F&M in Tuscany

Franklin & Marshall's Summer Program in Italian is located in Vicchio del Mugello, a small town in Tuscany 30 km north of Florence, to which it is well connected by train.  The town's major claim to fame is that it was the birthplace of the painter Giotto, whose house can still be visited today.  It is also the site of a major Etruscan archaelogical excavation, sponsored by Franklin & Marshall, Southern Methodist University and the University of Pennsylvania Museum.

Program Dates and Description

Students arrive on June 3 and leave on July 10.  After a brief orientation session, students of Intermediate Italian have four hours of instruction daily, five days per week.  Advanced students follow individually-tailored programs of instruction.  Students are free during the weekends, but are strongly encouraged to participate in two weekend excursions organized by the program.  The program moves to Rome for a week of instruction and cultural visits in the Italian capital.  In Vicchio, students are able to spend free time visiting Florence, attending film screenings, and participating in sports, reading groups and other activities.

The Academic Program

Intermediate Italian

Italian 210 and 310, Intermediate Italian 1 and 2, are offered at Vicchio.  Students participating in the Program take both of these courses and receive 2 regular F&M credits and letter grades for them, just as if the courses had been taken on the F&M campus. 

The prerequisite for Italian 210 is satisfactory completion of Italian 111 or the equivalent, or placement at the 210 level.  Upon their return to F&M, students will be able to enroll directly into third-year Italian (Italian 360).  

Advanced Italian

Students who will have already completed Italian 210 and 310 have the opportunity to take one or more advanced language courses or tutorials or to engage in a faculty-supervised independent study (for credit).  These opportunities will be tailored to individual students upon request.  Interested students should consult program faculty to discuss opportunities suited to them.

Franklin & Marshall expects these courses to be available each summer, but they are dependent on minimum enrollment.  Students are notified well in advance in the event that the program is cancelled due to insufficient enrollment.

The Faculty

F&M professors Scott Lerner and Giovanna Faleschini Lerner will be the faculty in residence in Vicchio.  Professor Scott Lerner (PhD in Comparative Literature, Harvard) is Associate Professor of French and Italian and has taught both French and Italian literature and language courses at all levels. Giovanna Faleschini Lerner (PhD Italian, University of Pennsylvania) is Assistant Professor of Italian.  She has taught Italian language courses at all levels at the University of Pennsylvania and at F&M.  She has also participated in the U Penn-Bryn Mawr Summer Program in Florence Program, teaching a variety of language courses and organizing extra-curricular activities. Prof. Elena Past, (PhD Italian, University of Pennsylvania; Assistant Professor of Italian at Wayne State University) has also taught in the program.

Accommodation

Students are lodged in the hotel “L’Antica Porta di Levante,” located in the center of town, at walking distance from the train station, grocery stores, and restaurants.  The hotel provides a high-quality breakfast and dinner every day.  Students occupy double and triple rooms with private bathrooms.
  

 

Fee and Payment Schedule

The Program Fee is $6,000.  It includes the hotel in Vicchio with half pension (breakfast and dinner), the hotel in Rome, evening programs and excursions, and tuition for (2 credits).  It does not include airfare, transportation from airport to Vicchio, train fare from Vicchio to Rome, lunches while in Vicchio and meals in Rome.  Students are expected to make their own travel arrangements from the US. (This is common policy for summer travel courses at F&M, as it allows students some flexibility in their travel plans, such as spending more time in Europe after the course is over).

Further Information

For further information, please contact Professor Giovanna Lerner (giovanna.lerner@fandm.edu).