News - April 11, 2008

SU Florence students combine forces for anti-Mafia initiative

SU Florence students at work in one of the farm fields confiscated from the Mafia in Corleone, Fall 2007

Students from the classes Medieval Architecture, Pre-Architecture, and Italy since 1870 join forces with the SUF volunteer program ‘Seeds of Legality’ and set off for Corleone, Italy to give solidarity—and muscle—to the anti-Mafia initiative.

On April 11 forty-two students, accompanied by professors Alick McLean and Natalia Piombino, will depart for Corleone for three days. The unusual itinerary—physical labor on farm fields confiscated from the Mafia, combined with spectacular side trips to Erice, Segesta, and Monreale—have contributed to make this optional semester trip grow in popularity, to the point that it is filled to capacity. One of the many highlights of this long weekend will be a visit to the memorial site Portella della Ginestra, where students will hear first-hand accounts by survivors of the Mayday celebration massacre in 1947, when twelve farmers and their family members were killed, and many more injured, by the Mafia.

Says Piombino, "Both Prof. Alick McLean and myself are very glad that this trip has earned such popularity and that so many students are willing to take on the challenge of joining a rather unusual field trip. I hope that this mix of the ‘artistic and civic’ will help students to form a less stereotypical view of the south of Italy.”

SUF Director Barbara Deimling will also travel with the group, taking time to meet with the mayor of Corleone, Nino Iannazzo, and Giulio Salivotti, Town Councilor for Youth Policies in Biella, Italy and President of the association ITER. Salivotti specifically requested a meeting with Deimling, as he is interested in establishing a joint venture between Italian youth and SU Florence students.

Says Deimling, "Traveling to Corleone, in the south of Italy, to discuss with a politician from Biella, in the north of Italy the possibility of a collaborative effort with Italian youth—this for me is very indicative of the direction the SU Florence campus is taking, building steadily on long-standing relations with the Florentine community towards nation-wide engagement."

Bringing it all together: SUF internships

Stephanie Holtz, SU, models a leather handbag during the fashion show organized by SUF interns Maggie Blouch and Caroline Clark, Bucknell University; intern Simona Capisani, SU, gives a guided tour of the Museo dell’Opera del Duomo.

SU Florence interns take on the challenge of bringing together academics and personal passion, all in a foreign setting. In fact, student interns represent a significant source of talent for the SU Florence campus.

This semester saw a record-setting 48 students sign up for internships, in the most varied of fields. Di tutto un pò, as they say in Italian—the SUF Internship Program offers opportunities in a little bit of everything, from researching and cataloguing historical art, to marketing for an artisan’s leather shop through a fashion show, to working in the SUF Art Gallery and the School of Architecture, to giving guided tours of various museums in Florence, to writing for Florentine ezines, to working in Italian elementary schools teaching architectural ideas and guiding students as they make models of historically significant sites. These are just some of the many possibilities open to SUF students.

Says Simona Capisani of her experience giving tours at the Museo dell’Opera del Duomo, “The intern experience is where everything came together for me—I found myself naturally drawing on things I learned from all of the various classes I am taking. For example, when I was with a group of tourists in front of artwork by Michelangelo I found myself naturally sharing information about the poetry he wrote, which I learned about in my Michelangelo class—and they were totally captivated. They had no idea he also wrote poetry, and said they felt fortunate to have a tour guide who shared their academic experience with them. The groups were so enthusiastic and full of questions, the museum literally had to push us out the door at closing time on numerous occasions.”

One goal of SUF interns is to gain intercultural work experience and thus not only see new things—but to see them differently through engagement with the host community. Caroline Clark and Maggie Blouch, both from Bucknell University, interned at the leather shop Infinity Firenze. Clark says “Throughout our time at Infinity, we were able to see a true artist at work, at one of the few remaining artisan leather workshops in Florence featuring only one-of-a-kind, handmade pieces.” Blouch adds, “My internship with Infinity was an ideal experience that used my fresh creativity and young personality to explore and cherish the leather-making Florentine tradition. Enio, owner and master craftsman, taught us a lot about the importance of upholding honesty, respect, purity, and self-convictions in a business world that is often crowded with ethical dilemmas, greed, and commercialism. I think that is something that not every intern finds with typical undergraduate opportunities, but something I've seen more and more of in Florence. It was an experience I will take with me forever; a great blend of lessons to remember my semester in Italy.”