Spring 2011 at the Pantheon Institute

The Spring 2011 semester has started about ten days ago and the Pantheon Institute students are already very busy with the various academic activities that have been scheduled for this term.

The first week was useful for all of our students to get to know the Professors and the courses that they had decided to attend before arriving to Rome and to do all the changes that were necessary to fix their schedule in the best way possible.

A very interesting daytrip to Villa Adriana, about 40 minutes away from Rome, took place on Friday. The Pantheon Institute students, lead by Professor Romolo Martemucci and by Professor Paulette Singley, from Woodbury University, visited this enchanting and huge Roman villa and started to become acquainted with the beauties of Rome and its surroundings.

The Pantheon Institute students will be attending architecture and landscape architecture classes but also Italian language, art history and digital photography courses; at the same time, they will have the chance to deepen their knowledge of the Italian culture and language thanks to a series of extra-curricular activities that the Pantheon Institute student services staff will be organizing throughout the semester.

As an example, a nice movie night was scheduled during the semester’s first week: we decided to screen William Wyler’s “Roman Holiday”, the film that introduced Audrey Hepburn to audiences as a modern-day princess. Among pop-corns, chips and cokes, the students had a good time watching this 1953 movie that gave them the chance to see some of the most beautiful and famous monuments of Rome…while waiting to see all of them in person!

On the other hand, we have planned a tour in one of the most famous markets of Rome for this week: Campo de’ Fiori’s! Thanks to the help of Simona and Alessia, our intern from the Roma Tre University, the Pantheon Institute students will be able to practice their Italian buying fresh fruits and vegetables, learn about local seasonal recipes and buy pizza in one of the most famous bakery shops of the city center!

The next two weeks will be dedicated to cooking classes, instead: with the help of Simona, the students will have the chance to learn how to cook a traditional Italian meal right at their place!
The Spring 2011 semester will therefore be demanding from the academic point of view but, at the same time, it will also be full of opportunities to get to know Italy, its culture and its traditions.