Location 
Yesterday a group of Umbra students, other foreign students, and Italians met at the local wine bar “La Tana dell’Orso” for a workshop on the history of Italian wine. The title is actually misleading because presenter and local food expert Andrea Mecozzi also brought some cold cuts and even cheese with him to accompany the wines. The first wine the students tried was one called Verdicchio – this means literally “little green,” called this because of the small green grapes used to make it. A bright follow-up was the Aglianico Rubrato, a red wine that is made with one of the oldest grape varieties in the world, used by the ancient Greek colonists of southern Italy. The wines were paired with two different salamis, both of which are typical of the central Italy, and finally the participants got to try a semi-aged pecorino from nearby Foligno. The workshop is the last in a series about Italian foods offered by Umbra.
Month: March 2008
For most Americans the Easter holidays are over after Easter dinner, but for Italians, there’s one more day: Pasquetta. This name literally means “Little Easter” in Italian, and while they were with family on Sunday, Easter Monday is when young Italians go out with their friends. Despite yesterday’s inclement weather (Italy’s March is like the northeastern US April), the restaurants were full of friends laughing and eating. While some Umbra students were away taking advantage of the long weekend, others were celebrating Pasquetta all’italiana with their Italian friends. Another group took advantage of a local chocolate maker, Augusta Perusia, and had a hanndmade chocolate egg, along with traditional Easter cake. Yum! Buona Pasquetta!!!!
(Above) Augusta Perusia’s handmade masterpiece. (Below) Sara Garnitz and her “torta di Pasqua.” Pictures courtesy Kelly Hoffmaster.
Heather McDermott and Teresa Marino are two students in Professor Judy Chiariello’s Introduction to Special Education class. Teresa and Heather have been part of an exciting educational opportunity – they have been tutoring Italian students at the local liceo scientifico, a high school with a scientific emphasis. What subject are they tutoring? English, of course. The Italian students have a two hour block of English language every day and must speak only English during this block. In her reflection journal Teresa noted: “The best part of this whole experience has been being able to give these students a chance to learn about American culture while improving their English. Being able to make learning my language easier for them made me feel so good because I am in the same boat with learning Italian. I know how hard it is when Stefania (the teacher) says they can only speak English and all they want to do is speak Italian.”
Heather noted that there are some differences between the Liceo and an American high school. One major difference is that the students stay in the same room all day and the teachers rotate from class to class.Heather and Teresa both found that the students were very interested in American culture and asked many questions about American schools, music, movies and TV shows. One of the lessons taught was based on the words of the song “Time of Your Life” by Green Day, a group popular with Italian teens. As the Italian students read and comprehended the words, a discussion developed around the comparative significance in Italy and the U.S. of such life milestones as high school graduation and moving out of your parents’ home.
On Teresa’s last day at the Liceo her students presented her with flowers and a card. It turns out that the experience has been so positive for Heather and Teresa that their last day will not be their last day – they have volunteered to continue with the tutoring. Professor Chiariello joins Heather and Teresa in thanking Umbra staff member Anna Selberg for making this enriching experience possible.
Have you ever wondered how the Italian education system works? If you had been in Professor Valentina Marasca’s Italian class today, your knowledge on the subject would have increased tenfold. Italian students studying at the Umbra Institute through the Institute’s accord with the Università di Perugia (click here for more info) paid a visit to Professor Marasco’s class for a cultural exchange focusing on the differences between our two academic systems.
The discussion, in Italian, started with the differences at the high school level. In the Italian system one can choose between a number of possible specialized high schools: ones with a linguistic focus, a scientific bent, or even one where you learn Greek and Latin. At the university level the systems diverge radically, as the Umbra students learned. For example, in Italy universities are only urban; there are no liberal arts schools on hills in little towns, with libraries in Victorian buildings and paths paved with gravel. The Americans were also surprised to hear that there is very little homework, though for Italians, the tradeoff is a onetime, go-for-broke oral exam at the end of each semester.
One of the Italian students, Rossella Carpino, showed pictures from her graduation. In Italy the celebration doesn’t involve five hundred other students, but opening a bottle of champagne with family and friends out in front of the main university building. And don’t forget the laurel wreath on your head! Can you imagine if that were the end of Umbra’s semester?
University of Perugia graduate (and past Umbra exchange student) Rossella Carpino with her thesis and laurel crown, in front of Perugia’s main fountain.
Last week Umbra students hopped here and there to sample the best Europe had to offer, and those of us who held down the fort here in good old Perugia were more than ready to hear their stories. Here’s an example of what took place during spring break study-abroad-style.
Kat Black and six of her fellow students left Perugia on a fine spring day bound for Switzerland, known of course for its remarkably clean and clear weather, towering Alps, and uncanny ability to manufacture some of Earth’s best chocolate.
The first day of the trip was spend exploring trails and paths surrounding quiet Interlaken, whichyielded magnificent panoramas and sweeping views of massive, true blue lakes and reaching white summits. On the second day it was all for the Alpine slopes, kicks being exchanged for ski boots, sweatshirts for heavy sweaters and thick jackets. Fresh powder had fallen the night before, making for a great and, well, powerdy time. Having spent the day shredding the powder, riding gondolas and becoming human ice-cubes, our adventurers had a warm, not too Italian dinner of juicy hamburgers (wait, aren’t those German?) followed by a hardy dose of sleep.
The next part of the trip took adventuring to a literally higher level, allpersons involved opting either to skydive or paraglide (none of which are for this author!) But then again, the best way to see Switzerland would have to be from the air… Or so we’re told…
Once safely on the gound again, the last bit of an awesome week was spent perusing a Swiss chocolate fair, which included nearly every sort of chocolate imaginable-no surprise there-and countless demonstrations of how to make, and naturally eat, chocolate. Sounds wonderful, right?
See all the pictures — and full-sized ones, at that — with the gallery below!
“Traveling alone was the most amazing adventure ever… Not knowing where you’re going to go or what you’re going to do every day is just so exhilarating”. These are the words describing Umbra student Leah Henry-MacDonald’s ten day spring break foray into the heel of Italy’s boot, a journey that took her through the likes of Palermo and Catania, Termino, Siricusa and Agrigento. It was a trip taken by train, bus, and even a Vespa, a trip that gifted Leah with unforgettable memories and a bundle of new friends. Ms. Henry MacDonald had this to say about one of the many moments that made her time in southern Italy so special… Thump thump. The heart pumps, rapping like and unwanted stranger on the ribcage door. The pounding reverberates down the arms, thumb twitches involuntarily. Time slows and adrenalin roars in the ears, prickling like hot needles just under the skin. Heightened senses build the surge, until every cell boils with anticipation. Thump. Ready? Thumpthump. Go.
We were in deep now, even my solid white exhales were lost to the dark. My adventurous flashlight led the way, revealing waves of rock of the crumbling floor, pockets and holes on the walls, and a dripping ceiling with a great fissure running along it like a spine. With the ever-growing population of bats overhead and my trusted off-duty tour guide, we crawled forward, hunched over so low I could almost taste the wet ground.
Reaching a bend we were finally able to stand. Barely. My flashlight looked around. More bats. It was then it hit me. I’m in a volcano right now. Standing in the heart of one of Mother Nature’s most destructive mood swings. An old cave, created by a long ago lava flow, was one of the many that ran through Etna, the tallest active volcano in Europe, located in Sicily. I shivered some; grateful it was cold in the cave. Anything above completely freezing could be a bad sign. Marco introduced me to his friend Pino, a white bat who enjoyed long naps, hanging upside down from the long fractures in the ceiling. I reached up to pet him, he was surprisingly soft.
Marco has been a tour guide of the great Etna for four years, but was then off-duty. I met him on a dune of ash in a field of snow. I was a lone hiker and far off the trails, having too much of an adventurous curiosity for a map. He figured this out soon enough, and asked if I was up for a long hike and a free tour. Definitely! 9am-6pm we hiked, soaking our socks in the snow and blackening our clothes in a brief ash shower. We walked over lava flows of old and recent eruptions, explored caves, and peaked in dangerous craters. To make it even more fascinating, I got a free geology lesson.
Panting slightly from the arduous crawl, cheeks pink from the cold, smile taking up most of my face, and heart pounding thru my chest, I just couldn’t get enough. Marco’s flashlight pointed towards the exit of the cave and I eagerly took up the lead. Then suddenly we emerged into the sun, Jack Frost’s nip in the air was warm as a roaring fire compared to the caves.
Before me stretched the entire Southeast side of the volcano, rivers of black lava leading to the city of Catania below. The craters rose in random patterns, like giant spikes on the back of a fire-breathing dragon. Older ones were covered in their own forest, newer ones were still small mountains of red and black ash. I perched on a lava bomb taller than me while Marco excitedly answered my endless questions and explained the different eruptions that caused the pimple field before us. We sat there until the sun sank behind the other side of the volcano. It was time to head down, and we had to make good time, as it was getting dark. Marco turned to head back, but I just kept looking at the view, smiling. He asked if I was ready. I told him I was ready for an adventurous decent. He smiled knowingly, “the lava river it is then.”
Congratulations to Julie Jones from University of Virginia and to Jaimie Wikeen from Elon University for their winning photos this month! Julie and Jaimie will enjoy a free meal at Quattro Passi Pizzeria. Auguri!
Julie Jones “Venice at Night”
Jaimie Wikeen
Perugia was quieter last week, and the track had a lot fewer runners as the Umbra Institute students were on their Spring Break. Photos and stories about the Eiffel tower, London’s Tate Gallery, and even fjords were traded this morning in all three Umbra academic buildings. Not everyone wandered so far – some students stayed and explored Umbria and neighboring Tuscany better – but now all have returned for the second half of the semester. Welcome back!
In Portugal, above: Rachel Datz, Ashley Gambone, Carly Gorga, and Cara Wagner
An important ability for a journalist to have is writing well about place. Matthew Morgan, an Umbra Institute student, chose Perugia’s organic market as his focus for this assignment, written for Professor Bongiovani’s Comparative Journalism class. Read a shorter version of his piece below:
The Piccinino Piazza is set beside the duomo in the main square ofPerugia, and on the first Sunday of every month vendors from the Umbria region and beyond set up stands in Piccinino for a single day to sell their produce and goods at the organic market.
Visitors are greeted by these many stands and a large white banner reading Mostra Mercato di Prodotti Biologici stretched from the walls of the two buildings forming the mouth of the small piazza. Piazza Piccinino, smaller and more compact than Piazza Italia which houses the sprawling Mercato Antiquarito, creates the perfect environment for the slow Sunday morning atmosphere of the organic market.
The contrast isn’t coincidental either. When the organic market began in 1992 the city of Perugia placed it opposite Piazza Italia and asked that it take place the first Sunday of every month in contrast to the Mercato Antiquarito which takes place the last Saturday of every month.
Ruthild Heiman, who has managed the organic market since 1995, says that “It [Piazza Piccinino] is small, but something of a protection for us because there is no traffic.” The small size of the piazza also creates a certain element of intimacy as well, which is complemented by the high walls of the surrounding buildings that form a kind of room around the market’s visitors. The size of the piazza also corresponds to the size of the market, which has no more than 25 producers according to Heiman.
Although the market has a small number of producers, the range of goods and products offered is quite varied and as Heiman emphasizes, the uniqueness of each product is guaranteed. As a consequence of this variety, a visitor is able to purchase fresh tomatoes, buffalo mozzarella, homemade soap and handmade jewelry in his or her short walk around the piazza.
The piazza fills as the afternoon approaches and the malaise of a Sunday morning burns off with the early fog. However, the Sunday morning intimacy of the market, instead of fading, seems to grow with this buzzing of voices in the afternoon. The social element of the market and the interaction between the producers and the buyers is an essential part of the market experience.Hieman, in discussing the criteria for selecting producers for the market, emphasizes the personal connections between the producers and the buyers, saying “We in this market, we look for people who you can look in the face.”
This social element not only emphasizes the intimacy of the market and piazza described earlier, but also creates an appreciation for provincial and regional agriculture within visitors. Piazza Piccinino functions as the home of the market on Sundays; however, the Umbrian, Tuscan and Lazian regions are the permanent homes of the farms and shops of the market’s producers. In this sense the market offers a social meeting place and a most local connection between consumers and agricultural producers in the region. Visitors, however, can gain an appreciation for this culture without even speaking to the producers, but simply by viewing the various goods and the polaroids of sheep and olive fields displayed at many stands.
At one stand, visitors will encounter various hats, capes, and even purses shaped like mice all made from sheep wool and then dyed different colors.Little imagination is required to picture the sheep farm located outside of Assisi.However, when one considers the steps required to bring the products of this pastoral Umbrian sheep farm to the gray stone walls of Perugia, much like the thought exercise proposed by Rousseau in Emile, the uniqueness of the organic market becomes so apparent.
Sunday mornings are easy to sleep through, especially for the many students in Perugia. However, Perugians and visitors to Perugia alike should find the time to take advantage of this opportunity and come to the Piccinino Piazza the first Sunday of a month to see how sheep farms, olive fields, and local workshops find their way into the center of Perugia for a day.
Jason Boroos, a current senior at University of Colorado-Boulder, sent this photo from a recent Spring 2007 alumni reunion in Colorado. It’s hard to believe these students were in Perugia one year ago and are now preparing to graduate.
Alumni, contact the Umbra Institute! Send updates to: [email protected]