Rome Architecture Experience Will Continue Thanks to Walton Donation

(Editor’s note: The author wrote this report while participating in the University of Arkansas’ study abroad program during the spring 2002 semester. She simultaneously was serving as an intern for the Northwest Arkansas Business Journal where she is now a full-time assistant editor.)

ROME — Through a study-abroad program offered jointly by the University of Arkansas School of Architecture and J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences, Sixteen UA students spent their spring semester studying architecture and humanities while living in Rome, Italy.

Legions more UA students will have similar opportunities thanks to a $300 million matching donation made April 11 by the Walton Family Foundation in Bentonville.

Of that total, $4 million is earmarked to give honors students international study opportunities.

DeDe Long, director of the study abroad and international exchange division within the UA Fulbright Institute of International Relations, said about 350-400 students annually participate in the programs. During the spring 2002 semester, that included 82 students involved in 38 different study abroad programs in 19 countries.

The UA architecture department’s $400,000 Rome Study Center hosted almost half of the university’s students involved in European programs.

The exact number of study abroad programs varies from year to year, Long said, because the UA annually tailors its offerings to its students’ needs. Although it may not list a program to a certain country in its course offerings, the UA networks with other universities to create worldwide student opportunities.

“One way of attracting honors students to the UA is by offering them additional opportunities,” Long said. “The university has made a strong commitment to our programs, and based on our projections for the programs’ growth, all I can say is that we’re going to be busy.”

Long said no collective budget is compiled for the study abroad programs, since nearly every college operates its own projects that may vary semester to semester. Resources, she said, are expended campus-wide, and both student and scholarship contributions help mitigate costs.

The Rome Study Center, which carries a $13,000-per-semester tuition, is the only actual out-of-state study facility administered and funded by the UA. The other programs are typically short-term and faculty-led and don’t have a physical operating base.

When in Rome

All UA architecture students are required to spend either one semester in Rome or 10 weeks in Mexico City to fulfill the urban experience requirement for graduation. The Rome program, which employs two professors and two administrators, has an enrollment of 52 students annually divided between fall and spring semesters.

Two architecture students from the University of Kansas also participated this spring.

Davide Vitale, professor of architecture and director of the Rome Study Center, said the program is vital to students because it helps them identify cultural differences and similarities among people. That knowledge enables students to build better professional relationships in a shorter amount of time, he said.

Humanities courses were added to the curriculum in fall 2000 because the humanities program wanted to have access to Rome and the architecture program wanted a more diverse curriculum, said Dave Fredrick, associate professor of classical studies.

Fredrick, who teaches classes on Roman politics and socioeconomics, said he believes the courses are an asset to the architecture students.

“They learn Roman history, so they can ground their knowledge of architecture in Roman history,” Fredrick said.

“Also, in the domestic space class, they get exposure to contemporary theory about domestic architecture, so they’re getting exposure to anthropological theory with respect to domestic space.”

Vitale said the education students receive in Rome helps them find employment after graduation.

“It’s about learning about complexity and showing more confidence and understanding the complex urban environment, which is a good start for somebody who is introduced into an office,” Vitale said. “It may help to show the student has been challenged in a certain sense.”

Seeing Is Believing

Similar to the classroom structure back in Arkansas, Rome study center students meet for classes throughout the week and participate in classroom lectures and studio time.

But academic life isn’t confined to the classroom. Site visits to renowned and lesser-known monuments and buildings allow the students to see firsthand the concepts they are being taught and develop a better understanding of how the sites correspond with Rome’s ever-changing landscape.

In addition to studying architecture in Rome, dubbed the “Eternal City,” the students make several weekend trips to outlying cities including Ostia, Naples, Pompeii and Herculaneum.

The visits to the latter two cities, which were buried in ash and mud from the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in A.D. 79, give students the opportunity to view Roman life as it existed in ancient times.

In early March, the group took to the road as they headed to northern Italy for a 10-day tour with visits to Venice, Florence, Turin, Pisa, Verona and Vicenzia to study the architecture of the various cities.

The class took its final trip at the beginning of April. A six-day excursion to Barcelona, Spain, allowed students to view modern architecture and visit contemporary architect Frank Gehry’s Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao before returning to Rome to finish the semester.

Like many of her Rome study classmates, Jennifer Caperton, a fourth-year student from Fort Smith, doesn’t know where she will work after graduating next year.

But she said her experience at a local firm in Fort Smith has helped her decide what type of work she wants to pursue.

“I worked with MAHG Architecture Inc. in Fort Smith during the summer and Christmas break of 2001,” Caperton said.

“They have worked with historical preservation, which is what I’m interested in. They are a really good firm, and I felt like they gave me plenty of opportunity and experience.”

Journal de Roma

Talia E. Myres kept the following journal for the Northwest Arkansas Business Journal during spring 2002 while she participated in the UA School of Architecture’s study abroad program in Rome.

Sixteen UA students spent the summer studying architecture and humanities while living in Rome

• Jan. 7, Roman Forum — The group hit the ground running, taking an introductory tour of the Roman Forum and quickly learning that if you want to get somewhere in Rome, you walk. The Forum was impressive. Although much of it has been destroyed because of scavenging throughout the Middles Ages, the pediment and columns of the Temple of Saturn still stand majestically atop its remaining elevated base. The Curia (Senate House) stands directly to the side of the arch of Septimius Severus. When going through the massive arch, it’s overwhelming to realize that the road beneath is one that was traveled by Caesar himself. Remains of basilicas and temples still stand as a monument to what was once the greatest empire in the world.

• March 20 – Colosseum — The massive exterior serves to conceal a somewhat limited interior, which can seem to be disappointing when first entering the arena. But after a few minutes of milling around the arena floor and realizing how small I was compared to everything around me, the setting suddenly became quite cozy. Add that to the fact that those standing on the arena floor usually were about to die, and the whole experience becomes much more impressive.

• Feb. 13, Pantheon — One of the most easily recognized sites in Rome, the Pantheon is one of the most-loved buildings among the students here. On our first visit, several of the students walked up and hugged the columns outlining the fa?ade. Originally built by Agrippa during the rule of Augustus and later rebuilt by Hadrian, the building is an imposing site with its elegant entrance and rotunda.

• March 27, Vatican — Passing by the Vatican every day has not served to diminish the awe I feel every time I see St. Peter’s Basilica rising above the horizon. The Vatican Museum is amazing in its collection, most notably Raphael’s “School of Athens” and Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel. Although not very wide, it is elongated, with a ceiling that seems to go on for miles. The illusion of architecture on the ceiling serves to break up the various scenes portrayed from the entrance to exit.

Starting with the drunkenness of Noah, your eyes follow a reverse progression toward the most famous scene, the Creation of Adam. Normally depicted in most slides as simply God’s finger reaching out toward Adam’s finger, seeing the scene in its entirety gives it much more impact. You can feel the tension between the two fingertips and see that Adam, lying languidly, has yet to possess the spirit of life.

• Jan. 18, Pompeii – Took a three-hour bus ride to get a glimpse of Naples and to visit Pompeii. The ancient city has been well preserved after being buried under layers of ash from the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 A.D. Because of the terrific preservation, it’s easy to see Roman life as it existed on a daily basis in ancient times. Homes, businesses, bars and theaters stand relatively intact, with vibrant paintings, known as frescoes, adorning the walls. There’s even Pompeii’s version of graffiti – dark red words painted across walls advertising political candidates.

• March 1-9, Northern Italy Tour – The whirlwind tour has taken us from Venice to Vicenzia, Verona to Turin and finally Florence. Venice is amazing, the whole town navigated through a series of canals. The Piazza of San Marco is impressive and there are hundreds of pigeons. Verona boasts its own Colosseum, and Florence is so unlike Rome, in the fact that while a big city, it possesses none of the modern urban feel. The duomo and baptistery are beautiful and seeing the majesty of Michelangelo’s David makes me realize how talented the master truly was.