June 28-July 28, 2012
This month-long program offers 6 credits (3 studio credits in general fine arts and 3 credits in art history). The program is open to undergraduate and graduate students (rising sophomores to second-year graduate students), and to lifelong learners at least 18 years of age who have completed at least one year of college study. All students must have a current, valid passport for travel and a current, valid visa for study in Italy for the program's duration. This program is in partnership with Studio Art Centers International (SACI) Florence.
The program offers a unique opportunity to follow the processes of excavation to conservation of archaeological artifacts. Beginning with an orientation in Florence, students will work with distinguished faculty. As students move to archaeological site of Cetamura in the Chianti Mountains of Tuscany, they will learn about the discovery of artifacts and how these items are recorded and restored in the conservation lab. Situated between Florence and Siena, Cetamura has an ample history. Discoveries in Cetamura have unearthed an Etruscan sanctuary and artisans' quarter, Roman baths, and a medieval fortified village with various artifacts in stone, terracotta, ceramics, metal, and glass. An art history seminar in Etruscan art and civilization puts these excavations into context.
In addition to field work and art history seminar, students participate in field trips to relevant sites and museums. During time spent in Florence at the beginning of the program, students will receive an introduction to archaeological conservation while also visiting museums and sites that will enrich the students' knowledge of the cultures under excavation at Cetamura. Students will also experience an overnight trip to visit Etruscan tombs and museums at Orvieto, Tarquinia, and Cerveteri, and to the abbey of Badia a Coltibuono in Gaiole in Chianti. In Cetamura, students will work on site in the mornings as well as certain afternoons and will then restore objects in a local laboratory.
Students live in the town of Radda in Chianti in double- or triple-occupancy rooms with private baths. Bed linens and towels are provided. While in Florence, students stay in double-occupancy hotel accommodations. Most meals are included in the program cost with the exception of meals taken on days off.
PROGRAM FEES
Airfare is not included in the program fees. Program fees include all accommodations, all ground transportation within Italy, and most meals.
- $7,000 includes tuition for 6 undergraduate credits in general fine arts (3 credits) and art history (3 credits)
Graduate credit is available to qualified students with the approval of the Program Coordinator at an additional cost of $50 per credit. A limited number of merit and need-based scholarships are available. To inquire about scholarships or to request a detailed itinerary or more information on this and other MICA programs, contact the MICA Summer Travel Intensives program at summertravel@mica.edu or by phone: 410.225.2219.
FACULTY
Joseph Basile, PhD., program coordinator and faculty, is Professor of Classical Art History and Chair of Art History at MICA. He has a BA in Archaeological Studies from Boston University and an AM and PhD in Old World Archaeology and Art from Brown University. Professor Basile has excavated at sites in the United States, Greece, and Italy, and most recently has been Associate Director of the Brown University excavations at the Great Temple in Petra, Jordan. His research focuses on peripheral art in classical antiquity, Greek vase painting, and the history of archaeology. He has published articles in Near Eastern Archaeology, Bulletin Jordan, Petra Great Temple Reports, Archaeology Odyssey, Archaeologia Transatlantica, Classical World, Oxford Companion to Archaeology, Archaeological Method and Theory: An Encyclopedia, Forays, Calliope, Revue des archéologues et historiens d'art de Louvain, and Brown Classical Journal. He is currently working on Warriors in Stone, a book on commemorative warrior statuary in the Iron Age Mediterranean, for Cambria Press.
Nancy de Grummond, PhD., faculty, is one of the world's leading authorities on Etruscan civilization and art history. Dr. de Grummond is an archaeologist and art historian who teaches in the Department of Classics at Florida State University. Beginning in 1983, Professor de Grummond has led students in archaeological studies at Cetamura. Of particular interest to de Grummond are Etruscan mirrors. Created prior to the invention of glass, the mirrors are created out of bronze with and highly decorated with scenes from mythology or daily life. She has written about these special artifacts in A Guide to Etruscan Mirrors. In addition to this book, she has written about Etruscan religion and mythology in The Religion of the Etruscans and Etruscan Mythology, Sacred History, and Legend.
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