News and Blog

The Umbra Institute hosts a travel workshop at the beginning of each semester to help students understand some of the best ways to get around Italy during their study abroad experience. Below are a few scenarios and a few preventative tricks that might keep you out of sticky situations.

1. You arrive to your hotel but the neighborhood looks sketchy, the staff is rude, and your room looks nothing like the photos online.

Google is your friend! It is good to thoroughly research a location before booking a trip there. Read online reviews from multiple outlets to get a well-rounded view.

Use Google Maps to check out the area. Google’s street view is a great tool to see if the area looks friendly or not. Check to make sure your hotel or hostel is near public transportation that runs during the times you will need it and see how far away you will be from other locations you plan to visit during your trip.

2. You fly into Rome on Sunday night but your flight is delayed and you miss your last train to Perugia.

Public transportation schedules in Italy can be tricky, and they don’t always run on time. Don’t forget to review the train and/or bus schedules before booking your flights. You want to make sure your flight lands before the final train or bus leaves for Perugia (or your destination city) so that you don’t end up stranded in an airport or train station far from home. Sometimes, it is best to try to catch the second to last train so that the last train is always available in case your flight is delayed.

It is always a good idea to review any train changes you may have to make during your trip, to make sure that you will have enough time to get to your next train (sometimes only 10 minutes is scheduled and any delay on your first train could make you miss your second!). Take a picture or write down the train numbers and exact times of arrival and departure for each one.

3. You are on a train and a man in a TrenItalia uniform starts yelling at you about your ticket.

In Italy, it is often required that you validate your train ticket before boarding the train. Italian train personnel will ask you at least once, per train ride, for your Biglietto (ticket); they will then check to see if it is validated and, if it is not, you may be eligible for a fine.

To validate your ticket, you are going to want to get it stamped by a small green and white machine. The stamp will keep you from getting fined €50-€60 during ticket checks.

If you buy your train tickets online, you do not need to validate your ticket.

Bus tickets do not always need to be validated but it is always a good idea to have the ticket available in case the bus driver decides to check it.

4. You visit a museum in Florence and see that a student discount is available. However, the attendant at the ticket stand refuses to sell you a discounted ticket.

Some museums, cafes, restaurants and other locations will offer student discounts to students under the age of 26. ALWAYS bring your student ID to try to take advantage of the great offers available.

Keep in mind that some discounts are only available to citizens of the EU, but hey, it never hurts to try!

It is also good to remember that, in Italy, most museums and some monuments offer free entry on the first Sunday of every month.

5. You get to your hotel in Rome only to find out that the front desk won’t let you check in and is insisting you find another place to stay.

Hotels and Hostels around Europe require that you show ID in order to stay the night. Even when you are in Italy, you should bring your passport for overnight trips. It is also a good idea to bring the credit or debit card you used to book your room (as proof of purchase) as well as some extra cash in case the hotel/hostel charges a small tax for staying the night (the tax is usually not included in your online bill).

In the end, traveling throughout Italy (and Europe) can be great fun! The best thing you can do is plan ahead and expect the unexpected. Travel is never predictable and it is always best to be prepared!

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For current Umbra Students who plan to travel, do not forget to fill out the Umbra Travel Form online or in the student services office.

HSIT 380: Cosa Nostra: Cinema and History of the Mafia is a course that covers the emergence of the Mafia phenomenon both in Sicily and America and its continuation in contemporary society, while also looking into how the criminal organization is portrayed and perceived in cinematic fiction. Throughout the course, film is used to supplement historical discourse; however, the course is more than a cinema course, it also includes an engaging opportunity to reach out to the local community through a collaboration with Libera, an Italian anti-Mafia organization.

Libera was established in 1995 with the purpose of involving and supporting those who are interested in the fight against mafias and organized crime. Thanks to Italian Law n. 109/96, the Italian government is able to seize property from Mafiosi and give it to co-operations such as Libera. One such property is the Col di Pina farm in Pietralunga which Fall 2016 students will be visiting to work alongside Libera staff and volunteers. Their project for this fall will involve harvesting potatoes which will later be used for a fundraising dinner event that students will attend.

 “Working with Libera will show students one way to achieve a fusion between academic discourse and activism; students will be trying to ‘better’ the local reality outside of the classroom,” shared HSIT 380 professor, Elgin K. Eckert, as she described her preparations and expectations for the course.

HSIT 380 is also available as an iCourse (the “i” represents an Italian language component and additional academic credit).

Read more about Umbra’s iCourse options.

Students learn Italian vocabulary and customs through ice-breaker activities.

This weekend, Umbra Staff eagerly awaited Fall 2016 students at Rome’s Fiumicino Airport as they arrived for their study abroad semester in Perugia, Italy. The welcome weekend at Umbra is one of excitement and acclimation!

Friday: Students were brought from the airport to the Hotel Giò by private bus where they met more Umbra staff, got their orientation packets, and met their roommates. They then sat down to enjoy a multi-course dinner followed by ice-breaker activities designed to help them get to know each other; learn  basic Italian vocabulary and customs; and share their expectations for the semester. John LaTorre, from the University of Vermont, said, “It was fun and a great way to meet everyone and break the ice”.

Saturday: Students were transported from the hotel to their new apartments in Perugia’s center where they quickly fell in love with the picturesque hilltop town. When asked about how she was settling into her new home, Eliana Zupcich, of Hamilton College, shared, “I love the fact that I look out my window and see this vibrant and beautiful city and, I’m not sure how you guys did this, but my roommates and I already have a really strong connection!”

Umbra staff spent the afternoon showing students around the Institute and Perugia; staff were also available to help students with the process of applying for their Permit of Stay (an Italian document required for staying in Italy for more than 3 months). In the evening, students enjoyed their first Umbra-sponsored Pizza Night.

Sunday: After an open house and practical walking tour of Perugia, students met for a Mandatory Safety and Academic Meeting. They heard many safety tips and became familiar with Italian laws and best practices while sitting in the historic Sala dei Notari. In addition, they learned about student life, housing, health, counseling services, academic policies and procedures, and became better acquainted with Umbra staff.

Monday: Intensive Italian Week began for all Umbra students. Students will visit supermarkets, apartments, coffee shops, and take public transportation with their professors in order to learn how to get around Perugia and Italy, in Italian. Students also took part in the Community Engagement and Student Activity Information Session to learn more about how they can get involved in the Umbra community through practica, service learning projects, student clubs, and volunteer opportunities.

Students will be introduced to their professors and regular elective courses beginning on Monday, September 5^th.  

As many have expressed concern for Umbra faculty and staff, we would like to report that the city of Perugia and the Umbra Institute were unaffected by this morning’s earthquake in central Italy.

The locations primarily affected are 100 kms south of Perugia, Amatrice is the one currently in need of the most assistance.

We appreciate all of your kind thoughts and prayers throughout the night and look forward to soon meeting our Fall 2016 students.

A practicum student getting hands-on experience in the Orto Sinergico

“Our experience here will be something that we never forget and we are truly grateful for this opportunity,” wrote Abigail Kayes and Caroline Florenzo in a reflective letter to Fontenuovo, a local residency for the elderly that recently celebrated its 130^th year. Abigail and Caroline are just two of Misericordia University’s Occupational Therapy students who spent the early part of their summer participating in the Umbra Institute’s CESP 354: Critical Disabilities: Seminar & Practicum, in Perugia, Italy.

 Umbra’s Critical Disabilities Seminar & Practicum is designed to foster awareness of the experiences of disabled people and reflect on inclusion of these individuals in society by assuming a critical perspective. During the seminar portion of the course, students examine disabilities from a culturally diverse perspective in a classroom setting. As a compliment to the seminar, the practicum gives students hands-on experience in assisting those with disabilities in a community-centered environment. This summer, such collaboration was made possible with the aid of partnerships with VIVA Sports Association, Fontenuovo Elderly Residence Home, and Nuova Dimensione di Perugia Cooperative Synergistic Garden.

While working at VIVA, students experienced what it means to take part in an athletic program designed to teach people with motor and/or intellectual disabilities various teambuilding sports and games with the goal of integrating them into society. They all agreed that, at first, the experience was intimidating as it was unique and new. However, by the end of their experience, they recognized how VIVA participants are attentive to rules and structure. Students felt that this was phenomenal and, in their words of wisdom reflection for future VIVA practicum students, wrote, “Enjoy every opportunity you have to communicate and you’ll appreciate the relationships you’ve built.”

 “At the garden, it was cool that we got to work alongside the guests and that they were so willing to help us,” shared Micaela in her reflection about time working in a local Synergistic Garden. “It is great that the garden is used as a tool to improve their social skills and quality of life. I enjoyed their positive attitudes towards helping us.” In a comment on the language barrier confronted while working in Perugia, Rebecca Price said, “We learned to communicate even though we weren’t always speaking with one another directly using the same language. This is something that I will take with me as I become a professional and work with people of all types.” In line with Rebecca’s reflections, Melissa Galloway expressed that, though she could not speak Italian efficiently, her experience in the garden would “help [her] in the future when working with nonverbal patients or patients with problems expressing themselves.”

The Umbra Institute is excited about the enthusiasm of CESP 351: Critical Disabilities: Seminar & Practicum students and it looks forward to further expanding the program.

Connor works to uncover tiles

The Umbra Institute’s Trasimeno Archaeology Field School has just concluded another successful summer semester. In collaboration with the Archeological Superintendency of Umbria, the Comune of Castiglione del Lago and the Archeological Research Company Intrageo, Umbra students were given the chance to not only study archaeological theory, but also get hands-on experience at a dig site in Castiglione del Lago, a small town on the shore of lake Trasimeno.

Students uncovered the remains of at least two distinct Roman structures that once made up a villa on a hill to the north of Lake Chiusi. Pottery, the remains of walls, and evidence of a thermal bath were discovered by students who dug along a “canaletta”, a type of piping likely used as a draining system. Professors and students presented their findings to the Mayor of Castiglione del Lago and to the local community in the presence of reporters from Corriere dell’Umbria, a local Italian news agency, and TG3, the regional news of the national TV channel RAI. The Corriere dell’Umbria’s Alice Guerrini wrote “American Students at Work Excavating: How Much Was Discovered”, in reaction to the news of the Field School’s results. TG3 reported the discovery starting at 9:48 of their online news clip.

Professors Giampiero Bevagna (Umbra Institute), Pedar Foss and Rebecca Schindler (DePauw University), and archeologist Stefano Spiganti led this summer’s Field School and Excavation.

The Umbra Institute looks forward to continuing this project and collaboration over the coming years.

Photos courtesy of the Trasimeno Archaeology Field School student blog and research. 

 

Ernesto Livorni’s book, “The Fathers’ America”

Umbra was excited to welcome Professor Ernesto Livorni to present his new book, “The Fathers’ America” to the Umbra Community. Professor Livorni currently teaches LIAH 370: Leonardo da Vinci: Renaissance Man and Modern Myth at the Umbra Institute.

At the beginning of his presentation, Professor Livorni explained that his poems, though they were written about personal and familial immigration to America, are meant to be identifiable across generations, and across nationalities. They are meant to be relatable to those who may have immigrated to Argentina, Australia, or any other country, as immigrants tend to share a special bond that is instantly understood by anyone who has chosen to leave their homeland, for any of a myriad of reasons, to work his/her way into the society and culture of a new, foreign, unknown location.

The poetry that comprises “The Fathers’ America” was written while Professor Livorni was a PhD student in America, during the mid-late 80s. He had just published his first collection of avant-garde work, in Italy, and wanted to experiment with more traditional poetry using hendecasyllabic and heptasyllabic meter. At this point, he wrote a number of sonnets and, throughout his work, insisted on using quotidian metaphors and ideas that might cross the mind of the average immigrant mine worker or field laborer.

Professor Livorni closed his presentation by reading a number of the poems published in “The Fathers’ America”, including:

Il giorno che saprò fare al tuo viso una statua trasparente d’avorio con l’acqua del fiume che bagna, con l’acqua del mare solcato, con l’acqua che sempre mi lava, con l’acqua e nulla piú che l’acqua, quel giorno alla luce piú chiara ti donerò non-ti-scordar-di-me.

The day that I will know how to make for your face a transparent ivory statue with the water from the river that washes, with the water from the furrowed sea, with the water that ever washes me, with the water and nothing other than the water, that day in the brightest light, to you I will give forgetmenot.

Should you be interested in purchasing Professor Livorni’s work, click here.

Students swear in for the SoloItaliano Challenge

Right hand raised high with the left relying on the wisdom of Dante, Kaydian Campbell lead her peers in the Intensive Italian & Culture Summer Program in kicking off the SoloItaliano Challenge. As part of the SoloItaliano Challenge, students swore to speak only Italian for a full two days in order to further immerse themselves into the culture. The challenge meant speaking Italian at school and at home, with their peers in the Intensive Italian & Culture Program, as well as with anyone else they came in contact with during the challenge. Kaydian shared, “Wanting to learn the language and retain it, that’s for me. That’s for my own enrichment and my love of the language…solo in Italia!”

On Tuesday night, those participating in SoloItaliano attended a Serata Film Night where they watched the popular film, Manuale d’Amore. On Wednesday night the students finished the event by attending their second Tandem Language Exchange where they spoke with Italian students and voted for the winners of the challenge.

Alexis McDonald and Ashley Weimar were selected by their peers for their commitment to the challenge and were awarded for their success. It was noted that both students went out of their way to send emails and texts in Italian, stretching their boundaries with the language; Ashley even recounted messaging “Tanti auguri!” (Happy birthday) to friends on Facebook who did not speak Italian.

Once the challenge was over, Ashley described SoloItaliano through her experiences, “It challenged me to start thinking in Italian, to be able to come up with the word that I was looking for by using words that I already knew. I realized a lot about myself and about how others feel and struggle when trying to speak a language they are not familiar with”. She then went on to say “The second day, I woke up thinking in Italian and, for the first time, I was making sense in my head, in Italian!”

Click here to learn more about the Umbra Institute’s Italian Language & Culture Initiatives.

Students pose with Nonna Marcella, author of Goretti’s famous recipe book

JCFS 380: Wine Journalism students, led by professor John Hartsock, of SUNY Cortland, visited Goretti Winery last Friday. Goretti is a family owned winery, in its fourth generation, located in the outskirts of Perugia. During the trip to Goretti, students were given a full tour of the winery, where they learned about the process of grape cultivation, wine production, and the significance of various Goretti wines in relation to the region.

The visit was intended to provide an introduction to the subtleties of wine tasting and wine journalism. By the end of the course, students will have written feature and opinion articles, as well as marketing press releases; all designed to share their experiences from site-visits, relative to Umbrian wine, thus giving them an introduction to various elements of wine journalism.

During the trip to Goretti, students were given a full tour of the winery, where they learned about the process of wine production and the significance of various Goretti wines in relation to the region. Students then participated in a wine tasting that was paired with a plentiful amount of food, including homemade torta al testo, local meats, and cheeses.

Click here to view more Communications and Journalism courses offered by Umbra.

Sawyer presenting the imagery portrayed by cultural symbols throughout time

This week, Professor Deborah Sawyer presented her work on “From Eve to Madonna: Sex, Gender, and Religion”; a lecture that sought to explore how gender roles are constructed and reinforced through literature, art, and popular culture by the use or manipulation of familiar images. 

Though the lecture touched on the difference between sex and gender, the main focus was on the Garden of Eden creation story and its influence on Western culture’s view of womanhood. Sawyer pointed out the dualistic view of womanhood often presented through the analysis of Eve and her famous encounter with the serpent and the apple: one often pictures Eve, the wicked temptress of man, but the alternative interpretation portrays the pure Eve who only sought to know the difference between good and evil, she desired wisdom. 

Sawyer then went on to present the concept of men and women living on a spectrum, and not polarities; sharing that both genders are meant to work together, and one is not meant to have power over the other. Then, after presenting the imagery often portrayed by Madonna, and other cultural symbols throughout time, Sawyer shared that the role of the contemporary woman is, in fact, in line with the original Eve. Despite the interpretation that time has imposed on women and their societal role, Eve took her identity not from being the “other” in relation to Adam, but rather, from being herself. In the same way, the modern woman seeks an independent interpretation of herself according to her personal goals and abilities, not those of a man or according to the preference of a man.

Click here to read more about Deborah Sawyer’s course that explores gender in Italy.