Endicott spring 2016

SPRING

2016FLORENCE

ITALY

F U A F l o r e n c e U n i v e r s i t y o f t h e A r t s & E n d i c o t t C o l l e g e

endicott!

CULTURAL CULTURAL INTRODUCTION INTRODUCTION TO ITALYTO ITALY Travel diariesTravel diaries

January 20th-27th 2016

Each year paves the way for a new journey to expose

students to a country many will be experiencing for

the fi rst time. It is a privilege to share a piece of my

home with them and witness the transformation

they go through the travel week and within just a

few months in Florence.

endicottcollege

A note from the staff:

Olimpia Bozza

Spring 2016Spring 2016 CITI CITI

Pre-Semester Field Pre-Semester Field

Learning WeekLearning Week

SPRINGSPRING20162016

Kathryn Hartong H o s p i t a l i t y M a n a g e m e n t M a j o r

Perugia and Orvieto. Signs of ancient dominations in central Italy.Perugia and Orvieto were my favorite towns

of the pre-travel week. They were the most

beautiful towns I have ever been to in Italy.

I thought Orvieto was the quintessential

Italian town I would see in pictures online

and I loved being there. The Duomo there

was amazing and I just loved the relaxed

feeling while walking through the town.

Everyone was very friendly and they wanted

to tell you more about their home. Perugia

was a very fun bustling town and it was very

modern with lots of shopping and delicious food.

Perugina. The tradition of family run business in the Italian economy. Touring

the Perugina chocolate factory was amazing.

I felt like I was in Charlie and the Chocolate

Factory. I loved every single minute of it.

Seeing all of the processes happening in

front of me was the coolest thing ever. I

loved learning about the family business.

It was so interesting to me and I loved how

involved the entire family was throughout

the entire business. Perugina produces some

of the best chocolate in the area and I am so

glad I had the opportunity to tour the facility.

Florence: My new home for the Semester. The preparatory travel week helped me feel like a local because… I knew when

the normal times were for meals. I had a hard

time adapting to the fact that Italians eat

dinner so late, but I understand it because

they take their time at each and every meal.

Food and wine in Italy is extremely important

and it is part of the culture. They take each

meal and drink very seriously.

One sentence/phrase that in my opinion illustrates Italy and Italian culture is... Italians care about where their food and

wine comes from and they want to have the

best quality they can get.

P e r u g i n a C h o c o l a t e

I n O r v i e t o

endicottendicottCOLLEGECOLLEGE

Alec KheboianM a r k e t i n g C o m m u n i c a t i o n s M a j o r

S a i n t P e t e r ’ s B a s i l i c a

i n C a p r a r o l a

Rome, 3000 years of art and history. Reflections of an American in Rome.

Rome was very overwhelming. I didn’t know

just how big it would be, and it was huge. It was

also an incredibly beautiful city. You could feel

the history when walking through the city, and

just the power that the city had at one time. The

ruins that the city is built around are what make

the city so beautiful. Just by walking through the

city, one can see what the city used to look like,

with many of the larger buildings still intact.

MUVIT: the meaning of wine and food in Italian culture. Wine is not just a drink in

Italy, it is a part of the history and the culture

of the country. I was made clear of this when

visiting the museum of wine, and learning just

how intertwined wine is to the Italian culture. It

was amazing to me that wine was being made

for over 3000 years, and the way it has been

made and drank is always changing, but still

keeps the roots of its origins.

A personal growth experience that I will forever remember was... after dinner one

night in Orvieto when Olimpia and Umberto took

us to the all where the Pope was chosen and I felt

we all bonded that night.

One sentence/phrase that in my opinion illustrates Italy and Italian culture is... Extremely unique and incredibly rich, you don’t

realize how rich it is until you are immersed in it.


Taylor Krol L i b e r a l S t u d i e s / E d u c a t i o n M a j o r

Perugia and Orvieto. Signs of ancient dominations in central Italy. Perugia

and Orvieto were exactly what I pictured Italy

to look and feel like. My initial impression of

Orvieto was that the architecture looked like

it had not been altered since it was first built.

After completing the walking tour of the city, I

understood that it was so much more. The rich

history that encompasses the town is evident

in the architecture, art, culture, and the people.

What I found most interesting while visiting

central Italy was the reason behind the lack of

salt in the bread throughout this region of Italy.

It still is so amazing that a feud that occurred

hundreds of years ago still holds such a grasp on

an entire group of people.

MUVIT: the meaning of wine and food in Italian culture. Food and wine are integral

parts of the Italian culture. Italians appreciate

their meals not only for the taste of the food and

wine, but also for gathering around the table

with friends and family. Meals last hours and

are multiple courses, each with a different wine.

The wine is meant to enhance the meal and bring

out specific flavors in the food. As I continue my

time in Italy, I find myself understanding the

different tastes of wine and how they react with

the food. I no longer rush through my meals and

enjoy the company I am with. Meal times are a

completely different experience than in America

and that is a direct result of the importance of

wine and food in Italy.

Florence: My new home for the Semester. The preparatory travel week helped me feel like a local because… it taught me

to look at a new and foreign culture without a

judgmental eye. It gave me the chance to uncover

and understand differences between American

and Italian culture in a safe and educational way.

Something that affirmed my perspective about Italy was… how rich in history each

city and town is. I was not aware though that

while we generalize Italian culture in America,

each region of Italy has its own unique culture

different from one another. Italian culture is

complex and unlike any previous stereotypes I

had thought.

I l D u o m o d i O r v i e t o

I n O r v i e t o


Ian McLoughlin F i n a n c e M a j o r

T h e D u o m o o f O r v i e t o

I n A s s i s i

Rome, 3000 years of art and history. Reflections of an American in Rome. The

most fascinating part about Rome to me was

that everything we saw was not only thousands

of years old, but there was a gap of about 1,500

years between everything that was occurring

and created in Rome, and the finding of the

Americas. For me, that is the best way to truly

understand how old the architecture around the

city is. On a more social side of the trip, the Rome

felt like the New York City of Italy, in a sense that

it could be very overwhelming at times.

Perugia and Orvieto. Signs of ancient dominations in central Italy. Orvieto had

the same feeling as Caprarola when first visiting

the Duomo. This small city up on the top of a

mountain held a massive gothic cathedral, with

the most beautiful façade. When we went inside

I enjoyed recognizing that there was really three

separate churches within the Duomo, and the

ceilings were incredibly high. The following day

I enjoyed learning that there were over 1000

grottos under the city, similar to the one we had

dinner in which the citizens used the volcanic

soft pink stone to make up almost all of the

original city.

Florence: My new home for the Semester. The preparatory travel week helped me feel like a local because… it made me feel

more engaged in the culture by the time we

made it to Florence. By following around our

wonderful guides they helped us learn proper

culture and some basic Italian to get by. They

were all incredibly engaged and passionate

about the travel week and it helped keep all the

students eager to learn more.

Something that changed or affirmed my perspective about Italy was… While

strangers may be much more reserved toward

each other on the street it was very pleasing to

see how friends can hang out just talking and

eating for so long without being on their phones

and rushing to move to the next activity.


Kristina McNamaraC o m m u n i c a t i o n s M A j o r

Perugina. The tradition of family run business in the Italian economy. One of

the most successful chocolate producers in Italy,

Perugina, was started as a family run business.

Much like the wine made in Tuscany, Perugia

is known for it’s chocolate and the Perugina

produces a lot of the chocolate sold. Giovanni

Buitoni and Luisa Spagnoli started the business

in 1907 by making sugared almonds. Today,

Perugina remains famous for its Baci chocolate

truffles that contain a “love note” inside.

I absolutely loved these!

Caprarola, Villa Lante and Bomarzo. Architecture combined with nature.

Of all of the villas, monuments, and castles

in the Veterbo area, Villa Lante captures the

relationship between architecture and landscape

perfectly. It’s lavish gardens combined with

its architecture and frescos, make for a perfect

historic oasis. Caparola and Bomarzo also have

villas that combine architecture and nature.

Many of these villas and old vacation castles

are built around gardens, waterfalls, and pure

nature, which is what makes them so beautiful.

A personal growth experience that I will forever remember was… getting lost in

cities that I’ve never been before and somehow

finding my way home. My friends and I navigated

the cities without our phones or Google Maps.

This helped us become more acquainted with

the cities and learn how to navigate around

independently.

One sentence/phrase that in my opinion illustrates Italy and Italian culture is… enjoy life and take in every moment. Italians

take their time with everything and enjoy all

aspects of living, which we all should.

P a l a z z o F a r n e s e W a t e r w o r k s

I n O r v i e t o


Kelly MulliganH o s p i t a l i t y M a n a g e m e n t M a j o r

R o m e - P i a z z a N a v o n a

a t t h e Tr e v i Fo u n t a i n

Rome, 3000 years of art and history. Reflections of an American in Rome.Walking through the streets of Rome was

incredible. I will never forget walking down

a random side street, turning the corner, and

seeing the Pantheon right around the corner.I

was blown away that all of the most famous

monuments are tucked in between restaurants

and apartment buildings. As an American, it is

difficult to grasp the amount of history on every

street. The buildings and streets that are walked

on and passed by everyday by Italians are older

than the country I come from.

MUVIT: the meaning of wine and food in Italian culture. It was very interesting to learn

about the importance that wine has played over

the course of history.Learning about how wine

used to be transported in giant ceramic vases

buried in sand on ships was really interesting.

Wine plays such an important role in everyday

Italian culture and to learn the historical

relevance behind the importance of wine was

beneficial in helping us better understand the

Italian food and wine culture in general.

A personal growth experience that I will remember forever was… in Rome, we got

lost and had no Internet access to find our way

back to the hotel. Using a small map we were

able to find our way back. That built up our

confidence that we could successfully navigate

without technology.

Something that changed or affirmed my perspective about Italy was… I always

imagined Italy to be a beautiful country, but

after visiting so many cities, I could have never

imagined it to be as beautiful as it truly is.


Stephen Munroe S t u d i o A r t M a j o r

Assisi. Spirituality in Italy. Being someone

who is not very religious, it definitely gave

me a different perspective on religion hearing

some many people talk about the history of the

churches, and how much of an impact it has had

on the Italian culture and history. Though I would

not say that after the trip I feel like Christianity or

Catholicism is the way, it is hard to deny feeling

the presence of the divine in many of these

basilicas and cathedrals. They invoke a sense of

wonder and majesty and give one a feeling that

there is something or someone out in the cosmos

greater than themselves.

Perugia and Orvieto. Signs of ancient dominations in central Italy. First of all, it

must be said that Perugia and Orvieto were my

favorite locations travelled to while on this trip.

They have the feel of a modern city, or town, but

with all the charm and respect of their past, and

one may even say admiration. It is infectious. The

architecture of the Etruscan city along with the

works done just several hundred years ago are

all there standing together in a delicate harmony

that is just awesome. The walls and views from

Orvieto were the best of anywhere else in Italy

and the underground city in Perugia was a very

unique and magical experience.

A personal growth experience that I will forever remember was… When I was first

able to order something completely in Italian

and not have to resort to English, it made me

feel better to be communicating with the locals

in their native tongue instead of making them

talk in a simplified version of my own.

Something that changed or affirmed my perspective about Italy was… Italians are

a very proud people, cause for a region to still

not use salt in their bread after becoming one

of the richest in the world, says a lot about how

they feel about their past.

A s s i s i

I n P e r u g i a


Alexandra MunteanuE n g l i s h M a j o r

V i l l a L a n t e

I n A s s i s i

Caprarola, Villa Lante and Bomarzo. Architecture combined with nature. The

palace that we toured showed how importantly

linked architecture was to nature. In the middle

of the palace there was an entire space left filled

only by air, connecting the guests of the palace

directly to the outside world. The gardens of Villa

Lante showed the intricacy of garden design and

how the two houses opened immediately to the

open gardens proved even further how important

nature was to the past civilizations. Bomarzo’s

sculptures brought together the two separate

ideas of building and nature, by combining them

both outdoors in a mutual harmony.

MUVIT: the meaning of wine and food in Italian culture. Italians drink wine and eat

food not just to fill the sensations of thirst and

hunger but also to enjoy the company of others

and to enjoy the flavors of the meal. Wine is

often paired with lunch courses, dinner courses,

and if Italians go out to get a drink after dinner,

wine is offered on that menu as well. Italians,

however, differ from most young Americans in

that they do not drink to get drunk or to “feel”

the alcohol, but instead to enjoy the taste and

how well it pairs with a certain dish.

One sentence/phrase that in my opinion illustrates Italy and Italian culture is…Italians are deeply rooted in tradition, whether

it be business or way of life, they are connected

to the people they love and the ways they are

accustomed to.

Something that changed or affirmed my perspective about Italy was… Before

traveling to Italy, I assumed there would be

many churches but I didn’t know that each would

be so uniquely adorned and have such a special

history to Italy.


Annie Schmaeling H o s p i t a l i t y M a n a g e m e n t M a j o r

Caprarola, Villa Lante and Bomarzo. Architecture combined with nature.

Coming from Rome, Caparola seemed like a

different country. The palace in Caparola housed

exquisite gardens and artwork. The statues and

mazes were not justified by the pictures I took.

The architectural beauty of the gardens at Villa

Lante was inspiring. I was astounded by how

well-kept the gardens are Bomarzo’s Sacred

Wood was one of my favorite excursions. The

mythological sculptures made of stone were

impressively large and each was original. The

architectural beauty and nature on this leg of the

trip was unforgettable.

Assisi. Spirituality in Italy. Our last stop

during our week of traveling was Assisi. My

Italian grandmother had told me to visit Assisi

before I left, so I was excited to see what this city

had to offer. I was very impressed when I saw

the ancient, beautiful churches still in pristine

condition. It was also very humbling to see St.

Francis’ tomb in one of the churches. This city

exudes spirituality, and was very representative

of Italy’s faith as a whole.

A personal growth experience that I will forever remember was... conversing with

a local Italian for the first time I did not realize

I was able to speak enough Italian to carry a

conversation, and this was a proud moment that

I will always cherish.

Something that changed or affirmed my perspective about Italy was... the way

Italians treat me. I admire and appreciate Italians

for treating outsiders as equals, and for making

an effort to speak English to me in their own

country. This affirms my positive perspective of Italy.

A s s i s i

A t t h e C o l o s s e u m


Amanda Stanick H o s p i t a l i t y M a n a g e m e n t M a j o r

A v i e w o v e r F l o r e b c e

I n O r v i e t o

Florence: My new home for the semester. The prepatory travel week helped me feel like a local because… once we arrived

in Florence I did not feel like I was just thrown

into a new, strange environment. The travel

week helped cushion the blow of culture shock.

We quickly learned about some of the important

Italian customs. It made the transition much

easier and smoother, making my time here much

easier and more enjoyable so far.

A personal growth experience that I will forever remember was... becoming

so independent. Being thrown into a new city,

across the world from everything familiar and

comforting to you is scary: without your parents,

friends, comfort food, or even data on your

phone. It is much different than just being away

at school because, if necessary, my mom can

road trip up to me at school at any time: I cannot

even talk to her on the phone being here. There

have been a lot of adjustments but learning

to become an adult and take care of myself,

becoming independent, has certainly been a

growth experience I will forever remember.

One sentence/phrase that in my opinion illustrates Italy and Italian culture is…

Italy and Italian culture are unlike anything

else in the world. They are magnificent and

breathtaking, completely overwhelming. The

food, sights, and people exceed all possible

expectations, making Italy one of the best places

in the world.

A personal growth experience that I will forever remember was… one day

my roommates and I climbed to the Piazzale

Michelangelo. Once we sat down on the steps

I was completely overcome with emotion. The

beauty of Florence that was right in front of me

here blew my mind. The sights combined with

the street musician playing in the background

caused me to cry a few tears of joy. This is the

day that I knew Italy was the right place for me

to be.


Devan Taylor H o s p i t a l i t y M a n a g e m e n t M a j o r

Perugia and Orvieto. Signs of ancient dominations in central Italy. Both Orvieto

and Perugia are settled high up on top of a

hill. Their locations were specifically chosen as

a way to show superiority and dominance back

in ancient Italy. Being higher up allowed for the

people of the towns to not only see any outsiders

below that might try entering the town, but it

also made it difficult to intruders to invade the

town. Although this may be a sign of ancient

dominance, it is still used today as a sign of

power.

Rome, 3000 years of art and history. Reflections of an American in Rome.

People say you can’t see all of Rome in one day,

but yet we somehow managed to. Although the

Colosseum, Trevi Fountain and Palatine Hill were

all beautiful, nothing will compare to the wonder

that was the Vatican. T I will never be able to

fully comprehend all the detail that went into

the sculptures and the architecture itself. The

fact that humans were able to accomplish such

masterpieces with such little tools back in their

time will always astonish me.

One sentence/phrase that in my opinion illustrates Italy and Italian culture is…Italy is the closest a person can get to going back

in time and experiencing history.

Something that changed my perspective of Italy was…. how different the land is.

Some areas are all city while some areas are all

green hills and lush gardens

T h e R o m a n F o r u m

I n O r v i e t o


CREDITSPhoto Credit: Endicott Students Spring 2016

Production Coordinator: M. Olimpia Bozza

Endicott Spring 2016 Class:

Hartong KathrynHartong Kathryn

Kheboian AlecKheboian Alec

Krol TaylorKrol Taylor

McLoughlin IanMcLoughlin Ian

McNamara KristinaMcNamara Kristina

Mulligan KellyMulligan Kelly

Munroe StephenMunroe Stephen

Munteanu AlexandraMunteanu Alexandra

Schmaeling AnnieSchmaeling Annie

Stanick AmandaStanick Amanda

Taylor DevanTaylor Devan

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Endicott spring 2016