at several of Leonardo’s works. Friday, the brave Mauro Renna and Academic Director Dr. Carol Clark escorted the class of eighteen to Florence at 6am in the morning. Naturally, being college kids, we were all on time and ready for the day ahead. Upon our arrival in Florence we met up with Dr. Kwakkelstein and headed over to the Galleria degli Uffizi where we were able to appreciate Leonardo’s Adoration of the Magi and Baptism of Christ.

Unfortunately, five days prior to our visit, Leonardo’s Annunciationwas packed up and sent to Japan for a 15-day tour after much controversy here in Italy. After a quick snack we stopped by Il Museo Nazionale delBargello, and then the Galleria de Leonardo, where we were able to have a hands-on experience with some of Leo’s remarkable inventions.

Saturday morning we caught the Eurostar to Milan and went straight to the Ambrosiana, the museum housing Leonardo’s Musician. In the afternoon we had an appointment at Santa Maria delle Grazie to see Leo’s Last Supper, but when we arrived we discovered it was closed for a meeting and would resume operations later in the afternoon! We ended up taking a two hour shopping break- after all, we were in Milan! We met back and fought our way into see the Last Supper, which was breathtaking. Seeing the work in person was such an experience. The colors on the wall are more vibrant than any reproduction reveals, and the expressions on the faces of Christ and the Twelve Apostles are so packed with emotion. Despite the mishap, seeing the Last Supper was by far the best part of the entire trip. Finally we headed over to the Castello Sforzesco to see Da Vinci’s Sala delle Asse. After a very long day we finally caught a train back to Perugia. Overall the trip was a success and provided a much-needed perspective on many of Leonardo’s magnificent works.

Post by Melanie Riall

Photos: 1. The Class in the Uffizi in Florence, 2. Students playing with Leonardo’s wood reproductions, 3. Melanie Riall spinning on the Milan bull in the Galleria.

The winter in Perugia this year was anything but oppressive – actually, it was the warmest on record since records have been, well, on record. But despite the mild temperatures it was coldish and rained quite a bit and generally grey here in our hilltop town in the middle of Umbria…until this week. In the last four days the temperatures have increased to the point that the Steps of the cathedral are full of people at lunchtime, people with their coats off and sunglasses on. Apple trees are blooming everywhere and people are smiling. We haven’t seen Umbra students out on blankets on the lawn in front of San Francesco, but it won’t be long!

This month’s Photo of the Month contest was a tie! Congratulations to Janelle Serianni from Assumption College and Mallory Hane from Lebanon Valley College. Both Janelle and Mallory will enjoy a free dinner from Quattro Passi Pizzeria.

Photo of Perugia

By: Janelle Serianni

Photo of Neuschwanstein castle in Germany

By: Mallory Hane