Month: December 2009

We confess that this is an archive photo; it didn’t really snow this much in Perugia today. We did have, however, a lot of flurries this morning. Today is the last day of the Fall semester at the Umbra Institute, a day when students buy Perugina chocolate and Umbrian olive oil, when they make that one last visit to their favorite panoramic point for a photo to remember the city by, when they have the Farewell Aperitivo…and when goodbyes have to be said. Tonight at around midnight the buses will pull out of Piazza Italia and the semester’s adventure will be over…until January!

The student presentations and award ceremony for the Italian Language Program were held last night at the Uguccione Ranieri di Sorbello Foundation. Students from various courses presented their work from this semester. Students in the Contemporary Italy: Culture and Society who participated in the progetto famiglia presented on their experiences with Italian families. Students in the Human Development and Culture class presented on their findings from their research in Italian schools on inculturization in Italian society. Finally, students in Comparative Global Business Cultures and International Marketing presented on their recommendations for the companies they visited.

The evening ended with the award from the Ranieri Foundation given to winner of a video contest. The winner was Julia Aronson from Duke University for her video on her trip to Venice. She was awarded a certificate and a cash prize.

In photos: Students in the Human Development class during their presentation, Julia Aronson and Francesco Burzacca, coordinator of the Italian Language Program

The Umbra Institute’s community engagement programs, coordinated by Director Anna Selberg, got some well-deserved recognition this week. An article in the regional newspaper La Nazione highlighted the contributions of Umbra student Melissa Martinez and intern Paola D’Amora to a Unicef campaign. The campaign consisted of sewing Raggedy Ann-style rag dolls, which will then be sold in a nationwide effort to fund Unicef vaccinations in the developing world. Kudos to Martinez, D’Amora, and Selberg!

This Wednesday night students in Professor Cynthia Clough’s Creative Nonfiction Writing class presented some of their best essays that are to be included in the Umbra Institute’s ninth literary anthology. From a small stage at Perugia’s Birraio and with a crowd of more than thirty of their classmates, students read pieces that ranged from amusing reflections on their relationships with food to ponderings of the meaning of this semester, and the meaning of their fast-approaching departure. The night was rounded out by a reading from Professor Clough herself.

And you thought Umbria Jazz was only in the summertime! On December 30th the wintertime counterpart to Perugia’s summer jazz festival begins in Orvieto, another Umbrian city. This year’s edition is the seventeenth to be presented, and will be a five-day jam of the world’s best jazz musicans. Orvieto, sitting on its tufa-rock plateau, will open the doors to its best venues for the festival. 

This month’s photo winner is Laura Bergstein from University of Denver for her photo from Venice, Italy. Laura will enjoy a free meal from Quattro Passi Pizzeria.

Auguri Laura!!