Month: February 2008

We don’t want to jinx anything, but it looks like the really cold weather is past here in Perugia. Yesterday the Steps of the cathedral, the city’s main gathering place in Perugia’s principal piazza, were full of people. The warm temperatures and limpid sky made it possible even to be in a t-shirt, a pleasure we haven’t enjoyed since November! Italians call next month “Marzo Pazzarello,” Crazy Little March – it’s possible that we’ll have to get our heavy coats out again, or even use the umbrella. But at least we’ve had one of the first spring days! See you on the Steps…

Walking around Perugia the average athlete, at first sight, would probably say something along the lines of, “How will I find a place to get/stay in shape?” And indeed, first impressions don’t do much for Perugia, unless you have no problems running on medieval cart-paths-turned-modern-roads that snake up, down, and all around the giant hill on top of which Perugia sits. But we would say, “Don’t despair!” There’s actually a wealth of places to train, practice, or get in shape right around the very next corner, even if you don’t notice them straight from the get-go…

If you’re looking for the classic, all-around gym, Perugia boasts the Corpus Wellness and FitnessClub. It’s large, airy, and stocked with state of the art equipment. CWFC also offers fitness classes, much like you might find at a gym State-side. Plus, they knock off a hefty chuck of the 4-month membership price (go on, discounts!) which helps a ton when you’re trying to stay on budget.

If, on the other hand, something a little bit smaller and personal suits your fancy, say, something reminiscent of a Chuck Norris training montage, you could check out Olympic Gym, tucked away on a quaint and quiet side street north of the city center. Like we said, it’s a tidge tinier than CWFC, but the personnel are totally welcoming, and theOlympic faithful are always a riot to watch, inevitably decked out in their designer clothes and outrageously priced sunglasses.

For those who can’t get enough fresh air, and for some reason—we can’t think why—have no desire to dodge Fiats on those aforementioned once-upon-a-time-cart-paths, take a two-minute walk or thirty-second run to the Olympic-sized Santa Giuliana Track. You hardly ever have to jockey for a lane, and as a bonus, there’s a nicely groomed field in the middle that just asks to be picnicked upon. The cost is €1.80. And if that €1.80 digs into your pockets too much, you can take the bus down to the Percorso Verde, which offers a long run under the shade of some lovely trees.

While we like to refer to the center of the city as a campus,Perugia isn’t just about academics and cultural experiences. The city also has a very eclectic religious life that hums quietly along. There are of course all sorts of possibilities for Catholic masses – in the main cathedral, in a medieval oratory, or under Renaissance frescoes in a small church – but there is also a Jewish center, a mosque, and a Baptist church with a bible study group.For more information, ask one of the staff or refer to the list at the end of any Viva Perugia, a monthly available for €.80 from any newsstand.

A special event this month will be a prayer vigil, lead by Pope Benedict XVI, for peace between the Americas and Europe. The vigil will be on March 1 at the Vatican and entrance is free, but with the obligatory ticket. Ask a staff member for more information.

Last Friday, Umbra student Kyla Mathews and her Contemporary Italy: Culture and Society class left Perugia’s Piazza Italia bound for the historic center of Siena. They spent the day touring the ancient city’s cobblestone streets, and even had the truly rare chance to visit one of the famous “contrada” museums. Ms. Mathews had this to say about her experience…

“The Contemporary Italy: Society and Culture class took a short trip to Sienna for the afternoon last Friday. We arrived in Siena in time for a lunch break before our tour. After lunch, we met at “Il Campo”, simply meaning “the square”. If you ask a local, though, it’s not a square at all! This inclined shell-shaped area is where the Sienese annually hold the famous palio, a horse race between the city’s seventeen “contrade”, or districts.

“Our tour guide introduced herself as a Caterpillar (a less than intimidating mascot of one of the contrade), and she led us to the Museum of the Eagle (decidedly a more fearsome district representative!) Along the way, we saw the colorful titles on buildings indicating which contrada territory we were in. Out front, where the flag of the Eagle was waving, a small blue ribbon had been tied to announce its new member… a baby boy!

“Inside, we were able to see all of the hand-painted banners won by the Eagles over the years in the palio. We watched a short clip of last year’s race, which also included clips of the various preparations and ceremonies leading up to it, like the blessing of the horses inside the contrada’s church! We were also able to take a look at the different costumes worn by jockeys in the past. After that, we toured some recently discovered Etruscan tombs, recently found during an excavation carried out beneath the museum. Outside, our guide showed us an Eagle’s fountain used for baptizing new members into the contrada.

“It was a quick little trip but definitely incredible to hear about Siena’s phenomenal traditions!”

Yesterday was the follow-up to the first Coffee Safari, one of the workshops the Umbra Institute student services team offers. The workshop started out like the first coffee safari – a round ofPerugia’s center with explanations of the “personalities” of each of the cafés (intellectual, blue-collar, etc.), followed by a talk about coffee’s history and botany, and finally a tasting of several different kinds of coffee. But the discussion ended with an impromptu and rather lively debate about Starbucks and its popularity. Elon student Erika Furman got the ball rolling by giving a mini-exposé about the chain’s coffee, whereupon other students debated the source of Starbuck’s success. 

If it wasn’t great coffee, what is it? The bohemian image? The comfy couches? The I-won’t-get-great-coffee-but-I-won’t-get-surprises effect? Or is it that Americans lack a common space, one which Italians can find in their piazza and so don’t need in their cafés?It was another example of the intellectual ferment that every school would like to propagate, and which Umbra (and Perugia) seems to foster.

Recently a group of Umbra students made their way to the Vitivinicola Chiorri vineyard for a wine-tasting. The Chiorri family has a long tradition of winemaking, and their English-speaking son-in-law hammed it up as a tourguide, leading the group around and explaining the winemaking process. Americans have the idea that Italians make wine by hiking up skirts and pants and crushing grapes with their feet, a là “I Love Lucy,” but almost all commercial vineyards use modern processes. This particular vineyard, however, processes the grapes naturally,
 using only the natural yeast on the grapes’ skins for fermentation, without addinganything else. Chiorri vineyards have seven different types, and the students tried a red, a white, and a rosè. Also included was lunch and a history of the family – bravi!

Believe it or not, Italians have names for every wind. There’s the scirocco, a hot wind that comes out of Africa and carries red dust (from the Sahara) that it drops with rain to coat everything with a red film, usually in the summer. Then there’s the levante, a crisp humid wind from the Eastern Mediterranean that brings fog and rain. But Perugia now is in the grips of the appropriately-named tramontana, literally the “between- mountain.”

This frigid wind whistles down from the north, through the Alps, and because it’s dry, brings clear skies but bitter cold. Students at the Umbra Institute, therefore, are enjoying beautiful blue skies, but wrapped up in three layers. Put on your hat, we say!