Liberal Arts students travel to Todi, Italy, on faculty-led study abroad program

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – This summer, 15 students from the Penn State College of the Liberal Arts traveled to Todi, Italy, as part of the “Italian Language, Art History, and Culture” faculty-led course, which allowed them to immerse themselves in a new culture while gaining real-world experience.

The program, led by Giuseppe Bruno-Chomin, assistant teaching professor of Italian, gave students a full Italian language immersion and the opportunity to explore the picturesque hilltop Umbrian town of Todi. The students also had the opportunity to visit other Italian towns and cities such as Siena, Assisi, Perugia, Orvieto, Urbino, Pienza, Florence, Naples, and Rome.

“In Todi, learning goes beyond the four walls of the classroom,” Bruno-Chomin said. “During the six-week program, students are fully immersed in Italian life. They live with local families, take classes in an historic building, and essentially become members of the Todi community.”

Carson Dyck, a third-year student majoring in global and international studies and a current forward on the Penn State men’s hockey team, described the trip as “a good time, with even better people.”

“It was crazy to think that some of the buildings in Italy were made so many years ago and yet still stand today. People from all over the world come to visit these sites of art and culture, and yet Italian people live here day to day,” Dyck said. “I’m grateful for this opportunity to travel to Europe. Not only was it a bucket list item, but I learned so much about each city I visited, both contemporarily and historically.”

The most exciting part of the trip, the Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada, native said, was experiencing it with other Penn State students he now considers very close friends.

“There were about 15 of us on the trip, and by the end it felt like family,” Dyck said. “It was surreal. We visited places like the Piazza del Popolo and the Duomo di Firenze, and you look to your right and everyone else is just as amazed as you are. Seeing monuments and historical sites in real life was so satisfying after working hard and studying them back in State College.”

Bruno-Chomin brought students together five times each week for classes in Italian language and culture, coupled with visits to important cultural sites. Dyck found the faculty-led aspect of the trip “phenomenal,” as continuous information about Italy and its culture was available via Bruno-Chomin during their visits to the various sites.

Other activities on the trip included visiting art museums, touring the Etruscan medieval sites, looking at Gothic and Renaissance architecture, trying local cuisines at Italian cafes, and many trips to gelato shops — a common student favorite.

Felicia (FiFi) Rotondo, a fourth-year student majoring in psychology, said that seeing all the aesthetic beauty while exploring sites throughout Italy was “like a sweet dream come true.”

“Italy has changed me, it has filled my heart with love once again,” Rotondo said. “Before setting out on this trip, I was grieving the loss of my father. After experiencing the beauty that is Italy, my heart is full of love and gratitude.”

In Perugia, Rotondo stumbled across a tattoo artist who helped her commemorate this monumental study abroad journey. Her tattoo, “Dolce far niente,” means “the sweetness of doing nothing” in Italian.

“While roaming through Italy, I learned the important lesson of slowing down to be completely present in the moment,” she said. “I think American culture is so used to the hustle and bustle that we forget to simply enjoy the little things.”

Visiting the Vatican on her birthday, Rotondo found its magnificence “indescribably breathtaking.”

“My favorite imagery was a statue of the Roman goddess Juno Sospita, located in the Room of the Rotonda (the Round Room),” she said. “The large marble statue caught my attention, as Juno was a strong, confident warrior.”

Her favorite location from the trip abroad was Naples (Napoli in Italian), as it reminded her of her own hometown, Philadelphia.

“I left half of my heart in Todi,” Rotondo said.

Students interested in the Todi, Italy, program can learn more about the application process and requirements through the Liberal Arts Career Enrichment Network, a resource for Liberal Arts students seeking career-related, international and professional development activities.

“It was truly rewarding to see the students enthusiastically embrace Italian culture, develop cross-cultural competence, and comfortably use their language skills,” Bruno-Chomin said.

This is one in a series of 10 stories about College of the Liberal Arts faculty-led course trips that took place this summer. Summer 2024 programs will be posted before the end of the fall 2023 semester. Read additional stories and learn more.