Welcome to Riva San Vitale, Switzerland Spring 2010 Program Virginia Tech's Center for European Studies and Architecture (CESA) in Riva San Vitale, Switzerland is the university's European campus center and base for operations and support of its programs in the region. The center's location in Ticino, the Italian-speaking canton of Switzerland, is also close to major northern Italian cities such as Milan. Each spring the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences sponsors an academic program based in Riva.  Approximately thirty students will live and study in Villa Maderni, Virginia Tech's two hundred year old villa.  In order to help students prepare for this experience, this website contains much information which will be of use to both students and parents. Again, welcome.  The spring semester in Riva looks to be a very exciting one!

Program: Courses and Credits

Students in Riva San Vitale, Switzerland at Virginia Tech’s Center for European Studies and Architecture (CESA) will enroll in 16 credits. For Spring 2010 students will take the following courses:

History 2984, CRN 17594 : The Roman Town
The strength of the Roman Empire resided in its hundreds of towns, large and small, that transmitted the essence of Greek and Roman civilization for hundreds of years. This special study will examine the development, characteristics, and legacy of the Roman town within its historical, archaeological, architectural, and cultural context.  Not only will we read about the Roman town, but we will visit the best preserved of them in northern Italy, Tuscany, Rome, Ostia, Pompeii, Herculaneum and the Bay of Naples.  It is no exaggeration to claim that most of the major cities of western Europe today were once Roman towns.

History 4984, CRN 17592 : The Most Serene Republic
This course will examine the thousand-year history of Venice, from its humble origins in the late 5th century A.D. to its fall to Napoleon in 1797.   At the height of its power in the 15th and 16th centuries, the Venetian empire will stretch from the gates of Milan to Cyprus.  The winged Lion of St Mark, the symbol of Venice’s power, will proclaim its authority on hundreds of castles.  In this course, we will examine the rise of the Venetian empire, its long wars with the Ottomans, and the social, architectural, artistic, and political dynamics of its unique community.   Along the way we will meet doges and courtesans, artists and rogues, all part of the colorful fabric of the world of Venice.  As a group we will visit Venice itself, along with two of its dependencies, Verona and Vicenza,  and interested students will be encouraged to join me on day-trip explorations into northern Italy, the so-called Terraferma of the Most Serene Republic.

TA 3954, crn 17035     Theatre Study Abroad -  Italian Theatre and Film

This course is an overview of Italian theatre and Film History, from the very early Atellan Farce and the ancient Roman theatre of Plautus, Terence, and the gladiators; to the Italian Renaissance and the revolution of Italian theatre design and the commedia dell arte; through the plays of Luigi Pirandello, Dario Fo and and Franco Rame; the beginnings of Italian cinema, the neo-realism movement; and finally the films of Fellini, Antonioni, Wertmuller, and Begnini.   The class will
consist of lecture, discussion, and film showings. There will be excursions to Teatro Piccolo in Rome and a commedia dell arte festival sponsored by CEUT in Riva San Vitale.

TA 3154, crn 15493 Theatre Topics:  Improv Abroad     

This course is a practical and performance study of improvisation in the theatre, in music (jazz and flamenco), speech (extempore), and life itself.  Particular attention will be paid to the Italian improvisational theatre form commedia dell arte, the masked theatre form with stock characters often regarded as the basis of all improvisational theatre.  Students will be able to use the masks of famed Italian mask maker Giancarlo Santelli.  Negotiations are underway to have commedia masters Marco Luly, Luciana Codispotti, and Antonio Fava teach masterclasses in commedia.  The class will culminate in a performance for the citizens of Riva San Vitale.  Students who play musical instruments are encouraged to make that fact known to the professor, and are also encouraged, if possible, bring them to Riva.

Geography 4054: Geography of Wine, optional on-line course
Analysis of physical and cultural forces that shape the production, consumption, and great variety of wine in the world. Wine as a complex commodity is examined through its economic, social, political, and ideological impacts in different parts of the world throughout history. Particular emphasis will be focused on place as an agent in defining the product.

Italian 2984, crns 17674, 17675: Introduction to Italian - Signora Eva Vadilonga
Fundamentals of the Italian language with emphasis on grammar, reading, composition, and conversation for students who have completed 1105.

1 credit Italian Study Abroad 3954, crn 17870: Study Abroad

The courses typically fulfill core electives such as Area 2, 3, 6, and 7.  Classes are taught in English by award winning Virginia Tech faculty.  These classes are designed to take full advantage of being taught in Europe; academic trips will include visits to sites important to the classes.

When in Riva, classes meet Monday through Thursday in the Villa Maderni. 

Students are required to attend every class (held in the classroom when in Riva, held on site when traveling). In addition to traditional textbooks, other "textbooks" will be the sites and museums visited. Each of these acts like a text, and students will learn to “read” them too.

In Fall 09, the semester prior, students will also be enrolled in Italian 1105.

Lodging and Meals

In Riva San Vitale, students live either in apartments in town (all within a five minute walk of the Villa) or at Virginia Tech's Villa Maderni, a 200 year old villa (Center for European Studies and Architecture, Via Settala 8, 6826 Riva San Vitale, Switzerland; www.oired.vt.edu/cesa).  Classes and meals are taken in the Villa.  Rooms are doubles, triples, and quads, whether in the Villa or in the apartments.  The Villa includes classroom spaces, dining room, rooms with frescoed ceilings, a library, computer facilities (wireless as well) and an immaculate garden.  Riva San Vitale is a town of about 2000; it's quiet, beautiful, and situated on Lake Lugano.  Breakfast, lunch and dinner are served each day.

Costs

a) Airfare to be purchased by student directly
b) Program Fee of $1500, covers traveling seminars (lodging, transportation), 11days
c) Tuition for Center for European Studies and Architecture (see bursar.vt.edu)
d) Room and Board for Center for European Studies and Architecture (bursar.vt.edu)
e) Other costs: passport, visa, residency permit in Riva, Swiss health insurance
f) Spending money, especially for optional trips with faculty

T-Pay Form: This form must accompany each payment you make for this study abroad program. If you forget to use it, your money could potentially be applied to something other than your Spring 2010 in Riva. Please remember to use this form when you pay. The 2 remaining payment dates are:
September 10 - $500

November 20 - $350

The Program Fee does not include textbooks, personal spending money, personal incidentals, and personal travel.

Requirements:

1).  Acceptance into the program.

2).  Student must be in good academic standing at Virginia Tech.

3).  Valid passport and Visa.

4).  Completion and submission of all required forms.  Student must keep copies of these forms to provide to the administrators on site in Riva as well.

5). Complete payment of program fee.

6).  In particular, completion of Citizenship Expectations and Responsibility form.  Virginia Tech reserves the right to send home any student who shows evidence of not abiding by the rules laid out in this policy.

7) Participation in the fall 09 Italian 1105.

Required Forms:

1) The Program Liability Agreement verifies that you understand the risks associated with study abroad.

2) The Emergency Contact Form is necessary so that our office knows who to call in case you have an emergency in your host country.

3) Allergy and Dietary Needs helps Riva directors understand conditions relative to you.

Contact information at Virginia Tech:

1) Glenn Bugh, Associate Professor of History
426 Major Williams Hall
email: gbugh@vt.edu

2) David Johnson, Associate Professor of Theater and Cinema
Theater Arts
email: dajohns6@vt.edu

3) Lois Doherty, Administrative Assistant for Study Abroad, Riva San Vitale
326 Major Williams Hall
(540) 231-2571
email: doherty@vt.edu

Contact information at CESA:

1) Paul L. Knox
University Distinguished Professor
Senior Fellow for International Advancement
Office of the President and Director of CESA
email: knox@vt.edu

2) Daniela Doninelli, Managing Director, Riva
email: daniela@vt.edu
phone: 011 41 91 648 3652

3) In the Villa: Downstairs: 011 41 91 648 3496
Upstairs: 011 41 91 648 3096
These are student phones.