This blog documents the experiences of students currently studying at the Umbra Institute in Perugia, Italy, offering an account of their day-to-day experiences, extra- and co-curricular activities, and special events. We hope you gain some insight into what adventures Umbra students find outside the classroom during their semester in Perugia, a medieval town in the mountains of Umbria. Cheers!
Congratulations to Julie Jones from University of Virginia and to Jaimie Wikeen from Elon University for their winning photos this month! Julie and Jaimie will enjoy a free meal at Quattro Passi Pizzeria. Auguri!
Julie Jones “Venice at Night”
Jaimie Wikeen
Perugia was quieter last week, and the track had a lot fewer runners as the Umbra Institute students were on their Spring Break. Photos and stories about the Eiffel tower, London’s Tate Gallery, and even fjords were traded this morning in all three Umbra academic buildings. Not everyone wandered so far – some students stayed and explored Umbria and neighboring Tuscany better – but now all have returned for the second half of the semester. Welcome back!
In Portugal, above: Rachel Datz, Ashley Gambone, Carly Gorga, and Cara Wagner
An important ability for a journalist to have is writing well about place. Matthew Morgan, an Umbra Institute student, chose Perugia’s organic market as his focus for this assignment, written for Professor Bongiovani’s Comparative Journalism class. Read a shorter version of his piece below:
The Piccinino Piazza is set beside the duomo in the main square ofPerugia, and on the first Sunday of every month vendors from the Umbria region and beyond set up stands in Piccinino for a single day to sell their produce and goods at the organic market.
Visitors are greeted by these many stands and a large white banner reading Mostra Mercato di Prodotti Biologici stretched from the walls of the two buildings forming the mouth of the small piazza. Piazza Piccinino, smaller and more compact than Piazza Italia which houses the sprawling Mercato Antiquarito, creates the perfect environment for the slow Sunday morning atmosphere of the organic market.
The contrast isn’t coincidental either. When the organic market began in 1992 the city of Perugia placed it opposite Piazza Italia and asked that it take place the first Sunday of every month in contrast to the Mercato Antiquarito which takes place the last Saturday of every month.
Ruthild Heiman, who has managed the organic market since 1995, says that “It [Piazza Piccinino] is small, but something of a protection for us because there is no traffic.” The small size of the piazza also creates a certain element of intimacy as well, which is complemented by the high walls of the surrounding buildings that form a kind of room around the market’s visitors. The size of the piazza also corresponds to the size of the market, which has no more than 25 producers according to Heiman.
Although the market has a small number of producers, the range of goods and products offered is quite varied and as Heiman emphasizes, the uniqueness of each product is guaranteed. As a consequence of this variety, a visitor is able to purchase fresh tomatoes, buffalo mozzarella, homemade soap and handmade jewelry in his or her short walk around the piazza.
The piazza fills as the afternoon approaches and the malaise of a Sunday morning burns off with the early fog. However, the Sunday morning intimacy of the market, instead of fading, seems to grow with this buzzing of voices in the afternoon. The social element of the market and the interaction between the producers and the buyers is an essential part of the market experience.Hieman, in discussing the criteria for selecting producers for the market, emphasizes the personal connections between the producers and the buyers, saying “We in this market, we look for people who you can look in the face.”
This social element not only emphasizes the intimacy of the market and piazza described earlier, but also creates an appreciation for provincial and regional agriculture within visitors. Piazza Piccinino functions as the home of the market on Sundays; however, the Umbrian, Tuscan and Lazian regions are the permanent homes of the farms and shops of the market’s producers. In this sense the market offers a social meeting place and a most local connection between consumers and agricultural producers in the region. Visitors, however, can gain an appreciation for this culture without even speaking to the producers, but simply by viewing the various goods and the polaroids of sheep and olive fields displayed at many stands.
At one stand, visitors will encounter various hats, capes, and even purses shaped like mice all made from sheep wool and then dyed different colors.Little imagination is required to picture the sheep farm located outside of Assisi.However, when one considers the steps required to bring the products of this pastoral Umbrian sheep farm to the gray stone walls of Perugia, much like the thought exercise proposed by Rousseau in Emile, the uniqueness of the organic market becomes so apparent.
Sunday mornings are easy to sleep through, especially for the many students in Perugia. However, Perugians and visitors to Perugia alike should find the time to take advantage of this opportunity and come to the Piccinino Piazza the first Sunday of a month to see how sheep farms, olive fields, and local workshops find their way into the center of Perugia for a day.
Jason Boroos, a current senior at University of Colorado-Boulder, sent this photo from a recent Spring 2007 alumni reunion in Colorado. It’s hard to believe these students were in Perugia one year ago and are now preparing to graduate.
Alumni, contact the Umbra Institute! Send updates to: [email protected]
Along with warmer days hinting at spring, the end of February brings Italy’s best truffle producers to the small Umbrian town of Norcia. Umbra student Amy Huang made the trip up and around ambling hills to sample the famous and rare mushroom, and had this to say about the undeniably tasty experience.
Going to Norcia was somewhat of a fluke. I learned from the “Umbra Day Trips” guides at Umbra I that Norcia has a black truffles festival at the end of February and was dismayed to discover that the festival was the same weekend as the start of spring break. Luckily, it turns out that the festival takes place over two weekends: the last weekend of February and the first weekend of March.
Known as the Mostra Mercato del Tartufo Nero, Norcia’s annual black truffles market showcases a range of regional products that includes olive oil, wine, sausages, salami, and, of course, black truffle, the expensive mushroom used in preparing many typical Umbrian dishes. Norcia is especially known for its truffles and its salami. Most of us here in Perugia are also familiar with delicious pasta dishes prepared alla norcina, pasta served with a white creamy sauce made with sausage and truffles. Norcia’s black truffles market drew Italians from all over Umbria, most of whom drove to the little town located in the midst of the beautiful Valnerina valley. My two friends and I took the train to Spoleto and then from there took a bus that swerved several times on a narrow road leading uphill.
The black truffles market took place in the town center, where vendors lining the main streets offered ample opportunities for tasting wine, cheese, olive oil, and cured meat. There were stands advertising organic produce from nearby agriturismos, as well as stands that sold products from other regions such as Abruzzo, Puglia, and Sicily. We sampled Sicilian pastries, ricotta salata with sweet sauces, and cheese, salami, and sausages made with truffles. I even tasted salame d’asino, a chewy type of salami made from Donkey meat that left a gross, ashyaftertaste.
We ended our day by grabbing a gelato at a café near the town center and watching the light of dusk settle on the snow-capped mountains that surrounded Norcia. The trip was fun but, getting home was frustrating because every car parked in Norcia decided to leave at the same time!
We don’t want to jinx anything, but it looks like the really cold weather is past here in Perugia. Yesterday the Steps of the cathedral, the city’s main gathering place in Perugia’s principal piazza, were full of people. The warm temperatures and limpid sky made it possible even to be in a t-shirt, a pleasure we haven’t enjoyed since November! Italians call next month “Marzo Pazzarello,” Crazy Little March – it’s possible that we’ll have to get our heavy coats out again, or even use the umbrella. But at least we’ve had one of the first spring days! See you on the Steps…
Walking around Perugia the average athlete, at first sight, would probably say something along the lines of, “How will I find a place to get/stay in shape?” And indeed, first impressions don’t do much for Perugia, unless you have no problems running on medieval cart-paths-turned-modern-roads that snake up, down, and all around the giant hill on top of which Perugia sits. But we would say, “Don’t despair!” There’s actually a wealth of places to train, practice, or get in shape right around the very next corner, even if you don’t notice them straight from the get-go…If you’re looking for the classic, all-around gym, Perugia boasts the Corpus Wellness and FitnessClub. It’s large, airy, and stocked with state of the art equipment. CWFC also offers fitness classes, much like you might find at a gym State-side. Plus, they knock off a hefty chuck of the 4-month membership price (go on, discounts!) which helps a ton when you’re trying to stay on budget.
If, on the other hand, something a little bit smaller and personal suits your fancy, say, something reminiscent of a Chuck Norris training montage, you could check out Olympic Gym, tucked away on a quaint and quiet side street north of the city center. Like we said, it’s a tidge tinier than CWFC, but the personnel are totally welcoming, and theOlympic faithful are always a riot to watch, inevitably decked out in their designer clothes and outrageously priced sunglasses.
For those who can’t get enough fresh air, and for some reason—we can’t think why—have no desire to dodge Fiats on those aforementioned once-upon-a-time-cart-paths, take a two-minute walk or thirty-second run to the Olympic-sized Santa Giuliana Track. You hardly ever have to jockey for a lane, and as a bonus, there’s a nicely groomed field in the middle that just asks to be picnicked upon. The cost is €1.80. And if that €1.80 digs into your pockets too much, you can take the bus down to the Percorso Verde, which offers a long run under the shade of some lovely trees.
While we like to refer to the center of the city as a campus,Perugia isn’t just about academics and cultural experiences. The city also has a very eclectic religious life that hums quietly along. There are of course all sorts of possibilities for Catholic masses – in the main cathedral, in a medieval oratory, or under Renaissance frescoes in a small church – but there is also a Jewish center, a mosque, and a Baptist church with a bible study group.For more information, ask one of the staff or refer to the list at the end of any Viva Perugia, a monthly available for €.80 from any newsstand.
A special event this month will be a prayer vigil, lead by Pope Benedict XVI, for peace between the Americas and Europe. The vigil will be on March 1 at the Vatican and entrance is free, but with the obligatory ticket. Ask a staff member for more information.
Last Friday, Umbra student Kyla Mathews and her Contemporary Italy: Culture and Society class left Perugia’s Piazza Italia bound for the historic center of Siena. They spent the day touring the ancient city’s cobblestone streets, and even had the truly rare chance to visit one of the famous “contrada” museums. Ms. Mathews had this to say about her experience…
“The Contemporary Italy: Society and Culture class took a short trip to Sienna for the afternoon last Friday. We arrived in Siena in time for a lunch break before our tour. After lunch, we met at “Il Campo”, simply meaning “the square”. If you ask a local, though, it’s not a square at all! This inclined shell-shaped area is where the Sienese annually hold the famous palio, a horse race between the city’s seventeen “contrade”, or districts.
“Our tour guide introduced herself as a Caterpillar (a less than intimidating mascot of one of the contrade), and she led us to the Museum of the Eagle (decidedly a more fearsome district representative!) Along the way, we saw the colorful titles on buildings indicating which contrada territory we were in. Out front, where the flag of the Eagle was waving, a small blue ribbon had been tied to announce its new member… a baby boy!
“Inside, we were able to see all of the hand-painted banners won by the Eagles over the years in the palio. We watched a short clip of last year’s race, which also included clips of the various preparations and ceremonies leading up to it, like the blessing of the horses inside the contrada’s church! We were also able to take a look at the different costumes worn by jockeys in the past. After that, we toured some recently discovered Etruscan tombs, recently found during an excavation carried out beneath the museum. Outside, our guide showed us an Eagle’s fountain used for baptizing new members into the contrada.
“It was a quick little trip but definitely incredible to hear about Siena’s phenomenal traditions!”
Yesterday was the follow-up to the first Coffee Safari, one of the workshops the Umbra Institute student services team offers. The workshop started out like the first coffee safari – a round ofPerugia’s center with explanations of the “personalities” of each of the cafés (intellectual, blue-collar, etc.), followed by a talk about coffee’s history and botany, and finally a tasting of several different kinds of coffee. But the discussion ended with an impromptu and rather lively debate about Starbucks and its popularity. Elon student Erika Furman got the ball rolling by giving a mini-exposé about the chain’s coffee, whereupon other students debated the source of Starbuck’s success.
If it wasn’t great coffee, what is it? The bohemian image? The comfy couches? The I-won’t-get-great-coffee-but-I-won’t-get-surprises effect? Or is it that Americans lack a common space, one which Italians can find in their piazza and so don’t need in their cafés?It was another example of the intellectual ferment that every school would like to propagate, and which Umbra (and Perugia) seems to foster.
Location 
