Month: December 2016

Museum Studies Seminar and Practicum: Cathedral Museum Tour:
This morning began with an invigorating tour through Perugia’s cathedral museum, located beneath the Umbra Institute. The tour was led by Akosua Ako-Addo. Akosua taught tour attendees about how the church recycled pagan symbols in order to make new followers feel more welcome and comfortable, back in Roman times. She also shared how Rome, at one point in history, was not deemed safe for the church and, at that point, Perugia was a significant location where bishops met and Popes were chosen. The church museum extends underground and individuals viewing the archaeological side of the museum are able to climb down the ancient hillside as they view sites such as the buried medieval church building, which rests on top of a Roman house, which rests above an Etruscan temple.

Photography and Ceramics: Art Show
“Photography has inspired me to stop and look at the finer details. When exploring new cities, I couldn’t help but stop and capture the little moments,” shared Samantha Ide as she pointed out some of the photos she took.

Julia Mericle and Haley Donathan, who participated in the Introduction to Ceramics course posed with their favorite ceramics pieces that were created after studying historic Umbrian ceramic styles. When asked about her experience in the course, Julia said, “I like that we were taught several different traditional methods for creating ceramics, but we were still able to be creative with what we made.” She also described the process of dipping ceramic creations into glaze before creating designs that were then painted.

Community Engagement Presentations
Many classes at the Umbra Institute engage the community either through service-learning projects, community-based coursework, or seminar and practica courses. This afternoon, representatives from each class shared their projects and what they valued most about the work in which they participated. Twenty presentations were given, of which, the following contributions were made:

• Intercultural Communications students shared how they worked to break language barriers using body language as they conducted reading sessions in local libraries. The readings were then recorded to assist blind readers, helping them hear the stories in English.
• International Business Strategy students shared their work with Pashmere, a local luxury cashmere designer. The presentation covered how they worked to convert goals to strategies in a consulting project with the company’s owners.
• Cosa Nostra students shared their experience with the Libera Association, an Italian anti-Mafia organization, and Col di Pina farm in Pietralunga, a property that was previously owned by the Mafia and was confiscated by the Italian government, which then gave the property to locals to cultivate. Students shared the dramatic differences between the Hollywood interpretation of the Mafia, and the reality of the Mafia that is presented through Italian media.

At the end of the presentation event, students voted for their favorite presentations. The winners were students from the Museum Studies Seminar and Practicum, who shared their work with local museums as they uncovered local history, and the Placemaking course, which shared their work with the Borgo Bello community and promoted their Neighborhood Puppet Show and Project Presentation Event (to take place tomorrow night).

Still to come…

• This evening, students enrolled in Creative Writing and the Taste for Knowledge will share their creative works during a Creative Writing Reading event.
• Tomorrow, Placemaking students will conclude their semester with a Neighborhood Puppet Show and Project Presentation event.
• On Friday, Archaeology students will provide tours of a local museum.

Ornaments on display in Quasar Village

This year, the ARCW 350: Introduction to Ceramics class used some of their extra ceramics materials and free time to contribute to the local UNICEF chapter by creating holiday ornaments. The ornaments are currently on sale both at the Umbra Institute and at various locations throughout Perugia, such as the Quasar and Emisfero Shopping Centers. Funds raised from ornament sales, like those raised through the Pigotta doll project, will go toward paying for vaccinations and lifesaving medical assistance that is provided to women and children affected by poverty.

The project began when a representative from UNICEF, Maria Luisa Blasi, came to speak with the class about the organization, its goals and its work. Julia Mericle, a student from Saint Bonaventure University, assisted with the UNICEF ornament project and felt inspired by it. She said that she wants to encourage her friends back home to learn more about UNICEF and “brainstorm ideas for ways our classes back at Saint Bonaventure might be able to get involved with this organization as well.”

The Umbra Institute is excited about the enthusiasm that students direct toward its partnership with UNICEF each semester. Umbra looks forward to continuing its work with local UNICEF members in the semesters and years to come.

Click here to learn more about UNICEF.
Click here to learn more about volunteer opportunities at the Umbra Institute.

 

Dr. Daniele Nucci presents the Mediterranean Diet

 

Students of STFS 330: Sustainability and Food Production in Italy attended a special guest lecture on the Mediterranean Diet with dietician and researcher Dr. Daniele Nucci. Students learned about the recommended food pyramid, and then applied its principles in the kitchen preparing a tasty and nutritionally complete lunch. The menu was brown rice with pumpkin and leek sauce, pasta with pesto of broccoli and nuts, chickpea burgers, vegan mayonnaise, and cabbage and apple stew.

Two students wrote about their experiences during the field trip. Jill Wallace, of Pennsylvania State University, shared: 

“I really enjoyed our class visit with the dietitian. In the United States I study basic life sciences and nutrition, so it was really interesting to get another culture’s perspective on things I have previously learned. I was also very impressed with the dietitian’s experiences and the work he is currently involved in. Although some of the information provided related to the Mediterranean were things we were already taught in class, it was exciting to be able to apply that knowledge hands-on in the kitchen. Healthy, fresh ingredients can be tasty too!” 

Eliana Zupcich, of Hamilton College, added: 

“I am grateful to have attended Dr. Daniele Nucci’s seminar on the Mediterranean Diet and the cooking lesson that followed it. I was particularly attentive to his assertion that the healthiest diet is also the most environmentally sustainable. As it turns out, the practices he promoted were almost entirely vegan. In the United States, many people have unsolicitedly informed me that my diet must be nutritionally incomplete or at the very least inefficient; thus, I appreciated the denunciation of animal products and flesh from a successful nutritionist, cancer prevention specialist, and chef. Moreover, I was delighted to eat the wonderful plant-based meal he helped us prepare!”