Ostia Antica by Janine Reeves

Last Friday I joined a group of Architectural students with their Professor to spend a day at Ostia Antica. I was very excited about going on this trip as I'd never been before.

Ostia Antica is a huge site which used to be the busy working harbour city of ancient Rome. It was founded in 4th Century BC it became a great port town and later a strategic centre for defence and trade. Barbarian invasions and the outbreak of malaria led to the abandonment of the city in the 5th century AD.  It was slowly buried under many feet of river silt, up to 2nd floor level.

There were 20 baths at one time in this city.  The population was quite large and there were probably travellers passing through.  Hot baths, medium and cold, used in order to open up the pores of the skin to release dirt - then gradually close them up (no soap).  I hadn't realised that the walls were all heated too.  Pipes remain and you can see them inbetween the brick of the wall and the marble.  Many slaves were needed behind the scene's to keep the fires going to heat the water while those above relaxed in the warmth and used the baths as a social meeting and commercial centre to do business. 

The beautiful mosaics which remain are stunning.  The splendor of the city is really easy to visualise as you walk through the streets.  Doorways, shops, the baths, temples, a theatre, columns, you can even explore some of the apartments which open onto a courtyards of gardens, each replicating the other, not so different from today.

My favourite buildings included the bar (complete with fresco of menu, bar, garden with fountain and mosaic flooring.  Fabulous, just empty of contents, what a shame!) and a beautiful villa with marble walls and fountains, and coloured mosaic flooring which I will definitely go back and paint, and the very necessary toilet areas.

Of course I had to ask - were these toilets segregated, apparently some were and some were not. I used the moment to have a rest and use (not literally) the facilities. Very comfortable - a smaller hole for sitting on, and an interesting trough on front of your feet - No, not for gentlemen to use but to bend down and use the running water in the trough, to wet your sponge to wipe your intimate areas (no toilet paper in those days).

This really is a wonderful site, and yet probably nearly half of it has still not been excavated.  This city built of brick has very unusual intricate patterning which may indicate that the bricks would have been left exposed rather than covered over. 

It was a cold, drizzly day with a wind that ate into you but I was in my element.  I loved the trip and my whole being felt as if I was there back in time.  I really felt the elegant splendor of the city and the buzz of the trades people as they went about their daily business.  The beauty, stature, administration and organisation of the Romans, they integrated all types of people and religion into their culture are elements that we can perhaps only wonder at now, as we continue struggle with racial tensions and religious conflict in our own culture.

Hadrian's Villa by Janine Reeves

Last Friday I went off on another site visit; this time to the southern olive-clad slopes near Tivoli, as a guest of the Pantheon Institute. This trip was planned as an architectural analysis of the site led by Professor James Cooper who I hope was delighted to have me tag along - after all - to be an artist you have to understand the planning or the skeleton before you can create the skin or the form to portray or create art.......

The weather forecast, I have to say was wet, heavy rain and cloudy - and it was! In fact during the day apart from the students I went with, we saw a total of four other people over the whole massive site, obviously most people decided not to be out in the open site all day with no shelter or cafeteria to hide in!

So, I know you are thinking its just a villa: but this is Hadrian's Villa built by Emperor Hadrian, starting from 117A.D., as an imperial palace far away from the city of Rome. It covers at least 80 hectares, more or less equivalent to Pompeii.So it was not just the Emperor who would stay there but most of the senate, guard and all the slaves needed to work the villa and heat the baths etc.

So layered up with numerous t-shirts, jumper and at least two pairs of socks, off I go with my paints and sketch pad -

I have to be honest, I was really apprehensive about joining architectural students from Penn State University, what do I know about Architecture, but it was absorbing and I really loved learning about how advanced the Roman architecture was - the loading for the support systems and beautiful elegant arches - so rather than looking at a lot of ruins - I was virtually transformed into this beautiful vista of elegant marble villas, beautiful cascades of fountains, sun drenched windows, startling coloured flooring and hot baths (I was most definitely NOT thinking about the cold or tepid baths today!)

From a brief passage of the writer Aurelio Vittore, it can be deduced that the Emperor took part directly in the design of the Villa, confirming another piece of information claiming Hadrian was both architect and mastermind behind the complex.

My favourite site was the Water Court (Piazza d'Oro) - a complex of areas for formal occasions. Professor Cooper refers to it as "one of the most extraordinary constructions of the Villa with its varied and articulated plan and architectural structure.Access to the building is by way of an octagonal shaped vestibule with alternating rectangular and semicircular niches. The roof consists of a cupola as sections supported by arches on ledges, ending in a circular, central opening...."

I felt very peaceful here as I sat on top of a wall and did a quick watercolour sketch using colour to portray an expression - it had already stopped raining by now and the sun was starting to break through...the silence of the site from gangs of tourists or traffic made me realise how much our lives are dominated by noise and we do not give ourselves time or space to think in silence and simply "just be in the moment"

Hadrian had taken this thought and created his own circular island villa (Maritime Theatre) within the complex - a circular canal of water  surrounded a small island on which a miniature villa was constructed, complete with a curved vestibule, a central fountain, annexed rooms and small baths with an apodyterium, frigidarium, calidarium and latrine.(Thats the tepid, cold, hot baths and toilet)

Now I would like an island escape like that - space to be creative.....maybe I will just have to settle for less.

I have learnt so much about the Romans in the last two weeks - and I really feel it is helping me understand the grandeur with which the period evolved, both from a political and administrative means, as well as an artistic appreciation which the Romans took from the Greeks and have given us today such splendor to look back on.

Rome experience by Lori Ambrusch

 

It is hard to choose a specific story that represents my experience in Rome.  I have found that my time here has not been made up of individual memories, but rather it has been one running dialogue that continues to become more complex daily with different tangents entering the conversation.  When I first arrived, I followed my map.  After a couple days, I would put the map away while walking with friends.  A week later I would venture out by myself, and from there I started wandering down paths as they called to me without being concerned about getting lost. 

I now speak with locals in the little Italian I know, greet the “gelato man” by name, and pick up groceries as needed while passing by shops and markets.  Now that I am fully comfortable with the routines of everyday life, I can focus on exploring more of the city and participating in the countless cultural events without having to be concerned about whether I will find my way or be able to communicate.   

Some of my favorite Italian outings include eating on outside patios, walking through the parks and rose gardens I find during my travels, and enjoying a coffee in the crisp morning on my terrace as the sun rises.  I have grown so comfortable here that it is hard to believe that I am still a relatively new visitor.  When I return home to “what I know,” I feel that it will be a shock to see just how much my patterns have changed.  While I may not be able to stay in Rome forever, I will certainly never forget the time I have spent here nor the lasting relationships I have made. 
                              
                                                                                                        Lori Ambrush


Thanks to Lori for her story about Rome. She enjoyed the free breakfast that everybody can win writing a story for our blog and she sent us a picture of that delicious experience.

Saint Valentine’s Day

We have to go back to the Roman Empire to discover the origins of Saint Valentine’s Day. At the time, on February 15th, the Romans celebrated Lupercus and Fauno who were the gods protecting the harvest and the cattle, as well as wishing prosperity and fertility. On the evening before the feast all the girls of marriageable age used to put a card with their name inside a jar. Every young man would draw out a name which he would have to pair with in the sense of dancing and singing together her for the whole of the celebrations Many, inevitably, fell in love and married.
On 496 A.D. Pope Gelasio cancelled this pagan rite replacing it with a day commemorating St. Valentine. Valentine had been a bishop who accepted marrying young couples even if they didn’t get the permission from the Emperor.
Saint Valentine himself, bishop and martyr is the patron of the city of Terni, Umbria.
Many anecdotes linked with Saint Valentines explain well the reason way he has been chosen later by the Church as the patron protector of lovers. An episode says that one day Valentine saw two lovers arguing next of his garden, therefore distracted by their voices, Valentines went up to them and gave a rose asking to hold it together without sting. The two lovers made peace and were so happy that wanted Valentine itself to celebrate their marriage. After them, many other couples went to St. Valentines intercede for their love. So he determined to dedicate the 14th of every month to receive pairs in love.

In Italy and Rome some events took place on Saint Valentine’s day, among them: “For Valentine’s Day Fall In Love With Art”, thanks to this initiative couples can enter state monuments and museums paying just one ticket.
Since this year Valentine’s Day falls in the middle of Carnival, the Roman Carnival organized a Grand Ball in Piazza del Popolo.
In Italy the single people’s day is celebrated as well. Several years ago a group of Italian single tired of being in the shadows for St. Valentine's day celebrations, have proclaimed their own saint and feast day: February 15th, Saint Faustino’s day.

Even though Saint Valentine, the patron of lovers, was an Italian bishop, in Italy there is not much celebration of Valentine's Day as in the United States.
The Pantheon Institute decided to celebrate it, offering to our students a light snack with heart-shaped biscuits and some drinks, we hope that our students appreciated it!

Let it Snow in Rome

When on Friday we looked out the window of the Pantheon Institute Office we were very surprised to see so many snowflakes falling: it was an unusual and amazing sight for us!!!

As you can guess, this weather was somehow unusual for Rome, that is usually blessed by a moderate climate. The Italian capital had not experienced the heavy snow falls for a long period of time, 1986 was reported to be the last heavy snowfall that has dropped in the city.
Our students had the opportunity to assist to a historic event on Friday—the first heavy snowfall in Rome in 24 years!!!

The snow caught Rome unprepared, as a matter of fact it caused some problems: some museums and historical sites, including Colosseum, were closed so as schools and public offices, cars without tire chains were ordered off the road, many houses were without electricity, thousands of people were trapped on trains throughout Italy.

Despite the many practical problems, the general delight of the citizens was palpable. People had snowball fights, snowboarded at the Circus Maximus, made snowmen in the piazzas and contemplated with renewed curiosity and appreciation the many ancient wonders of Rome under the snow.

Surely seeing a white and soft blanket covering the Colosseum, the Roman Forum, Spanish Steps, the Pantheon and Navona Square is a worthwhile experience, so our students are very lucky to be here in Rome now!!!

Welcome to spring semester students!

Spring semester has begun at the Pantheon Institute in a rather unusual day: January 6^th, the Epiphany, which is in Italy the day of “La Befana”, the Good Witch of Christmas who flies over the rooftops of Rome on her broom, and brings gifts to the good children: so the Befana brought us forty-three marvelous new students!

Since their arrival students have been attending orientation sessions, acclimating themselves to life in one of the most exciting cities in the world thanks to the great help of our Italian Professors Barbara and Maurizio, who showed the most important areas of Rome and gave them some useful tips on local life.

The Academic Orientation was on Friday, January 13^th , and Professor Sabatello introduced all our faculty and staff. There was the chance also to try a real Italian breakfast and the delicious Roman cornetti (croissants).

Besides the required academic courses, our students could choose among several interesting elective subjects, such as: Italian Culture, Art, Archeology and Digital Photography (more information on our website page: http://216.14.127.190/spring.php). They will also participate in several field trips, and have already gone to Villa Adriana and Ostia; soon they will visit beautiful Italian cities such as Florence, Venice and Pompeii.

The Pantheon Institute student services staff organized also the first extra-curricular activities, among them a bowling night: some of the students went with Elisa to the bowling alley and spent there a nice evening! Other interesting and enjoying activities will follow, among them cooking class, meetings with Italian students, nights at the theater and concerts.

With Rome as a background, no way to get bored: and the Pantheon Institute will make its best to make also this semester a great experience for all our students!!!

Keep in touch Pantheon Institute!!!

November 3rd was the first day of my internship at the Pantheon Institute. I was pretty anxious that day, because it was the first time I tried this kind of experience and, as every time you under take a new activity you are riddle with doubts. I was especially worried about my English. I hadn’t practiced it for ages and I didn’t feel confident at all, but no excuse, this time I had to try it! Today, when the experience is about to end, I can say that my early concerns have turned now into the feeling that time has run too fast here. But let’s start from the beginning!

During my stay at the Pantheon Institute I had to carry out different tasks, such as checking the information on the student handbook, filing, writing brochures of tourist information. Leafing through the pages of travel guides and navigate through the tourist websites, I found out about amazing places in my country I knew very little about before doing this research. Now I am an expert in beaches, local food and public transportation of the places I made a study on, and I am ready to take up a career as a tourist guide. Joking apart, that was a very pleasant task to carry out. By the way, I apologize for any language mistake you could come across reading the brochures!

The language tandem with American students was a very nice experience too. Organizing the event and joining it was really fun. It gave me the opportunity to practice the language and, least but not last, to meet American guys!

Another thing I was asked to do, was that of making sure that the discounts to local partners offered by the Pantheon Institute to the students, were still valid. That meant having to walk for hours through the shops of Trastevere, as a tourist in my own city. What’s better? I have always loved my city, especially Trastevere.

Living it in the early morning, when the air smells of freshly baked bread, old men meet for their coffee and newspaper, and you wander through the alleyways and the ancient buildings, made me feel so good and inspired! Not to speak about the feeling I used to have at the beginning, every time I walked out the door of the school and found myself surrounded by music and foreign voices speaking out loud. I felt I was on holiday in my own town!

If I had to describe this experience in just one word, I would say “journey”. A journey through Italy while writing the tourist brochures; a journey through the ancient Rome; and a journey through my “English world”, realizing thanks to the several jobs I did here as an intern, what I know and what I still need to improve at a linguistic level. And in this short journey I have been together with very nice people who have warmly welcomed me since the very beginning of the training, making the job easier than I thought it to be. Defenitively a positive experience! Keep in touch Pantheon Institute!!!

Come ti chiami? What's your name?

When you are studying a foreign language it is very important to practice it with native people, but it is not so easy to meet them, but not here at the Pantheon Institute! Some Italian students were invited to meet our students and practice together Italian and English.

It is not the first time that the Pantheon Institute has organized an event like this and after the successful experiences of last years, we decided to repeat this experience again.

The Italian students were from “Roma Tre” University, studying Foreign Languages, so the Italian and the American guys had the same objective: practice a foreign language and, why not, make new friends!

After a short introduction by Linda, the Student Service Coordinator, the American and the Italian students started immediately to chat and it didn’t matter if they made some mistakes, also because a language exchange does not include fixed rules, people can talk about whatever they want!

They spent a couple of hours together and they also had a light buffet. At the end they exchanged their contacts, so they could keep in touch and continue practicing Italian or English.

We hope to repeat these meetings between Italian and American students also in the next semesters because this is a great opportunity for our students, not only to practice the language they are studying, but also to learn more about Italian culture and customs from Italian young people.

Autumn

The changing of seasons is one of the reasons I am thankful to be from the Midwest City of Chicago. Winter brings the holiday cheer, spring offers fresh hope, summer warms everyone, and then there is autumn-the season of change.

Since I have lived in Southern California for the past three years for school, I have missed the fall season so much. I took the crisp air, apple picking, colored trees, and falling leaves for granted. Being abroad in Rome, I had no idea what to expect of the weather during this season.

Well for starters, I have experienced the hottest climate of my life. From August through November I have been able to still wear shorts, sandals, or even a sundress. The other day it was pouring rain, and I was ecstatic to be using an umbrella while wearing a raincoat and boots. But, by the end of day, the sun was out, and baking all under its rays. The climate in Rome has been consistently warm for the past three months. But, I realized something marvelous about the weather.

Even though it may be hot here, the leaves may not change, or maybe I can’t find a pumpkin pie at the supermarket, one thing is for sure. Autumn is still in the air, for change is always consistent.

Change is scary, vulnerable, and sometimes life altering. The study abroad experience is a drastic change. One moves for at least a four-month period of time to live in a foreign country. There are many reasons a student chooses to study abroad. The motives can vary drastically. Some see it as a season of European travel, while others desire to stay in one city and long to capture every aspect of it. I chose Rome because I saw a rich cultural opportunity beneath it, one that would be rewarding for the rest of my life. Italy is where my mother’s family is from, and therefore I saw it also as a chance to learn the language and understand more of my cultural heritage. It’s a personal choice.

No matter where one studies, what one’s major is, or whom one comes with. The experience is personally rewarding, challenging, and constantly shifting. Thus far, I have encountered autumn within myself. Despite the weather, I have been living a season of change.

Living with people I have never met in my senior year of college is strange; but I have learned in a deeper way that friendships can be formed among a group who come from different backgrounds, beliefs, and perspectives. Living in an ancient city filled with religious relics, rich history, and lasting architecture has taught me to appreciate how the world has changed through time. Living in a place where the Italian language surrounds me, has stretched me and shown me new aspects of communication. Lastly, living in a foreign culture where time is not of the essence has revealed a new way of living in the moment.

For me, studying in Rome has not been a season of discovering who I am. Rather, it has been one of learning to appreciate new perspectives, one of growth in my personal beliefs, and finally, one of choosing to embrace autumn.

Bailamos! by Olivia Dickow

I have no rhythm. Even though I was born Italian, I have never felt this trait was inherited unto me. Well, my thoughts on dancing were about to change when the Pantheon Institute organized a thrilling event. They invited students to come to a Latin dance session. Due to my immediate insecurity, I obviously ignored the sign up sheet. However, my roommate had other plans and made sure my name was written.

A few minutes before heading to the school for this dance sensation, my roommates and I panicked as to what we were to wear. What was the proper attire for Latin dancing? Should we wear leggings, a casual dress, and black heels? Or should we wear sweat pants, white t-shirt, and gym shoes? In the frazzle of the moment, we chose the more fancy option.

When we arrived at the gym, we realized we should have chosen the later more casual apparel. For our Brazilian guy instructor named, Reyna, was in workout clothes and already sweating. His welcoming presence and no comprehension for the English language, got the six of us there so pumped for this incredible experience. We walked into the dance room, and realized from the beginning that Latin dance actually encompassed many diverse unexpected genres.

With dance music already playing, we started laughing when our instructor began to lead us into zumba dancing. Obviously, this has become one of the most popular aerobic dances in the States. But, apparently, it was just as popular in Italy. As I tried to mimic my instructor’s moves, while glancing in the mirrors at my friends, I could not take myself seriously. Honestly, I

did not even care.

After our Shakira number, we did the vampira dance. It included basic zumba moves, but with vampire poses throughout random pauses during the song. I just wished someone had gotten those faces on camera. After complete and utter success as actresses, Reyna set the new mood for our second portion to the class.

He passed out purple, blue, yellow, and orange boa scarves. He put on his sparkling white glittery fedora hat, and then turned out the lights. The burlesque atmosphere got us jumpy, excited, and all together hyper. He put on the Christina Aguilera hit from her latest movie, Burlesque, and we let loose under the spinning cosmic lights. This evening just got better by the minute.

Sweaty, barefoot, and utterly energized, I did not want the class to end. As we all shook off embarrassment, worries of the day, and those extra calories from the pizza overload, we just had such a grand time together. Dancing in Italy, laughing with new made friends from the program, and posing for pictures with Reyna, was an evening well spent. I no longer care that I don’t have rhythm. I just want to go back and experience it all over again.

Quieres bailar?

On Friday 11th November our students and I had a Latin-American dance class with a Brazilian instructor.

We took the bus and went to a gym on the Aventine Hill. Since we arrived early we had a walk around the beautiful Aventine Hill, a very peaceful place compared to the rest of the city centre, and reached the Giardino degli Aranci (Orange Garden) which offers an amazing view over Trastevere and the dome of St. Peter’s.

Then we came back to the gym and met Reyna, the Brazilian instructor, who explained us how the class was structured: we were going to practice different kinds of dance: zumba, merengue, burlesque and group dance that are well-known in Italy. Then he told us that we had not to think about our movements, it didn’t matter if we made mistakes: we just had to enjoy ourselves!

We started with some warm-up exercises to loosen up our muscles and then we began to dance. We danced with many different songs, among them: the well-known “Waka-Waka” by Shakira; “Danza Kuduro”, the summer hit in Italy; “El Pam Pam”, a group dance; “The Vampire Dance”, a typical dance of Brazilian Carnival. We ended with a burlesque dance, Reyna gave us some colorful feather boas and told us to free ourselves and not to feel inhibited, so he turned off the light and we danced feeling less embarrassed.

We spent a very pleasant time and had a lot of fun, the instructor was very nice and we

hope to have another Latin-American dance class again very soon!!!

20 October 2011 - Rome like Venice?

On October 20th, Rome was thrown into disarray due to the heavy rain since the early hours of the day, resulting in widespread flooding across the city.

At the height of rush hour many pedestrians found the capital's streets virtually impassable, with large amounts of people opting to take shelter in doorways. People walk past a paddle next to Rome's ancient Colosseum and near the most famous monuments.

Most of Pantheon Institute staff could not reach the center of the city and had to come back home; the school was strangely empty and classes were cancelled.

Trees were felled, subways were flooded and some roads crumbled. Private schools in Rome urged parents to keep their children home for the day, saying classrooms were flooded and roads near schools impassable.

Rome's agency for mobility reports that the many Metro A stations were closed due to flooding and some bus routes were diverted, in particular the northern periphery services.

Hours after the rain stopped, cars remained trapped in massive traffic jams on the outskirts of the city.

The mayor of Rome called for a state of emergency Thursday after a heavy storm caused flooding, traffic delays and the death of an elderly man."The intensity of the storm was unexpected," said Rome Mayor Gianni Alemanno, who also activated a toll-free emergency hotline for people to report emergencies and request information.

Looking at the impressive pictures taken during that uncommon day, we hope not to repeat that experience again!!

Discover Italy... and taste it!!

Nothing says Italy like its food, and nothing says Italian food like pasta!

Pasta's origins are very ancient. It's said that they go back to the Etruscans, they used to prepare the first lasagna made of spelt (a kind of cereal like wheat, but far more resistant against bad weather and diseases). Later on, the Romans used to make a very simple dough with water and flour from which they made a kind of lasagna.

In Italy one can find pasta in a great variety of shapes and with many different types of sauces, furthermore you should consider also that each shape of pasta is typically matched with a particular sauce based on constincency and its ability to hold sauce.

There are several kinds of pasta, it seems to be 350 different shapes, even more counting regional differences. Shapes range from simple tubes to bow ties (farfalle, which actually means "butterfly"), to unique shapes like tennis rackets (racchette). Moreover pasta can be found in dried (pasta secca) and fresh (pasta fresca) varieties.

For Italian people it is very important that pasta is al dente, means literally “to the tooth” that is cooked so as to be firm but not hard.
It is estimated that Italians eat over sixty pounds of pasta per person, per year easily beating Americans, who eat about twenty pounds per person.

Considering the importance that Italians give to pasta, we decided that the prize for the winner of the September photo competition “Ancient and Modern in Rome” should have been a basket with a great variety of pasta: truffle pasta, paccheri, black sepia pasta, lemon pasta and chitarrine all’uovo. Congratulations to Daniel who was the winner!!! Have a look at his beautiful picture and at all the other photos on our website photopage.

Survival Italian

This semester we tried something new: four classes of survival Italian, a nice occasion to learn a bit of this rich and beautiful language and to practice it while going out all together. At the beginning we started with grammatics, and some of the basic vocabulary concerning how to get food, how to ask for information, while at the post office and while doing shopping. Besides, we spent some time on the outside, going to the supermarket, to the tabacconist, eating in Roman pizzerias and ice-cream shops. The guys practiced their Italian in different contexts and were very proud of their results!

All in all, it was a very nice experience and a beautiful occasion not only to explore the Italian language, but also to get to know the Italian culture through direct experience.

Summer starts at the Pantheon Institute

The first session of the Summer program at the Pantheon Institute has started only one week ago but all the students are already very busy with the different academic activities scheduled for them.
The students arrived on Monday, May 9th and they were welcomed at the Santa Maria in Cappella residence in Trastevere by the housing staff. The dorm offers a very unique space, especially in this season, as its garden is in bloom and full of beautiful roses and fruit trees.
On the following day, Tuesday May 10th, the students gathered at the studio of Via della Gatta for the orientation meetings. After Romolo Martemucci, the Pantheon Institute Director, presented the program and the staff to the students, each of them received a cell phone and then headed off to see the students services office in Via del Pantheon as well.
Classes started on Wednesday. Each group of students, the Architectural Engineering, the International Program in Nutrition and the Human Development and Family Studies ones, met their professors and had class in one of the facilities provided by the Pantheon Institute.
Wednesday was also the day we chose to organize the first of the extra-curricular activities we will be offering during the first Summer session. As a matter of fact, together with Professor Cheryl Cheek, we arranged a tour of the Testaccio market and a cooking class for the HDFS program students.
The tour of the market was very interesting. The students were divided into small groups and each of them had to buy some of the ingredients we then used to prepare our lunch.
This visit was also a great occasion to know and get to talk with some of the dealers who proved to be very kind and even let some of the students go inside their stand so that they could really immerse themselves in the true atmosphere of the market!
The cooking class took place at the Santa Maria in Cappella residence and all of the 18 students actively helped out to prepare the classical menu we propose for this activity: rigatoni alla carbonara, valerian salad with pears, Parmesan cheese and walnuts and tiramisu. Our lunch was delicious, as always, and the students really enjoyed this experience.
This was only the first of the activities that the Pantheon Institute staff will organize for its students throughout the Summer session I: among the others, we will arrange a movie night, a soccer match and some Survival Italian classes with Alessia, our intern from Roma Tre.
We really hope the students will participate with interest and enthusiasm in our extracurricular activities!

Spring 2011 Thorp Prize winners announced!

The Spring 2011 Thorp Prize gave outstanding results. The Penn State Architecture and Landscape Architecture students were asked to design a temporary installation celebrating the 150th anniversary of the creation of the Italian Nation which occurred in 1861 thanks to the political and military action of such visionaries as Giuseppe Garibaldi, Giuseppe Mazzini and Camillo Benso Count of Cavour. The installation was to be placed in an area spanning from Piazza Venezia to the Colosseum and the students were asked to carefully analyze the urban characteristics of the sites they chose and produce projects with a strong urban connotation and an evocative, symbolic impact, regardless of their ephemeral character. Student work involved research concerning both the history of Italian re-unification and examples of urban scale installations from past and present times. As already mentioned the quality of the seventeen entries was generally very high and this made the job of the jury particularly difficult. In fact, the jurors, Professors Luca Peralta, Romolo Martemucci and David Sabatello had to go through three distinct evaluation phases which brought to an initial eight-project shortlist from which the four finalists were chosen and subsequently the two winning entries were nominated unanimously. The winners were proclaimed during the traditional end-of-semester reception coinciding with the exhibit of student work at the Pantheon Institute.

The Spring 2011 Thorp Prize winners are:

TEAM 2: Zack Baier (Landscape Architecture); Colleen McDonough (Architecture); Lauren Polacheck (Architecture)

TEAM 13: Ben Mahan (Architecture); Kaylynn Primerano (Landscape Architecture)

Professor David Sabatello

Photo of the Month - April 2011

Here is the winning picture of the last photo competition for the Spring 2011 semester:

The theme of the contest was "Goodbye Italy" and Molly Ravis sent us a nice picture taken during the visit that the students from the "Masters and Monuments" class made to the "3D Rewind Roma", an exhilarating 3 dimensional journey through the history of imperial Rome. Thanks to a series of amazing special effects and the use of automated scenographic equipment, our students had the chance to find themselves in the underground chambers of the Colosseum back in 310 AD.

Molly won a huge and yummy chocolate Easter egg! But the Pantheon Institute has decided to give a small present to all the students who participated in our photo contest to thank them for their great enthusiasm!

Olive Oil Tasting at the Pantheon Institute!

The last extra-curricular activity that we organized for the Spring2011 students at the Pantheon Institute was an extra-virgin olive oil tasting.

We contacted a real expert in the field, Mr. Luca Mattioli, who came to the Pantheon office on Thursday afternoon to teach the students how to taste olive oil and how to distinguish a good product from a bad one.

Mr. Mattioli started his lesson with a little general information about olive oil: he said that “like wine, virgin olive oil has distinct flavors and signs of the territory of origin. Italy, having its head in central Europe, its feet in the Mediterranean and its belly somewhere in between, is blessed with a varied climate. Volcanic rock, marine salt, truffles and mushrooms, herbs and spices, fruit and vegetables, all join in with the help of father Sun to create the many different flavors of olive oils”.

This is why it is essential to discover how to taste the differences between olive oils and how to recognize their main qualities (i.e. sweetness, fruitiness, smoothness, softness…) and their main defects (i.e. rancidity, weakness, dryness…).

As for wines, also the tasting of extra-virgin olive oils entails the use of three of our sensory systems: vision, olfaction and taste.

Obviously, as Mr. Mattioli explained, the mouth tasting is the “classical and most complete method to value an olive oil and finally draw a conclusion after the visual and flavor tests”. The olive oil sommelier also gave our students some suggestions on how to match olive oils that are produced in different regions of Italy with the appropriate food.

We hope that our students enjoyed this experience and we will certainly organize this interesting activity again in the future!

Girls Soccer Match

This week, and for the first time since I started working at the Pantheon Institute, I had the pleasure to organize a soccer match for girls only! As a matter of fact, some girls studying here asked me to help them arranging a game before the end of the semester. The match took place on Tuesday night at the “Olimpiclub” fields, in the Viale Marconi area. I met the girls (who came with a couple of boys who watched the game) in front of the bus stop that I had told them to get off at and we walked together to the fields.
Only few of the 11 students who took part in the game had played soccer before, which means that, for most of them, Tuesday’s game was the first ever! In spite of their inexperience, I have to say that the girls were not bad at all! Six people played in each team and the match was engaging and full of goals: the final score was 6-6! Everyone had fun (players and spectators) and I hope we will manage to organize another girls match also during future semesters!

Picture of the month - March 2011

Here is the winning picture of March's photo competition:

Congratulations to Michelle Greene! She has won a yummy dinner for two people at "La Creperie" restaurant in Testaccio!