Study Abroad:Gardens and Landscapes of Italy

Every Wednesday at 3:55 the Cook Douglass Lecture Hall hosts presentations organized by the Rutgers Landscape Architecture program. Most of the time these lectures are presented by renowned advocates of our discipline or other professionals related to other aspects of the industry.

Today 8 students, Mike, Sarah, Rebecca, Jenna, Zeina, Ty, and myself presented our Italy Study Abroad presentations. Of course the trip was a wonderful experience with many sights and views. Our instructor during the trip, Ari Novy, was a valuable resource filled with knowledge about the Tuscan landscape and Italian culture. During the second half of our trip, Carla Tiberi, joined our group and shared her knowledge of Italy and its history.

The presentations started with a quick overview of each of our 25 days in Italy. The beautiful Medici gardens, the Etruscan and Roman ruins, and historic urban layouts were displayed wonderfully through each slide, teasing the imagination of viewers to want to see more and hopefully encouraging them to consider a study abroad trip.

Following the slides each of us presented our research topics while on the trip.
I started with my topic, Sustainability in the Italian Landscape, and discussed the meaning of sustainability and gave examples found in the country. Mike gave an overview of some of the many Cathedrals, their architecture, and designers. Sarah gave a great talk about Garden Restoration and left those in the audience with questions about deciding how to fully restore a garden that has been changed through the years and where our role as landscape architects is located when it comes to altering a historic design to advocate for new concepts such as sustainability. Rebecca presented us with a couple of Medici Gardens and talked about their history. Jenna took us through the evolution of Torino, from its Roman Origins to its Contemporary Realities. Zeina discussed Torino as a Winter Olympic City in 2006 and why it was chosen. Ty concluded the presentations with his talk on the Lunnetes drawn for the Medici’s by Glusto Utens.

Hopefully today’s presentations left the audience wanting more and encourages some to travel to Italy or encourages students to sign up for any other study abroad trip. Good job to all the presentors today.