The Tulane School of Architecture Program at Pantheon Institute

The Tulane School of Architecture Fall 2010 study abroad program at the Pantheon Institute in Rome has successfully come to its conclusion. In the Materials & Methods course, taught by Professor David Sabatello, the students were exposed to a multitude of architectural experiences ranging from Roman Antiquity to the most outstanding examples of Roman contemporary architecture such as the MAXXI Museum by Zaha Hadid, the Ara Pacis Museum by Richard Meier and the new Auditorium by Renzo Piano.

The students were encouraged to fully interiorize the stratified complexity of the Roman architectural scenario and responded with enthusiasm and academic participation, as testified by their excellent performance in their final assignment.

Moreover they were encouraged to export their new academic acquisitions into their design studio work, which they did with encouraging results, under the competent guidance of Prof. Marcella Del Signore and Prof. Tiffany Lin.

We can therefore take pride in saying that this first experience in direct academic cooperation between TSA and the Pantheon Institute has been an academic success.

Arrivederci Roma!

Last Friday we had a farewell party to say goodbye to our American students. A beautiful room with the architects’ projects and pictures taken in Rome was arranged, and a great buffet was prepared. Students brought some CDs and danced and laughed all the night… it was great to see them having so much fun! After months of hard work and exams, finally American guys were having fun and some relaxing time.

It was new to me seeing them in such a different light, in a very different role from that of students. Perhaps it must have been the same for them, not to seeing me as their teacher anymore. Everybody talked to me and invited me to drink something with them. They asked me about my studies and my experience at the Pantheon Institute. They were very different from the shy and reserved guys I had been seeing during classes in the last months. I was feeling closer to them. I also spent some time watching the architect’s projects. They were amazing. A sort of personal view on Rome, partly imagined and partly seen through their experience. In that moment I felt I was really meeting my students, and realized how contradictory was to call a fete ‘farewell party’. A moment in which everybody should feel happy and light-hearted, hides the sadness of a goodbye. Goodbye to Rome, to the teachers who have being supporting them for four months, to their Italian lifestyle, to the friends they’ve been knowing at the Institute. And that’s why they were having so much fun, and dancing and singing out loud… so as not to feel sad, because it was their ‘last night’.

I will miss my students. Well, they’re not my students anymore, so… let’s say friends. Friends because we lived together a new experience, in which both sides have been trying to learn and improve themselves. In which everybody has simply grown. And I guess I have grown and learnt with them, not only about teaching but about life. I always say that studying languages opens your mind. But meeting beautiful people opens your heart.

Thanks guys.
Alessia

Presentation of the book "L’Albero dei Rosari" by Maurizio Valtieri

The Pantheon Institute is proud to announce that Maurizio Valtieri, one of our Italian Professors, presented his second novel, L’Albero dei Rosari (The Chinaberry tree) at the “Più Libri Più Liberi” national booksellers fair on December 7th.

Maurizio’s book tells the story of the clash between two separate worlds: the world of David, a 17 year old gay guy who lives his homosexuality in a positive and natural way and the claustrophobic and misogynic world of a religious institute where the so-called “Reparative Therapy for Homosexuals” is practiced…

Maurizio presented his book together with a speaker and with a psychologist who was there to explore in detail the condemnation of some therapies for homosexuals.

Some passages taken from the books were read during the event and the author also answered several questions by the audience.

November's winning picture

Congratulations to Christopher Johnson for his winning photo of the Colosseum at night! Chris won a beautiful bag with the Vespa logo!

This was the last photo competition for this semester since all of the students are now busy with their final projects and exams. The Pantheon Institute will offer a small present to all of the kids who sent their pictures to us! Thank you guys!

The Cats of Rome

Rome's cats are different...every tourist who visits the city senses it! Unlike the fluffy and sometimes aloof balls of fur you're likely to know, Rome's cats are mostly feral, prowling ancient monuments as if they owned them and answering to no one.

There are estimated to be 250,000 feral cats in Rome living in over 2000 colonies. Rome's city council has recently come out in favor of the cat's existence in Rome by citing their ancient heritage: "there is a deep-rooted affection for these cats who have an ancient bond with the city." The city council even went so far as to protect the cats, in 2001 naming cats living in the Coliseum, the Forum and Torre Argentina a part of the city's "bio-heritage."

And if you are wondering about the social interactions between cats and humans in Rome, you have to know that the fat tabbies lolling at the base of those Roman columns are fed in the lean times by the affectionate Gattare, or "Cat Women." Not everyone in Rome, of course, holds a fondness in their hearts for their neighborhood Gattara - or for the cats - but it hardly matters to the healthier ones, who augment their meals outside the finest of Rome's eateries. In Summer there are pigeons, mice and lizards to be had in the excavations and nearby fields as well. In antiquity, the cat was highly valued for just this activity - defending mankind against rodent borne diseases like the plague!

Here follows a list of the most important cat colonies of Rome:

- Largo di Torre Argentina;
- Colosseum;
- Roman Forum;
- Piramide.