Students pose with their certificates after the semester-long English Workshops come to an end.
On Monday, April 22nd, Italian high school students in Perugia’s Montessori High School came to the Umbra Institute to give presentations in English to fellow classmates and Umbra staff, faculty, and students. Their English teacher and the Montessori high school principal also attended. The students were well-prepared after spending the semester in English Workshops given by Anna Savoie and Frida Lundgren, two Umbra students in the INIT 350: Internship and Seminar – Education course. The Italian students discussed a wide range of topics including Italian vs. American high school culture, food and diet, sports, and an upcoming trip to Israel. Umbra staff was impressed with their English skills and confidence in speaking. At the end of the presentations, Anna and Frida presented each of their Italian students with certificates to commemorate their semester together.
Students, staff, and faculty mingled in the library over snacks in between the Community Engagement presentations.
From frescoes spanning walls to internship projects, students presented their labors of the past semester at today’s Special Academic Events.
The day began with coffee and croissants for the Fresco and Photography Art Show at Umbra’s Via dei Priori building. One room’s walls were decked out in authentic frescoes that Professor Bill Pettit’s students have worked on all semester; the next was decorated with stunning photographs taken around Europe by students in Professor Philippa Stannard’s Digital Photography course.
This afternoon, the Umbra library buzzed with faculty, staff, and students as they enjoyed sandwiches and fruit and discussed the Community Engagement presentations. All students who participated in the
internships presented projects in classrooms two and three, describing
Fair Trade interns passed out certified chocolate during their presentation on Tuesday.
what they learned throughout the semester and how their work related to the community engagement mission. The turnout was impressive. The majority of the student body, faculty members, and staff showed up to support their peers.
Finally, the Umbrans convened at the local restaurant Cactus Cafe to hear students from Professor Antonella Valoroso’s Creative Writing class read aloud their works of creative nonfiction after studying American and Italian writers. With a taste of home — the Cactus Cafe caters after the American Southwest — the audience was captivated by the voices of Umbra students.
Sponsored by the Umbra Institute, University of Texas: San Antonio Professor Kolleen Guy presented “Eating Landscape,” a talk about the intersection of typical products and marketing, in the frescoed hall of the Uguccione Ranieri di Sorbello Foundation on Wednesday evening.
Sponsored by the Umbra Food Studies Program, University of Texas Professor Kolleen Guy gave a guest lecture about terroir Wednesday.
The public lecture dealt with the marketing technique of terroir, a French word that follows the idea that foods’ tastes have an intimate connection with their place of origin. Guy described and questioned the European laws that spring from this idea and protect traditional foods and products from being produced in other countries. She noted better-known products, such as Italy’s Parmesan cheese produced only in the Parma region or France’s sparkling wine produced only in the Champagne region; however, Guy focused on the products that had not made the cut.
Umbra Institute Food Studies Program coordinator Zachary Nowak organized Guy’s guest lecture, the first of the semester. Attended by many of Nowak’s students, the event was a success, he said.
“Kolleen’s lecture reinforced themes we’ve talked about in the classroom,” Nowak said. “Terroir is a hot topic both for the local food movement and for marketing typical products outside of where they are well-known.”
Umbra’s next guest lecture will be “Green Eating for a Healthy Future” with the Florentine professor Nick Daikin Elliott. The lecture will be at 5 p.m. April 17 in Umbra’s Via Bartolo classroom 3, with an aperitivo to follow.
Last weekend, Umbra students in the Roman Civilization class embarked upon a trip to Southern Italy to see the
wonders of Pompei, Ercolano, and the Neapolitan area – a cradle of ancient beauties. They left very early on Friday morning, and after a four-hour drive they got to Ercolano to see the ruins of the city, which was completely flooded with lava and volcanic materials back in 79 AD. Professor Giampiero Bevagna managed to intrigue not only students, but even a group of American tourists, who kindly asked if they could join the class for the visit. He made them realize how powerful the eruption must have been, since the city was formerly on the beach – a sort of five-star Caribbean resort – and now it is 6 km away from the ocean.
The second day students visited Pompei ruins, on the other side of the Vesuvius. All of them were struck by the grandness of the dead city: It is a complete city that still hides incredible beauties within the walls. Student Kayla Peterson was disappointed by the absence of the famous plastered dog, currently in an exhibition in Madrid. They all admired the theatre, the House of the Faun, and the Forum incredibly preserved.
Students then visited the National Archeological Museum of Naples, where many “frescoes” from the ruins were taken in the XIXth century, including the notorious “secret cabinet,” where all the images with some erotic reference were hidden due to prurient taboos in the Borboni court when Pompei was first dug up from the ground.
On Sunday, students visited the Piscina Mirabilis, a unique and huge water-tank in the Capo Miseno Peninsula, before taking a look at the Archeological Museum and Archeological Park of Baia. They then rested in the sun on a beautiful beach before taking the bus back to Perugia.
Monday night, Umbra Fairtrade interns Susanne Khatib, Susanna Kroll, Jessica Guerrero screened “The Dark Side of Chocolate” at ONAOSI, a foundation for Italian students, for an international audience.
Produced in 2010, the documentary film treats of the exploitation and slave trading of African children to harvest cocoa beans.
The interns then led a discussion about the documentary and its significance before passing out samples of Fairtrade chocolate from Monimbò, the local Fairtrade cooperative where the interns volunteer.
“The interns did a great job with the introduction in Italian and the taste testing,” Falk said. “They’re learning a lot.’
Guided by Umbra Professor Giordana Pulcini, the Fairtrade interns in the INIT 350 Academic Internship and Seminar course work with Monimbò to organize a variety of cultural events, rallies, and school-awareness campaigns. Throughout the semester, interns learn about Fairtrade philosophy and products, interact with customers, help other volunteers with bottega operations, and assist with Fairtrade promotion and major seasonal events. Fairtrade promotes “better prices, decent working conditions, local sustainability, and fair terms of trade for farmers and workers in the developing world,” according to its website.
From the ancient, mysterious Etruscans to the less-ancient and mysterious Romans, Umbra Professor Giampiero Bevagna and his Archaeology class discovered centuries of these civilizations’ ruins in Rome last weekend.
The (pre-papal conclave) Vatican Museums were the first stop Friday morning. Led by Bevagna, the group spent hours wandering through the seemingly endless rooms of ancient artifacts. Along with providing a timeline for ancient civilization, the Vatican proves a valuable asset as a “museum of museums,” Bevagna explained. Walking room to room, visitors can admire the progression of exhibits; the Vatican Museums are more than 500 years old.
Hours later, the group hopped the metro to the Capitolini Museums, which house more artifacts pertinent to the class and one of the most comprehensive and beautiful views of Rome.
The Archaeology class reconvened Saturday morning to visit Villa Giulia, a beautiful old estate well worth the trek off the beaten path. Built in the mid-1500s by Pope Julius III, Villa Giulia hosts the National Etruscan Museum, full of artifacts that students will use for their final projects, which are to focus on a specific Etruscan item (e.g. mirrors, jewels, weapons).
Students were released in the early afternoon, free to continue to explore Rome or return to Perugia.
This semester, two students in the Contemporary Italy: Culture, Society, and Trends course are participating in the Famiglia Italiana Project. Annie Bodian and Taylor Speranza meet with a local family once a week to participate in their daily life, go on cultural outings, and get a taste of Italian family life.
“This experience goes alongside my sociology classes at Wake Forest and now I can see parallels in my Contemporary Italy class,” said Taylor.
As an Italian Studies major at Brandeis, Annie agreed, “It definitely puts everything into real context; it also gives us a little aspect of a homestay because we get to be in a real Italian home.”
Annie Bodian and Taylor Speranza learned how to make pasta during their experience in the Famiglia Italiana project.
Annie and Taylor have made fresh pasta with Francesca and her 6-year-old daughter Elena (“I didn’t realize how much work went into it!” said Taylor) and recently went to a “Christmas House.” They both agreed that the Famiglia Italiana Project has given them a taste of normal life beyond being a student living in the historic center of Perugia.
Their Italian skills have also improved:
“I love this experience because I’m also a Teacher Education minor and am hoping to teach at an international school so speaking with Elena is great. It’s good exercise in slowing down when I speak and in translating. We’ve found a good balance between English and Italian,” Annie explained.
Taylor added, “I came to Italy as a beginner and I pick up on a lot of what they say. It has given me more opportunity to speak Italian and Francesca can help me if I have questions. I am also remembering more in class when I use new skills.”
Annie and Taylor pose with Elena at the Christmas House during an outing in Perugia.
Through this experience, Taylor and Annie have gained unique insights into Italian culture and everyday life. Taylor has noticed that while there are small differences, she has found many of the same values in both Italian and American family life. Annie agreed, saying, “Their home life and parent-child dynamic is surprisingly similar to the US and there are little differences, but one of the things I love the most is getting to spend time with a family in their home.”
Last Thursday, Umbra Institute students in the Urban Engagement class met with the local Borgo Bello neighborhood association to hear about new initiatives to “enhance the livability and usability” of the old town.
Volunteers are aiming to recover knowledge about the society and culture of the city in order to strengthen its sense of community. Umbra students listened to longtime Borgo Bello residents as they discussed promoting Perugia’s heritage, redesigning spaces in the city center, and ways to create new social ties.
“It is about going out of your comfort zone and doing things you normally would never do,” said Umbra student Alexandra Breschi. “The ‘Popo’ gave a great description of his life in Perugia when he was a kid. It is so amazing to learn about Perugia’s immense history through the eyes of a longtime resident.”
The online newsgroup “Tuttoggi: Quotidiano online dell’Umbria” featured this story with a mention of the Umbra Institute – read more at tuttoggi.info/articolo/48750.
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