Month: April 2018

This past semester as one of her courses at the Umbra Institute, St. Mary’s College of Maryland student Sam Berenschot-Bucciero has been taking jazz singing lessons at a local music school. Having studied classical singing, jazz was fun for her because “it was very different, with less structure,” she said. Perugia is a huge jazz center in Italy, which hosts performances year-round and the Umbria Jazz Festival in mid-July.

Last Wednesday at the Bottega del Vino, Sam got to show off what she had been learning throughout the semester, singing five classic jazz songs including “My Baby Just Cares for Me”, “Summertime”, and “Why Don’t You Do Right”.

“I was nervous, but I was so overwhelmed by how lovely and supportive everyone was,” she said. “It was really nice to see the whole Umbra community there—it was such a good experience to have everyone there.”

To learn more about studying music at the Umbra Institute, click here.

Throughout the semester, 12 Umbra students have been making Pigotta dolls at Perugia’s UNICEF headquarters, from putting the cotton in the cloth to designing and making the dolls’ clothes. Students committed two hours every Tuesday for five weeks to create their dolls and practice their Italian with the local Italian women heading the project.

At the last meeting, students put the finishing touches on their dolls and had a small party with the local volunteers. They also received certificates acknowledging their participation.

“When I was there [at the UNICEF office], I actually saw the videos and understood the capacity it has to make change in the world, and it was really rewarding,” said Clark University student Valerie Alexander. “To do that through making a doll and doing something that can make a difference in someone else’s life was really amazing.”

The Pigotta dolls will be on display on the second floor of the Umbra Institute through Wednesday, April 24. Students and faculty have the opportunity to adopt a doll for 20€, which provides a vaccination kit for a mother and child in need in developing countries.

The Pigotta Project was started in Milan in 1988 and continues to support UNICEF’s immunization program.

To learn more about Umbra’s volunteering opportunities, click here.

Last Thursday evening, Umbra students gathered around a table full of different Italian cheeses to learn more about their history and production for their HSIT 350: The History and Culture of Food in Italy class. Here’s what they learned:

1. The Italian word for cheese comes from the Latin word “forma”, meaning form…
2. … but the Italian word for cheese factory (caseificio) comes from the Latin word “caseus,” meaning cheese.
3. Caciotta is a typical Umbria cheese.
4. Some cheeses are labeled DOP, which means they can only be produced in certain areas of Italy.
5. Some cheeses (like gorgonzola) are meant to have mold in them that you eat.

As the workshop went on, Umbra professor Marco Bagli explained more about the cheeses as he passed them out for students to try. Starting with the Umbrian caciotta, the students then sampled mozzarella di bufala from Italy’s southern regions, ricotta, goat cheese, and different types of pecorino, cheese made from sheep’s milk. As the different cheese plates made their way around for seconds and thirds, Umbra students continued to eat and discuss which ones were their favorites.

To learn more about Umbra’s Food and Sustainability Studies Program, click here.