King College is launching a summer study program in the Tuscan city of Montepulciano next May. The inaugural group of 35 students will enroll in courses offered in Italian culture and language, history, art, and literature for King College credit to fulfill core requirements, major requirements, or just to expand their knowledge. Montepulciano will be our base for three weeks and we’ll spend the final week in Rome.

Travel: May 5-6
We will travel as a group from the United States to Rome.

Montepulciano: May 6-May 25
Upon arrival in Rome, we will travel by chartered bus to Montepulciano.

King College is working directly with the city of Montepulciano whose leaders (including the mayor) and citizens have welcomed us with open arms. Unlike programs that shuttle students on and off buses at major tourist sites, we will become part of the fabric of local life in Montepulciano (population 12,000) by living in apartments scattered throughout the city and interacting with the locals at the market, restaurants (where they serve fantastic food), and shops. Montepulciano is located near Florence, the birthplace of the Renaissance, and classes will take advantage of visits to the Duomo (the cathedral of Florence with its amazing dome designed by Brunelleschi), Uffizi Gallery (Italy’s greatest museum of art), the Galleria dell’Accademia (home to Michelangelo’s “David”), and other famous sites.

Rome: May 26-June 1
We will return by chartered bus to Rome where students will have the opportunity to spend plenty of time exploring the sites—from the Sistine Chapel, Coliseum, and catacombs to St. Peter’s Basilica, the Roman Forum, Circus Maximus, and many other famous places. Classes will continue to take advantage of the museums and cultural attractions. Students will have the option of participating in a day trip to Pompeii and other sites south of Rome.

Travel: June 1
We will return to the United States as a group from Rome.

Course Offerings
With a student/faculty ratio of 9:1, students will receive the personal attention in Italy that King College prizes on its home campus. Four faculty members plan to offer the following courses that take advantage of the setting and resources of Central Italy:*

The following course is required of all participants:
Italian Language and Culture. This two-credit course will focus on Italian language for travelers, while introducing the culture and civilization of Italy, from the Middle Ages to the present. The course aims at enabling the student to grasp the fundamental structure of Italian grammar and the development of the more elementary forms of communication, so that they can converse in Italian. The student will be expected to write short sentences and take short dictations. Importance is given to reading of simple extracts from anthologies. Particular attention is given to conversation on topical subjects or matters of cultural interest.

Students may choose from the following:
Virgil's Italy: This two-credit course will introduce the student to the cultural background leading to the composition of the Aeneid. Literary sources, like Homer's Iliad and Odyssey, will be compared to Virgil's epic poem, taking into account the need felt at the time to proclaim the accomplishments of Augustus in achieving a period of peace, after the turmoil of the civil war. Italy before Virgil's times and afterwards is the microcosm of the profound changes in Western civilization, represented by the Aeneid. The location of the King program in Montepulciano will enhance the comprehension of the contribution of the Italics, especially the Etruscans, the powerful nation which dominated central Italy before the Romans. The city overlooks Lake Trasimeno, site of the battle between Hannibal's invading army and the Roman army of Consul Flaminius who perished in the battle won by Hannibal in 217 BC. Several historical and archeological locations are easily reached from Montepulciano, enabling students to have first hand experience of Virgil's formative years.

The Victorians and Italy: This two-credit course examines the allure that Italy had for British writers in the late nineteenth century. Many Victorians left England because of health concerns to live in Italy, where the country’s climate and relaxing pace promised a better life. This time in their lives often marked the height of their literary production. For John Ruskin, Italy represented the locus of the aesthetic shift that so profoundly affected his modern world. It is in Venice that the Renaissance ultimately defiled Gothic purity and led to the ugliness Ruskin saw dominating the nineteenth century. For Walter Pater, Italy instead represented the flowering of Renaissance humanism, a value Pater saw as sorely lacking in modern Britain. Where Italy became the site of religious refuge for a disillusioned Anglican, John Newman, it was the source of warmth, health, and sensuous inspiration for Robert Browning and his ailing wife, Elizabeth. Where the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood of English painters and poets adored the mystical qualities of Italy’s medieval past, E.M. Forster described Florence as the city where young English lovers could escape the social restrictions of late-Victorian morality. Indeed, for most Victorians, Italia was overflowing with the love, life, art, and inspiration being smothered in nineteenth-century England.

Modern Comparative History: Survey of Italian Military History: Italy has a long and, at times, illustrious military history. This class purposes to challenge students to critically examine Italian military history. Highlights will be discussions of the military during the Roman Republic and Imperial eras, concepts of “just war” in the writings of Augustine, military theory developed during the Renaissance, and the attempted resurgence of Italy to great power status during the twentieth century through the use of its military, including, but not limited to, a reliance upon new technology as exemplified by Douhet. (2 credit hours)

History of Art: This two-credit course will survey of the history of western art as these forms relate to previous and successive styles in sculpture, painting, and architecture from the Paleolithic age to the Renaissance. This course will rely extensively on visits to museums and cultural attractions in central Italy.

Program Cost
The program cost of $3,600 includes the following:

• Tuition
• Books
• Transportation and admission for all field trips
• Round-trip transatlantic airfare
• Apartment in Montepulciano
• Continental breakfast and dinner daily in Montepulciano
• Rome hotel
• Continental breakfast daily in Rome
• Rome metro pass

The program cost does not include:

• Passport
• Lunch in Montepulciano
• Lunch and dinner in Rome
• Optional visual art class work (mosaic making, painting)
• Optional excursions
• Expenses of a personal nature

Program deadlines are as follows:

• December 15: Application deadline (a non-refundable deposit of $100 due upon application)
• January 17: First half of program cost ($1,750) due
• March 14: Second half of program cost ($1,750) due

Payments should be made at the King College Business Office which accepts checks and credit cards.

For More Information
For more information, please contact:

Dr. Jeff Cole
jscole@king.edu
(423) 652-4836