November 2022 – DEV – The Umbra Institute – Study Abroad in Italy

By Shreya Dhume, University of Connecticut

On November 11th, students of Digital Marketing: Wine and Wineries of Central Italy took an early morning bus to Torgiano to learn about the history behind one of Italy’s most renowned wineries: Cantine Lungarotti.

This semester, students have been exploring digital marketing principles and applying them to the Italian wine industry. We have examined different tactics marketers use to promote their products and brands, and will even be participating in a service learning project in which we create a marketing plan for Romanelli, a winery we visited in September. Students were pleased to find that Lungarotti provided an opportunity to delve further into these marketing concepts.

First, we received some insight into the winery’s origins. Lungarotti is a local, family-owned winery that was founded in 1962 by Giorgio Lungarotti. The company prides itself on its commitment to quality production, sustainability, and family values.

Students were led inside the winery to see the different stages of the winemaking process. The first room contained tall steel tanks where the wine fermented, and in another room, we saw different size barrels where the wine was kept for aging. There also was a cellar where bottles of wine were tucked away for yeast fermentation. The most notable part about our tour was that, beyond seeing the steps of wine production, we also witnessed packaging and labeling–student Emily Simeone said this was her favorite part about the visit.

Next, students heard from Francesco Zaganelli, export director for Lungarotti. Francesco elaborated on the company’s consumer markets: Lungarotti has been able to penetrate new worldwide markets in the last few years, including the United States, Germany, Sweden, Thailand, and Canada. Professor Jacopo Cossater especially wanted students to see “how a winery manages to sell wine in the United States” and how “every state is different,” which leads to a dynamic marketing strategy. Seeing these ideas come together with a real wine company was truly eye-opening.

And of course, we ended the day with a wine tasting! Students tried the Torre di Giano white wine and classic Rubesco red wine. The white was “crisp, refreshing, and just sweet enough,” said fellow student Maddie Culkin. Brendan Fricke felt that the red had “many spices and tasted lighter than other red wines.”

Our day at Cantine Lungarotti was enlightening, as we saw classroom concepts come alive in an esteemed Umbrian winery. It was a fun day filled with touring, teaching, and tasting!

Click here to learn more about Cantine Lungarotti: https://lungarotti.it/ita/

By Angelie Roche, St. Mary’s College of Maryland

Many of the classes offered at Umbra include a service learning component, which enriches students’ education through unique community engagement opportunities. One such course is Critical Disabilities, which includes a weekly practicum wherein students go to Perugia’s community gym and assist with VIVA sports, an association that partners with professional athletic instructors to provide physical education to individuals with disabilities. VIVA was founded by Gabriele Bartolucci in 2011, and since then it has become one of the largest Italian organizations for individuals with special needs. According to Community Engagement Coordinator Manuel Barbato, the partnership between Umbra and VIVA began in 2016 and has since been a core component of the Critical Disabilities class.

Once a week, students take buses to the gym and spend three hours assisting sports instructors and participants with their activities. Student volunteers are not obligated to participate for the entire session, and are not given specific “tasks”; rather, they are invited to step in and help whenever they feel comfortable. That could mean assisting staff with dance lessons, ping pong, basketball, or even working one-on-one with a participant who looks lost or overwhelmed.

When I began going to the gym with my classmates, we were nervous – it was our first full “cultural immersion” experience, as hardly anyone spoke English and we were not exactly sure how we would fit in the chaotic, active environment. Soon enough, though, we pushed ourselves to participate. My classmate Xea Kirkland said, “[At first] I really struggled to talk with people, but the more I did it the more I got used to the uncertainty.” Since then, we’ve started to get to know the participants who come every week, and build trusting relationships with them. The language barrier is not always easy, but we’ve found nonverbal ways to communicate as well– sometimes that means demonstrating the activity yourself, or taking the initiative to go up to someone who’s sitting on the sidelines and motion for them to come join.

Physical disabilities are never seen as limitations there, and a huge part of working at VIVA is being able to see people as individuals and modifying each activity for them. If a child has a sight impairment, instructors might focus on building their other senses, encouraging them to crawl across mats or using tapping to direct their attention. Participants in wheelchairs are never separated from others; rather, instructors will find ways to modify parts of the obstacle course to ensure they can do every activity. Dance lessons are slow-paced and often change for each group, depending on the participants’ capabilities. This focus on ability rather than disability has helped reframe my mindset and build empathy between participants and instructors – everyone is equal there.

The most valuable part of the classes I’ve had here is what happens outside the classroom, especially when it involves engaging with people who are different from myself. The best sort of learning pushes students to challenge themselves, both socially and intellectually, whether that means trying to speak in a different language or learning to communicate without using language at all. Being at VIVA has brought not only a greater understanding of others, but a sense of joy and community – an ability to laugh at myself when I don’t make a basket, or cheer for someone else when they do.

By Jacqueline Inman, University of Vermont

Perugia is home to many amazing sights for visitors to see: the Etruscan Well, the National Gallery of Umbria, stores, and restaurants in the central piazzas, and panoramic views from Porta Sole. But, when you’re staying in Perugia for an extended visit, like the students at the Umbra Institute, there is room to make your Perugian experience your own, finding the best spots off the beaten path. After having spent just over two months in Perugia, these are the places I would recommend visiting if you are interested in the creative sides of Perugia.

Via della Viola

Via della Viola is a street not far from the central Piazza Novembre IV, offering an artistic side of Perugia. Funky and colorful murals line the street, along with some of the coziest bars and restaurants, such as Civico 25 and La Fame. The street is home to Perugia’s movie theater, Postmodernismo, which screens many independent films. The stylish theater doubles as a bar and hosts community arts events. Every Wednesday, they show movies in English, creating a great mid-week activity for English-speaking students. Postmodernismo is a vastly different environment from a chain AMC theater that you would find in the U.S., providing the viewer with a classy movie-watching experience. It may not sell slushies and heaping bags of popcorn, but you can get a cocktail or glass of wine to go along with your movie.

Corso Cavour

Corso Cavour is another Perugian street that took me a few weeks to happen upon. If you walk down the long stairway of Sant’Ercolano, you will end up on Corso Cavour, immediately greeted by some of the spots that I would recommend spending time in.

Paradiso 518 arts bookshop, Caffè Della Penna, and Lick Gelato are clustered near each other on Corso Cavour. Paradiso 518 is not the average bookstore but describes itself as an art bookshop and micro-gallery. It is an intriguing place to browse around, full of creative books and magazines set up to make the store an aesthetic experience. Right across from Paradiso 518 is Caffè Della Penna, a particularly cozy cafe and my favorite place to study. Della Penna has a sitting room in the back of the café with a warm ambiance like no other café I have been to in Perugia. Finally, Lick Gelato, next to Paradiso 518, is well-known in Perugia for some of the best gelato around. Lick is an artisan-style gelato and cake shop, and is a must if you enjoy fun and unique gelato flavors.

Pian di Massiano Saturday Market

If you’re interested in shopping for cheap, second-hand, or vintage clothing, the Pian di Massiano Market that occurs every Saturday is the place to go. From the Pincetto mini metro stop that is located right near the historic center of Perugia, it is a 15-minute ride down the hill to the last stop of the mini metro called Pian di Massiano.

There are a wide variety of goods sold at the market, including sandwiches, fruit, jewelry, home goods, and my favorite part – vintage clothing. Clothing stands make up most of the market, offering tables piled high with second-hand, generally high-quality items for people to sift and dig through. The clothes mostly range in price from 1 to 5 euros. The market opens at 8 am and goes until 1 pm on Saturdays, so there is plenty of time to search through the never-ending heaps of clothing.

Piazza San Francesco

Finally, when it’s a beautiful day and you’re tired from walking around the hilly town of Perugia, you can find a grassy area to lay down on a blanket in front of the beautiful Church of San Francesco al Prato. This is my favorite place to go with friends to read a book, listen to music, or just soak up the sun if it’s out. An added plus of this area is that there is functional wifi that you can connect to, making homework or studying possible from outside.

There are many more wonderful places to see in Perugia, and I am constantly discovering new ones. But, if you are looking for creative and cozy places to visit in Perugia that might not be found in your first google search, these suggestions are worth the visit.

By Angelie Roche, St. Mary’s College of Maryland

On October 11, Umbra’s Multicultural Psychology program held a workshop entitled “Can you meet me halfway?” which taught students to use their similarities and differences as “a starting point for inclusion” through cross-cultural conversations. Students in Umbra’s Multicultural Psychology program and the University of Perugia’s Psychology program split up into small groups and held guided discussions wherein they asked one another questions about their hobbies and interests, their reasons for pursuing psychology, as well as their home culture. Ultimately, they were tasked with finding five similarities and differences between group members as well as a song and an image that represented their group. In the end, everyone met back up and shared what they discussed.

This workshop was different from other Multicultural Psychology workshops because it did not include any sort of lecture; the entire class was focused on building students’ connections and fostering discussions. Students’ conversations brought together two very different cultures and helped both Italians and Americans learn more about one another. University of Perugia student Maria Mirandi shared, “I always thought that Americans were very open-minded, and this experience confirmed my impression,” and Giulia Gizzi added, “I felt at ease as if I were talking to people I already knew.” Even casual conversations about cultural differences became very lively and involved; according to Umbra student Katya Scott, students discussed everything ranging from Italian vs. American coffee (they agreed that Italian coffee was superior) to differences in schooling systems. She said, “We talked a lot about the differences between our universities, and how long it takes to get a degree. For instance, undergraduate programs in Italy typically last only 3 years, compared to 4 in America.”

Of course, one of the main difficulties groups faced was getting over the language barrier, as students’ English and Italian skills varied significantly. Antonio Casenza, another University of Perugia student, said that he was surprised by Umbra students’ friendliness; he had thought they would be “much more reserved in relation to the language barrier,” and instead found that they were extremely open-minded and willing to communicate. The students also enjoyed talking about which areas of Psychology interested them, and which fields they wanted to go into. Katya’s group shared a passion for research in clinical psychology and discussed the importance of listening in therapeutic settings.

Umbra’s Multicultural psychology program is just as much about giving students the knowledge they need to understand other cultures as it is about giving them real-world cultural immersion experiences. Conversations with Italian students are just the beginning! Some classes in the program involve volunteering in community settings; for instance, the Human Development in Culture class is centered around a service learning project wherein students design an English lesson to be taught in an Italian middle school, and Critical Disabilities works with VIVA Sports, an organization serving individuals with disabilities. So far, this program has equipped students with skills they could not have learned anywhere else and fostered unique conversations that students will likely carry with them as they pursue careers in Psychology. Speaking about the program as a whole, Katya said, “the opportunities to connect with Italian culture are exactly what I came here for.”

To learn more, check out Umbra’s Multicultural Psychology Program here.