The City of Rome

Historically, Rome has few peers. Nowhere else are so many centuries blended together, used and re-used. In much of modern Rome you can visually trace over a thousand years of Western historical development. The Church of San Clemente, for example, is comprised of ancient Roman houses and a sanctuary to the god Mithra, an early Christian church, and a medieval edifice. Like the Forum, the Colosseum, and the Arch of Constantine, San Clemente is situated right in the middle of Rome surrounded by the markets, street life, sounds and smells of contemporary living.

As Italy’s capital city, Rome has a cultural and intellectual life that is unsurpassed. Home to the headquarters of UN agencies and the scholarly academies of many nations, Rome continues to be—as it has been since before Caesar—a crossroads for cultural, economic, political and social exchange between Europe and Africa, the eastern Mediterranean and beyond. But above all, Rome, the mother of cities, is a preeminently livable city. It is simultaneously a cosmopolitan metropolis with all the attractions and amenities of a major European capital, and a provincial city with a distinctively human pace. The traffic jams, crowded buses, and frenetic tempo at rush hour seem to contest this.

But Rome is a city of distinct neighborhoods each with its own particular waiting to be explored, such as Trastevere, Gianicolo, Flaminio, and Trionfale. And unlike other Italian cities where you might feel overwhelmed by crowds of tourists confined to narrow streets and small city centers, Rome is a large city where you can always find a quiet street or peaceful park to collect your thoughts. Romans are tolerant; if you wish, they will allow you to go your way undisturbed. But they are also uncommonly helpful and full of advice. And they love to talk, eat, and take the passeggiata—the obligatory evening-stroll down the Corso—and share their views on life. It’s a constant source of wonder that here, in this major international city, it is almost impossible not to feel at home.

Temple University Rome

Established in 1966, Temple University Rome offers a semester program of full-time study designed primarily for third-year undergraduate students. The program is comprised of four academic components, of which one is open to Penn students: Liberal Arts and Italian Studies, which offer students the opportunity to choose a range of courses focusing on Italy through the ages. Courses are taught by Temple University faculty from the university’s main campus in Philadelphia, as well as faculty from Italy and other European countries. At least 50 percent of the program participants are enrolled full-time at Temple University.

The Temple Rome campus is located in the Villa Caproni, a handsome building facing the Tiber River in the heart of Rome. Just north of Piazza del Popolo and within walking distance of the lively Spanish Steps and the beautiful Borghese Gardens, the Villa Caproni is convenient to living accommodations, shops, and restaurants. Its facilities include academic classrooms, a 15,000-volume library, one of the largest English-language libraries in Rome, extensive professional visual art and architecture studios, an art gallery, student lounges, and administrative offices. The studios are fully equipped for printmaking, sculpture, photography, and architecture, and contain areas assigned to students for use throughout the term.

Program website: http://www.temple.edu/studyabroad/programs/semester_year/italy/

The Academic Program

Liberal Arts and Italian Studies: Courses make the most of the splendid historical and cultural resources of Italy, with particular emphasis on Rome. Courses in anthropology, art history, classics, film, history, Italian language, literature, political science and sociology are offered. Field trips to historic sites in and around Rome are frequent and supplemented by longer trips to Florence, Ravenna, Venice, Siena, Pompeii, Naples, and other cities. In-class work is designed to enhance students' understanding of their unique surroundings and enable them to benefit optimally from their Italian experience.

Course offerings vary annually depending upon the faculty members teaching at Temple Rome. A final course list and schedule is sent to participating students following program acceptance. Except for courses in Italian language and literature, all instruction is in English. Previous courses have included Popular Culture in Modern Italy, Late Antique/Byzantine Art, Classical Culture: Projecting the Past, Classical Mythology, Rome and Italy from the Renaissance to the Present, Contemporary Politics of Europe, and A Sociological Examination of Postwar Italy.

Organized field trips are conducted by Temple Rome faculty and are an integral component of many courses, particularly in Art History, Classics, and History. They range from half-day excursions to churches, museums, and historic sites in and around Rome, to day trips to the hill towns of Orvieto and Assisi, to three-day field trips to such cities as Venice, Florence, Milan, and Pompeii. Non-course related optional excursions involving travel and/or accommodations carry a fee to cover these costs, payable by the participants.

Penn Students at Temple Rome

This program is not intended for students majoring in Italian. While applicants to Temple Rome from universities other than Penn are not required to have previous background in Italian language, it is a rule for Penn students that they must have studied Italian up to the required level prior to applying to study in Italy. Penn students who wish to continue to study Italian language upon their return from abroad must be evaluated by the Italian Language Program director to be placed at the appropriate level.

Students looking to receive Penn credit for their Temple Rome Italian language course will be required to either complete a special project or take and pass an Italian language exam upon return to Penn before credit for the class will be granted. Additionally, Penn students cannot take Italian literature courses at Temple University Rome for credit at Penn. All advance approval for art history and visual arts credit will be given on a provisional basis only. Students must bring back the work they did for such classes for review by the department. It is especially important for students planning to take visual arts classes to speak with the Department of Fine Arts in advance. Credit will not be granted if no work is presented.

Course Load

The required course load for the Temple Rome program is four or five courses per semester (14-16 credit hours per semester). Participants must maintain a full course load for their period of study abroad. Final registration for courses will take place prior to arrival in Rome.

Grading

Grades for Temple Rome courses are awarded using an A-F grading scale. Students must request that the final transcript be sent to Penn Abroad. As on all Penn Abroad programs, grades are recorded on the Penn transcript and are calculated in the cumulative grade point average. The pass/fail option can be exercised according to the Penn on-campus policy.

Academic Calendar

Fall semester: early September – mid-December

Spring semester: mid-January – late April

Living Arrangements

Participants must be willing to live under local conditions for students. Many amenities to which students become accustomed at Penn may not be available during the period of study abroad. Housing in Rome is provided in an apartment residence, an easy 30 to 40 minute walk or short bus or metro ride from the Villa Caproni. It is 10 minutes from the Vatican Museum, five minutes from one of the major markets in Rome, 20 minutes from the main railroad terminal and the Colosseum, and an hour from Mediterranean beaches and Etruscan ruins. The apartments, each with living area and separate bedroom, accommodate three students. The kitchen is equipped with basic cooking utensils so that students can shop for groceries and prepare their own meals. Cleaning is provided daily, linens weekly, at no extra cost. A limited number of homestays with Italian families are available for students interested in complete linguistic and cultural immersion.

Internships

Temple University Rome offers a limited number of unpaid internships with Italian and multinational companies and non-profit organizations in Rome. A student typically continues regular coursework while registered for an internship. The internship comprises three of the 12 to 17 credit hours for which students typically register. Students should verify with their home colleges that they will receive academic credit for internships. Companies participating in the Temple Rome internship program include: World Food Program, International Juridical Organization for Environment and Development, International Development Law Organization, Foresti-Home Collection Group, and English Yellow Pages.

Cultural Activities & Field Trips

The extensive program of cultural activities at Temple Rome is designed to enhance the academic program and enrich students’ social and cultural lives while in Rome. These events extend the learning environment beyond the classroom and studio, expose students to aspects of the city of Rome and Italian life they might not ordinarily encounter, and encourage students to take an active role in learning about the culture in which they are living.

Activities range from organized discussions on contemporary issues in Italy to a film series that introduces students to films by Italian filmmakers like Wertmuller, Bertolucci, and Fellini, as well as contemporary younger Italian directors. The Art and Culture in Italy series invites political figures, writers, philosophers, and faculty from Italian universities to discuss a wide range of contemporary issues as seen from an Italian perspective. Lecture series devoted to architecture and archaeology further broaden students’ approaches to their coursework, and to Rome.

The Temple Rome Gallery sponsors exhibitions of Italian and American artists working in Italy and other European countries; student and faculty shows; and topical displays, such as an exhibition of works by architecture students from the national academies in Rome. These events are frequented by the Italian public and have been so successful that Temple Rome has become an important cultural center in the city.

Temple Rome also arranges optional outings each semester. Organized groups travel beyond the city limits to explore locations such as Tivoli, Cassia, and the Alban Hills. Local events may include the Aurealian “Wall Walk” around the city, an evening at the theater, and a soccer match at the Rome stadium.