Every summer, Spoleto Study Abroad brings students from around the world together to not only experience artistic, intellectual, and personal growth, but also to build lasting friendships. Your gift to our Loyalty Fund makes this possible.
Help SSA Students Beat the Heat This Summer!
Let’s be honest, gelato is a daily (if not hourly!) treat during our student programs. There’s no better way to beat the heat of an Italian summer. We love to “treat” our students and staff to this cooling delight. Would you be willing to support Spoleto Study Abroad’s 2023 Gelato Fund? This summer is bound to be another scorcher!
A Special Message from the Mutis in Italy
With Your Help, Spoleto Study Abroad's Annual Fund Hit A Major Milestone: $50,000! From all of us at Spoleto Study Abroad, THANK YOU for supporting our work!
We also welcomed students back to Spoleto this past summer for the first time since 2019! We offered two, 10-day fine arts intensives: Photography and Visual Art.
And we kicked off an entirely new student program... A Taste of Umbria! For 10 days, students explored Umbria's rich culinary heritage and met many of the Italians who cultivate this delicious food, everything from olive oil to truffles to chocolate.
LOOKING AHEAD TO SUMMER 2023
We’re offering three, 14-day fine arts intensives: Creative Writing, Photography, and Visual Art.
And we’re bringing back the 10-day Taste of Umbria program!
Perugina Chocolate Factory
Most people familiar with Italian food know that Umbria is famous for its meats, cheese, and truffles. But did you know it’s also famous for its chocolate?
Perugina is a chocolate company, now owned by Nestle, founded and operated in Umbria. The chocolate factory opened in 1907 in Perugia, less than an hour northwest of Spoleto, and has been producing fine Italian chocolates ever since. Its most popular product are Baci—kisses in Italian—chocolate-covered chocolate and hazelnut that are wrapped in a silver foil “love note.” Perugina made it to the U.S. in 1939, and opened a shop on New York City’s 5th Avenue.
In 2007, Perugina opened a chocolate-making school alongside its chocolate museum and factory, and the Perugina Baci celebrated its 100th anniversary this year!
Our Taste of Umbria students get the unique opportunity to not only visit Perugina, but also participate in a chocolate-making class alongside Peruvian’s master chocolatier (whose picture is on every Perugina chocolate bar!)
Join us June 16-25, 2023 for A Taste of Umbria and visit Perugina yourself! Did we mention there’s a chocolate tasting section in the museum where you can eat as much chocolate as you want?
Feast of San Gennaro
This weekend in Naples and New York, Italians and Italian-Americans (and tourists!) will celebrate the Feast of San Gennaro in honor of Saint Januarius, patron saint of Naples and Little Italy, New York.
Early depictions of Saint Januarius
Saint Januarius lived in the 3rd century and served as Bishop of Benevento, Italy. He was martyred by Emperor Diocletian during a period of severe persecution of Christians.
Benevento, Italy, where Saint Januarius served as Bishop
Today, the Feast of San Gennaro occurs on September 19 within the Catholic Church, and this weekend, Italian-Americans in New York City will begin a week-long celebration of this feast. Activities include cannoli, pizza, and meatball eating contests, Italian opera performances, and Catholic processions.
In Naples and surrounding towns, similar celebrations are held, though they last just one weekend.
25 Years in Pictures
We can’t believe Spoleto Study Abroad has been around for twenty-five years! That’s hundreds of students, dozens of faculty, and thousands of memories. Let’s look back on some of the past programs from 1998 to now…
1998 - 2009
2010 - 2022
Do you see yourself, or anyone you know? We can’t wait to show more students the unique beauty and rich culture of Spoleto and Umbria…for 25 years to come!
Festa dei Barbari
During this summer’s Taste of Umbria program, students had the opportunity to visit Lake Trasimeno for lunch. This gorgeous landscape of blue water enclosed by hills is the largest lake in Umbria, and the fourth largest lake in Italy.
Every August, one of the hill towns around Lake Trasimeno—Castel Rigone—holds the Festa dei Barbari, or the Festival of the Barbarians. This festival celebrates the founding of Castel Rigone in 543 AD, when Romans and Ostrogoths battled for control of the region and Ostrogoth Lieutenant Rigo established a base in what would become Castel Rigone.
The Festa dei Barbari involves a reenactment of the battle—on the town’s soccer field—between the Romans and Ostrogoths. Citizens of the small town dress up as one of the two sides, and the Romans always lose. After the “battle,” everyone gathers together for a massive feast of roasted meat and wine.
Say Cheese!
Today truly encapsulated the unique nature of Spoleto Study Abroad’s Taste of Umbria program. Students drove an hour south of Spoleto to the tiny village of Trivio, nestled high in the mountains on the edge of Umbria. Less than 100 people live in Trivio year round, and one of these people is a childhood friend of Andrea Muti, Taste of Umbria guide and nephew of SSA founders Jill and Lorenzo.
Andrea’s friend Domenico helps run his family’s agritourism business, called Dolci Giuseppina, named after Domenico’s mother. Students met Domenico’s mother, father, and sister, and heard about how they produce various organic grains and legumes, including spelt, chickpeas, farro, lentils, saffron, and even pecorino cheese.
Students spent the morning touring the farm, driving out through the fields, meeting the animals, and learning the importance of methodical, hand-grown and harvested organic products. Then it was time to make the cheese! Giuseppina demonstrated how to boil the fresh milk and introduce certain herbs to cause the milk to curdle into cheese. The students then had the chance to squeeze the curdled milk into cheese and place it in its pecorino forms.
Then came a gourmet lunch sampling of various Dolci Giuseppina products, including pecorino, fresh honey, spicy sausage, farro salad with lemon and mint, two types of lentil soup, and fresh panna cotta with sugar. After this delicious meal and some time to purchase Dolci Giuseppina products to take home, students headed back to Spoleto for siesta.
Before dinner, they shared their favorite photos from their time in Spoleto, and read aloud from their journals. Their insight into Italian vs. American culture and the uniqueness of this Taste of Umbria experience was highly impressive and moving.
Tomorrow is the last day, and we can’t believe how the time has flown!
Cool Beach Day
Today was beach day for our Taste of Umbria students, and even better than that, the weather at the beach was breezy and far cooler than in Spoleto. Unfortunately, some summer storms rolled in early in the afternoon, bringing much needed rain across the region but cutting our beach day short. Students got some time in the summer and the Adriatic Sea before the rain drove them inside for some yummy sandwiches and seafood pasta.
Back in Spoleto, the storms and cool weather continued, making it the perfect time for a cozy afternoon nap, calls home, and student bonding. After several days filled with things to do, this easy day was a welcome change of pace for our students. Plus, Spoleto has not gotten any rain for almost two months, and this drought is affecting several vital crops in this agriculturally rich region, such as tomatoes and olives.
Stringozzi, Cornetti, and Movie!
Apologies for the brief blog post, but our Taste of Umbria students have been out and about all day, and didn’t arrive back in the convent until past midnight…but it was worth it!
The morning began with sleeping in and breakfast out in Spoleto on their own, Then it was time for a pasta-making class with Nonna (grandmother), who runs the kitchen at the Hotel Clitunno where students eat the majority of their meals. She taught them how to make strangozzi, the specialty pasta from Spoleto, with a light tomato sauce. We all ate it for lunch, and it was delicious.
After strangozzi, it was down to New Spoleto to learn to make cornet (croissants) from a childhood friend of SSA staff member Andrea Muti (nephew to founders Jill and Lorenzo Muti). If the laughs and constant chatter were any indication, the students had a blast!
Following cornetti making was a brief siesta, dinner at the Hotel Clitunno, and then…a movie night! The modern art museum in Spoleto hosts an outdoor movie night, and the students watched an American film (with Italian subtitles) out under the stars. It was a long day, but we all agreed it was one of the best!
Hello, Siena!
Today, our Taste of Umbria students piled into a bus and rode two hours out of Umbria and into Tuscany, to Siena. Siena is a popular tourist destination in Tuscany, rivaled only by Florence an hour away. Unlike Spoleto, Siena was quite crowded with visitors from all over the world, so students spent the day observing multiple cultures interact in Italy. With a long main street lined with boutique shops, Siena had something for everyone.
After seeking out a lunch at one of the many hidden restaurants and cafes, students reconvened to tour Siena’s iconic Gothic duomo. “It’s so Gothic it’s emo!” said student Noam Haim.
Then it was back on the bus to Spoleto. The students agreed, after having lived for five days in Spoleto, that the town feels like home. While Siena was fun, it felt good to get home.
Searching Spoleto for Inspiration
Today, our Taste of Umbria students had the whole day in Spoleto, so they slept in before venturing to a local coffee shop, Tebro, for breakfast. Students enjoyed rosemary and ham pizzette, mini glazed fruit tarts, strawberry cornetti, and much more, while spending time observing the locals and working on their reflective, creative projects (with photography and writing).
Enjoying breakfast at Tebro
They then moved on down the hill, out of Old Spoleto and into New Spoleto. Though it was Sunday and the numerous boutiques along the route were closed, students found several they intend to return to on another day.
Then it was back up—via escalator, thankfully—to La Rocca and the aqueduct for some solo journaling and photographing time. Students submitted two photos each from the morning, and here are a few of their pictures:
Photo by Yoongi Meyers
Photo by Noam Haim
Photo by Erika Shiffman
After siesta, students met SSA founder Lorenzo Muti for a tour of some of Spoleto’s most historic locations, including the town hall, the Roman house, and the duomo. Mr. Muti shared the long history of Spoleto, beginning from pre-Roman times, and described the Romanesque, Gothic, and Renaissance styles that are prominent in the city’s architecture.
Future Chocolatiers?
On another sweltering day in Italy, the Taste of Umbria students got to spend their morning in the beautiful, air-conditioned chocolate school at Perugina, an Italian chocolate company located in Perugia that is famous for its “Baci” treats. To say this experience was memorable would be a massive understatement! Not only did students learn how chocolate is made from the very beginning of its process through the final result, but they were able to make chocolate truffles from scratch.
Perugina’s master chocolatier (who has worked for the company for over thirty years) led the students step-by-step through chopping dark chocolate, heating cream and melting the chocolate into a ganache, tempering melted chocolate—heating and cooling the chocolate to very precise temperatures in order to make it strong and shiny—and combing all these ingredients together into beautiful chocolate truffles. Each student left with 20 truffles of their own, a souvenir (chocolate-covered) apron, and lots of smiles.
Then it was off to Lake Trasimeno, the largest lake in Umbria, for lunch. Students sampled multiple appetizers and the torta al testo, a regional speciality sandwich (pictured below). Several plates of potato croquettes, caprese salad, arancini (fried rice balls), squid salad, and fried olives later, the students voted to split into two groups—one to return to Spoleto and enjoy a siesta, and another to journey to the hill town of Spello for a quick visit.
At dinner later in the day, they celebrated student Erika’s 17th birthday with tiramisu, pastries, and a singing of “Happy Birthday” in half Italian and half English.
High Temperatures Can't Stop Taste of Umbria Students
With temperatures reaching over 100 degrees Fahrenheit today in Spoleto, our Taste of Umbria students headed out early this morning, before it got too hot, to experience an inside look into two family-owned businesses in the region.
First came book making at Paoluzi, an art store run by Leonardo, who has been hand-making journals for over 40 years using a centuries old technique. Students watched him craft a whole journal in just an hour, as Leonardo explained the different materials and techniques required for this skill (translated by his son, to whom Leonardo has passed down his knowledge).
After a quick (but delicious) coffee break, students headed to nearby Trevi to tour Marfuga, an olive oil company whose extra virgin oil has won dozens and dozens of awards, including first place in the world’s first and only international olive oil competition (Armonia). Students met the owner Francesco Gradassi, who took over Marfuga from his father Ettore, and heard how extra virign olive oil is made.
Then came a tasting of three different olive oils, following by a lunch of various small plates containing olive oil, including: bruschetta with sun-dried tomatoes, olives, or truffle and mushroom; farro salad with arugula; crostini; and two types of tarts for dessert. The students braved the sweltering heat for just ten minutes to wander amongst the olive groves and take stunning pictures of the Spoleto valley.
After a well-earned siesta filled with gelato and naps, students reassembled to plan their creative writing and photography components of this program. After dinner, they finished the day with a stroll around La Rocca castle.
Taste of Umbria Students Arrive in Italy
Though we were sad to say goodbye to our incredibly talented intensive students, that means it’s time for the Taste of Umbria program!
Students began arriving in Italy today, and after everyone made it to Rome (all checked bags successfully in tow!), they boarded a van and began the picturesque drive from Rome to Spoleto. Upon arrival, they were given time to explore the convent where they’ll be living before meeting in the courtyard for orientation.
Taste of Umbria students have orientation with SSA staff, including founder Jill Muti
After orientation, there was time for a quick tour of the main piazzas in Old Spoleto before heading to the iconic duomo to see it at sunset (the best time). Then they were off to dinner at the Hotel Clitunno to enjoy gnocchi in pomodoro sauce, beef and potato stew, and fresh peaches.
Students enjoy a quick tour of Spoleto from Andrea Muti
And of course, what day in Spoleto would be complete without gelato? It was off to Crispini Gelato after dinner, a gelateria that specializes in award-winning pistachio (“pistaccio”) gelato. You would hardly believe our students have been traveling nonstop for almost a whole day; their energy and excitement was radiating throughout the drive to Spoleto and our evening meal. We can’t wait to get the program into full swing tomorrow!
Students get their first glimpse of Spoleto’s iconic duomo