Month: February 2017

Students were entranced by the stories shared by a Sicilian volunteer who had once been a close friend of anti-Mafia legend, Peppino Impastato

On Monday afternoon, the HSIT 380: Cosa Nostra: Cinema and History of the (Anti) Mafia class met with local Libera volunteers to learn about their personal encounters with the Mafia and work against the Mafia. Libera is an anti-Mafia organization that was established in 1995 with the purpose of involving and supporting those who were interested in the fight against mafias and organized crime.

During the in-class presentation, students were entranced by the stories shared by a Sicilian volunteer who had once been a close friend of anti-Mafia legend, Peppino Impastato. Volunteers contrasted the idea of the Mafia as a “delinquent group” with their view of organized crime as a “power system”; using as an example the Mafia’s switch from typical criminal activity to its modern entrepreneurial system through which it now maintains its power.

Another volunteer, a journalist from Umbria and active member of Libera, shared that the organization works primarily as an educational association that seeks to inform people about the history of the Mafia in order to keep history from repeating itself. Libera recognizes that Mafia-related topics are often sensitive and difficult to approach. For this reason, they educate the community with a specific focus on teaching professors and teachers of all grade levels about how to present the Mafia in a way that can be properly understood by young people. The association believes that knowledge is power and by informing the populace of the reality of who and how the Mafia are, they are able to combat and diminish the influence of organized crime.

At the end of the presentation, students were invited to ask questions and to take note of a local March in memory of Mafia victims. The Umbra community was then invited to attend the march that will take place throughout Perugia’s city center, on March 21, the National Day of Commitment to the Memory of Mafia Victims. 

The STFS 330: Sustainability and Food Production in Italy class visited the restaurant Nadir, for a lecture on Fair Trade commerce and ingredients, thanks to Ponte Solidale Fair Trade shop. Students were introduced to the main principles and ideals behind Fair Trade (market access for marginalized producers; sustainable and equitable trading relationships; capacity building and empowerment; consumer awareness raising and advocacy; fair trade as a “social contract”) and had the chance to talk to Chef Francesca Taticchi. Chef Francesca explained her job in the kitchen as a way to make small changes in the community through food, by promoting the local economy with its seasonal products, and supporting Fair Trade projects for products that cannot be sourced locally. At the end of the lecture, students had the chance to taste cous cous, produced by Palestinian women, with seasonal vegetables, chickpea flour fritters, and a vegan cake with Fair Trade chocolate and coconut milk. The excursion was an informative and delicious way to get behind the scenes of sustainable food cultures and food activism in Perugia!

The truffle hunt begins in full view of the countryside below

Last weekend, students in HSIT 350: The History and Culture of Food in Italy course went into the Umbrian hills in search of truffles at Matteo Bartolini’s agriturismo and truffle school, Ca’Solare, near Città di Castello.

Before the hunt, Matteo gave a presentation that covered the history, techniques, and peculiarities of truffle hunting. Though there are thirty different truffle species, Matteo focused primarily on the varieties that can be found on his property. He explained the economic difficulties and benefits of being a truffle hunter, as some days may lead to the discovery of a truffle worth over a thousand euros, and other days can lead to none at all. He also described how pigs were once used to hunt truffles but have since gone out of style due to their habit of eating the truffles or destroying the plant’s roots. Now truffle hunters rely on the importance of a skilled truffle-hunting dog, as dogs of any species can be trained to sniff out truffles.

Matteo has worked with the University of Perugia’s agronomy school and explained how he has contributed to the understanding of the cultivation of truffles. As of now, it is difficult to understand the life cycle of truffles due to their underground location and the fact that they can be discovered only by an animal’s keen sense of smell, for the brief period when it is fully mature. Once a truffle is no longer perfectly ripe for consumption, it can no longer be found underground. Studies are currently being conducted to understand a truffle’s full lifecycle and optimal cultivation environment.

After a lecture about what makes a truffle so unique and sought after that it can be referred to as an “Italian diamond”, students were invited to walk the woods on the hunt for truffles with Matteo and his father. Throughout the hunt, Matteo pointed out unique characteristics of a good truffle hunt, such as how truffles can often be found where grass is patchy, as they consume minerals that the grass would require to grow. The class excitedly asked detailed questions as they trudged up and down the Umbrian countryside, ending with a discussion about how to preserve and prepare both white and black truffles.

After a successful hunt that lead to the discovery of various truffle species, a hungry class made their way back to Ca’Solare for lunch. The first few dishes were delicately laced with truffle sauces and creams and dessert was a homemade tiramisu.

Matteo currently works to lobby the European Agricultural Commission for sustainable agricultural reform, primarily in the organic sector. This topic intrigued a number of students and lead to an extended discussion on sustainable agriculture after lunch.

Click here to read more about the Food & Sustainability Studies Program and its many hands-on learning experiences. 

Registration Opens on Friday, February 24th at 10 PM EST (US)
– Only on Linkedin

Details: 

The competition is open only to Umbra Alumni!

We are offering 3 apartments for an Umbra Alumni Summer 2017 Reunion during the Umbria Jazz Festival. The dates will be from July 7th to July 12th, and there will be four spots in each apartment; please choose 1 representative for your group of 2 or 4 people to enter, and clearly state all group-members’ names.

In order to be fair, we want to let you know ahead of time when, exactly, we are opening the reunion registration: Friday, February 24th, at 10 pm EST (US). Sign-up will be first-come, first-served, and we will notify you within a couple of days if you have won! The link to the registration form will ONLY be posted on our LinkedIn Alumni page (your request to join the group will only be approved if you have studied abroad through Umbra).

Once winners have been notified, we will give them two weeks to buy plane tickets to Italy; if a winner is unable to do so, their apartment space will go to the next participant on the waiting list, that will be set in chronological order. If you don’t win the apartments for this summer, we would still love to see you in Perugia!

So reconnect with your Umbra community and start making your plans for this summer!

If you have any question please send an email to Aimée at [email protected].

Click here to check out information about past Alumni Reunions. 

IBST 380 students create their own Deruta ceramics IBST 380 students create their own Deruta ceramics

This past Friday, IBST 380: International Business Strategy students visited Bettini Deruta, specialized producers of artisan Deruta ceramics. The tour began in the Bettini production facility where students observed artisans who had been creating Deruta ceramic pieces for 20 to 40 years. The artists invited students to make their own Deruta ceramics out of locally sourced clay in order to familiarize themselves with the production process. As students created their pottery, they asked questions about production costs, the type of clay that was being used, the longevity of the machinery, the firing process, and the production cost versus the sales revenue.

Next, the class was brought to Bettini’s showroom where they learned about how international markets differ not only in design selection, but also in utility preferences. For example, northern Europeans prefer practical, simple objects for daily use, while Italians prefer detailed pottery to display in their homes, and Americans lean towards blue peacock feather design plates. At this time, students took the opportunity to ask about online sales, retail connections and potential for distributors, social media and marketing strategies, and more.

During this visit, Bettini owners were completely engaged in discussion with the IBST 380 class and have already begun reviewing student advice by opening an Instagram account and reactivating Facebook in order to experiment with a new online marketing strategy.

Throughout the semester, the IBST 380 course will learn various elements of constructing a clear business strategy for globalizing companies. In class, students learn about the relative theory and then apply their newfound knowledge to their service learning project where they will analyze Bettini’s business strategy. At the end of the semester, students will formally present their recommended tangible strategies to the owners of Bettini.

To learn more about Umbra’s business courses, click here.

CESP 351 students hosted a film screening to encourage the local community to become more aware of issues surrounding fair trade

Last Thursday, CESP 351: Fair Trade Seminar & Practicum students helped with a film screening event co-hosted by Monimbò Fair Trade Bottega and PerSo Perugia Social Film Festival to encourage the local community to become more aware of the importance of fair trade due to current global issues and trends. The screening took place at Cinema Méliès, where at least 75 members of the Perugian community came to view Out of Fashion.

Out of Fashion was created by Estonian directors Jaak Kilmi and Lennart Laberenz. It follows a young stylist’s journey as she produces upcycled clothing, a sustainable production practice where excess material is used to produce a new article of clothing rather than being thrown away. After the screening, Co-director Lennart Laberenz was present to share his experience in helping create the film and field questions from the audience.

Later this semester, CESP 351 students will also assist with the screening of The Last Farmer, a film that focuses on fair trade’s relationship with neoliberalism, globalization, and small-scale producers.