It’s caffè shakerato season in Perugia again.

 Cafés have spilled out onto the cobblestone streets, serving classic Italian iced coffee under stretching umbrellas;  the central piazza’s steps ebb and flow with waves of people soaking in the sun; and Umbra staff and faculty are preparing for this year’s summer sessions.

On Friday, General Studies students will land in Rome, kicking off the short but full program. Students enrolled in Intensive Italian will soon follow suit, arriving May 31. Over the next two weeks, check your email for the Umbra handbook, which will answer questions you may have about what to pack or what to anticipate as you prepare for your stay in Italy.

Upon your arrival, expect a warm welcome at the airport, followed by a bus ride through Italian countryside and a dinner that will make you forget your jetlag. The next day, Umbra staff members will conduct a comprehensive orientation session detailing your stay in Perugia, an Umbrian city rich with culture, history, and adventure. Get excited for summer weeks packed with gelato nights, day trips to Umbrian and Tuscan villages, wine tastings, aperitivi (Italy’s much-improved version of happy hour), pizza workshops, historical walking tours, and more.

See you soon — arrivederci!

After taking final group photographs in front of the picturesque view behind il Birraio, students, staff, and faculty reminisced about memorable Umbra moments in and outside the classroom over drinks and appetizers at last night’s Farewell Aperitivo.

Before saying goodbye to the Spring 2013 students, Umbra staff members pose in front of the view by il Birraio at last night’s Farewell Aperitivo.

The last few weeks have seen Umbra students bustling about school and city, cramming for finals, purchasing token Italian gifts, and soaking up their remaining time in Perugia. Early this morning, Umbra staff members loaded students and their bursting bags onto buses to the Rome Fiumicino Airport.

“I can’t believe it’s actually over,” said student Lauren O’Boyle before boarding the 4 a.m. bus, surrounded by teary-eyed classmates. 

“We’ll be back!” a group next to her chorused. 

Thanks for a great semester, Umbra Spring 2013. Have a good summer!

Want to know who the residents of Pig Street were? Curious why Perugians fought only other Perugians in the meadow known as the “battlefield?” In 1504 a “flying machine” was launched off the Danti Palace roof — was it successful?

Home Street Home: Perugia’s History Told Through Its Streets is a newly-published book edited by Umbra Professor Zachary Nowak.

Drawing on his experience creating the beloved Nooks and Crannies Tour, Umbra Institute Food Studies Professor Zachary Nowak edited Home Street Home: Perugia’s History Told Through Its Streets. The book, an alphabetical list of all of Perugia’s streets, alleys, and piazzas, is a charming voyage through 23 centuries of social history. Morlacchi Editore published Home Street Home, which hit stands today.

Home Street Home avoids the typical “great-men-building-great-buildings-and-fighting history,” Nowak explained, by telling the story of Perugia through its streets.

Originally published in 1999, the book was written by Perugian author Maria Rita Zapelli. Nowak was drawn to the book early on in his 12-year sojourn in Perugia and began the project of publishing an English-language version in 2007.

“This book made me fall in love with Perugia, and I knew I had to finish it before I left,” Nowak said.

Zachary Nowak

A staff member since 2005, Nowak began teaching at Umbra in 2010, and the translation project went on the back burner. When he was admitted to a doctoral program at Harvard University, he decided to finish the book before leaving Perugia, his home for more than a decade.

“It’s my parting gift to a city that hosted me as a ‘temporary citizen’ for years and where I had some of the best years of my life so far,” Nowak said. “What makes me happy, too, is that I’m not leaving permanently: Maybe I can use the book in a future summer course at Umbra.”

Already available on the shelves of Libreria Morlacchi, Home Street Home will soon be available on Amazon.com. Free previews of selected streets are available on the In Perugia website. The book was translated by Deborah Rim Moiso and Alan Whykes, and Matteo Brustenghi designed  cover. All are long-time collaborators of Nowak, who ran a small publishing company, Green Door, known for its guide to Perugia, “The Little Blue What To Do.”

The International Journalism Festival begins Wednesday. (Photo courtesy/IJF.)

After you finish another final and before you take your last group picture on the steps, Umbra encourages you to attend some of the many events of the International Journalism Festival.

Leading figures from the journalism field are traveling from across the world to Perugia, home of the annual acclaimed festival.

The events will run Wednesday through Sunday and include panel discussions, workshops, and documentaries, all held throughout the center of Perugia.

Every event is free, open to the public, and offers English and Italian translations.

Visit the International Journalism Festival website for a history of the festival, location information, a schedule of events, and more.

Students pose with their certificates after the semester-long English Workshops come to an end.

On Monday, April 22^nd, 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, according to Co-Program Manager of Community Engagement Julie Falk: 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. 

Sunhats in hand and sunscreen applied, 35 Umbra students and three staff members boarded a bus Friday morning, ready for the Optional Trip to the South of Italy.

The first stop on the Umbra Optional Trip was Pompei.

“I just had so much fun,” said Umbra student Leah Saraceni. ”The trip couldn’t have been better!”

The first stop was a guided tour of the ruins of Pompei. Led by experts Giorgio and Enzo, students walked through excavated villas and shivered at the bodies of the ancient Pompeiians, forever encased in lava from Mt. Vesuvius’s great eruption in 79 A.D.

One windy but scenic bus ride along the Amalfi Coast later, the group checked into rooms at Hotel Michelangelo in Sorrento and were free to relax or explore the small, vibrant city before a multi-course dinner at the hotel. 

Many students took boat rides around Capri.

Saturday morning, the group trooped to the port to catch a ferry to Capri. Students took full advantage of their free day: They took boat rides around the island, swam in the Tyrrhenian Sea, took the funicular up Anacapri, enjoyed the area’s typical seafood, and sipped Capri’s famous lemonade. After a (slightly more sunburned) dinner at the hotel, another full day was over.

Sunday was dedicated to Naples. Two vivacious Neopolitan guides led the group on a bus and walking tour of the city, neatly wrapping up thousands of years of history, pointing out places for the most authentic margarita pizza, and warning students to watch their wallets all at once.

By Sunday evening, the group was sleepily riding the bus through the hills of Campania, Lazio, and Umbria, happy to be headed home to Perugia.

On Friday, March 29th, HSWS 38 Saints, Sinners and Harlots: Medieval Women in Central Italy went to Siena on a day trip.  The academic field trip began with a tour of the Duomo di Siena, which included the Piccolomini Library displaying illuminated choir books.  In the cathedral, Professor Adrian Hoch showed students works of art they had studied in course lectures and described the history and meaning behind Saint Catherine, the patron saint of Siena.  After lunch, students reconvened in the famous Piazza del Campo to begin their tour of the Palazzo Pubblico to see the many intricate frescoes.  The group then visited Santa Caterina to see where the saint had lived.  The field trip ended in the Basilica di San Domenico to see several more works of art, as well as relics.  The Basilica is home to the mummified head and thumb of Saint Catherine so the trip finished with quite the sights!