Italy: Rock & Stone

Location: Sottochiesa, IT

Season: July 1, 2018 to July 28, 2018

Application Deadline: April 20, 2018

Deadline Type: Rolling

Website: http://ifrglobal.org/program/italy-rock-stone/

Program Type:
Field school

RPA Certified:
no

Affiliation:
Institute for Field Research, Connecticut College, Simon Fraser University, Politecnico di Milano

Project Director:
Dr. Alexandru Balasescu, Dr. Anna Santi

Project Description:

“Rock and Stone: Cultures of Making in Northern Italy” is a multidisciplinary field course, located in the alpine ecosystem of the Val Taleggio. The field school is aimed at emphasizing the resilient nature-culture continuumthrough an approach that combines methods of anthropological fieldwork and architectural investigation. Through conversations with professional and local specialists, practical activities, local arts and crafts, theory and design, students will explore the ecology and the local resources in order to develop a new design methodology based on the relationship between nature and culture.

This 4 weeks course will analyze the landscape and its geological formations, the natural and socio-cultural environment, as well as the architectural design of the region. Participants will observe and study how locally available resources can become a source of inspiration for sustainable practices. The program includes trips to small villages, significant heritage sites including the world famous San Pellegrino Terme and Bergamo. It also offers treks in the natural environment, through historical paths along streams, rivers, and canyons visiting medieval settlements. Students will live in a cozy residence in Sottochiesa a charming village, north of Bergamo. The final project proposes to identify cultural uses of local resources, specifically of rocks and stones, in the processes of creation, construction and transformation of the local environment. The observation and documentation of territorial adaptation and spatial configuration will extend insights to the larger contemporary socio-economic and cultural context of the region.

Period(s) of Occupation: Contemporary

Project Size: 1-24 participants

Minimum Length of Stay for Volunteers: Participants are required to stay for the full duration of the field school.

Minimum Age: 18

Experience Required: No prior experience is required to participate in this field school.

Room and Board Arrangements:
Students will live in a residence in Sottochiesa, a charming village, 15 minutes away from the world famous San Pellegrino Terme. One or two-bedroom apartment with double or triple occupancy rooms will be offered to the students. Each apartment will have a kitchen and bathroom to be shared among the occupants. Shared working studio areas and open-air studio spaces will be provided. Students are expected to consider the studio as the base of their research on site and to spend most of their time outdoors. Indoor large spaces and/or tools studios are limited but available for communal activities. Large, Italian style lunch will be provided daily in the field or at the residence, depending on the activity. Students are responsible for their own breakfast and dinner, and their own food on weekends (apartments have kitchens). Once a week, the Project Director and the entire team will eat dinner together at a local restaurant. Wi-Fi: Free wifi is provided in the shared studio space for work purposes (due to the remote location the connection has limited capacity for long Skype calls or movie streaming). Class activities will be structured accordingly. There is no wifi in the individual apartments. Cost: Room and partial board is included in the cost of the program.

Academic Credit:
8 Semester Credits credits offered by Connecticut College. Tuition is $4,600.