Application Deadline Extended to March 15, 2008!
Overview
The Italy Field School provides a unique opportunity to interact with the stone building culture of Italy's Ossola Valley. With the guidance of regional scholars, students explore medieval villages learning the history, culture and unusual stone architecture of the region. Course work also focuses on documenting and analyzing important structures and participating in a hands-on building project. Each year the Italy Field School attracts a range of participants: from practicing cultural resource professionals to graduate and undergraduate students. The Field School in Oira adds an exiting international element to the UO's Historic Preservation Program and Pacific Northwest Field Schools.
Contents
- News
- Site Information: Oira and the Ossola Valley
- Course Description
- Field School Instructors
- Join Us! - Application Information
- Health Information for Travelers
Site Information: Oira, Canova and the Ossola Valley
Oira is a small village of about 200 people located one hour northwest of Milan by train. Nestled between the steep slopes of the towering alps, Oira lies at the north end of the narrow Ossola valley as it winds its way toward Switzerland and the Simplone Pass. Through its relative isolation, the Ossola valley has held the secret of its striking natural beauty and amazing stone hamlets for many years. The valley has a long history of granite quarrying and milling and has many intact stone villages, a number of which stand as they did in the 15th and 16th centuries.
Course Descriptions
The program is designed to immerse the students in the history and culture of the Ossola Valley. The curriculum combines tours, analysis and field work to explore the built environment and basic preservation techniques as they apply to the stone structures of the Ossola Valley.
Reading Cultural Landscapes
Instructor: Kingston Heath
The instructor will guide the students through the fascinating history of the built environment of the region. Italian scholars and guides will take the students from the beginnings of the stone building culture 3000 years ago through the medieval and later periods. This course will focus on interpreting traditional building techniques, regional living patterns, and the material folk culture of the Ossola Valley as they manifest themselves, collectively, in the built environment.
Preservation Field School: Theory and Practice
Instructor: Ken Marquardt, Paolo Mafrici (stone mason)
The field school course consists of a hands-on construction project, either restoring a historic structure or building a structure using the traditional vocabulary. The coordinator of the course, Ken Marquardt, has been rebuilding stone structures in the Ossola Valley for many years. Students will be working alongside a master Italian stone mason. (3 credits)
Field Recording Methods and Analysis
Instructor: Thomas Hubka
The course will explore field recording practices from analytical sketching to measured documentation. The instructor will give demonstrations and examples of methods of understanding and recording place through drawing. The emphasis of the course will be to foster graphic literacy in producing and reading visual information. The course will focus on the analysis of a particular village or regional building form through graphic place recording and visual note taking. The instructor will lead periodic discussions and assist students with an individual field work/research project. (3 credits)
Mid session break July 4 through 7, 2008 During the four day break, students will be encouraged to visit important sites of the area according to their interests. Some off-site exploration might include: the Renaissance island palace of Isola Bella in Stresa, the high alpine park of Val Grande, the distinct architecture of the Italian Alps, or many sites of Milan, including Leonardo da Vinci's work and the Duomo.
Program fees of approximately $4200 will include all course activities, housing for the period beginning June 23 and ending July 18 2008; all meals during scheduled days (except for days off), and tour transportation. Students will be responsible for air and ground transportation to and from Oira and expenses away from the program.
Program Facilities
The program is centered in a hamlet of approximately twenty houses known as Canova. Much of this part of Oira has been renovated, and, as a result, has become an international center for painting and cooking schools, musicians, dancers, and architects. Students will be housed in ancient stone dwellings which have been modernized with kitchens and plumbing. These buildings also include classrooms and meeting spaces, common dining areas, gallery spaces, dance and performance spaces, and laundry facilities.
Schedule
The student sessions of the field school will take place from June 23 (student arrival) through July 18, 2008 (departure). Programmed activities are from June 24 through July 18, 2008. (Most U.S. flights depart the one day prior to the arrival date)
Four day break July 4 through July 7
Instructors
Kingston Heath, Director of the University of Oregon's Historic Preservation Program is a Member of the Board of Directors of the Vernacular Architecture Forum and author of The Patina of Place: The Cultural Weathering of a New England Industrial Landscape, which won three national awards. He is the director of the Italy Field School, Oira.
Thomas Hubka is Professor of Architecture and an award winning vernacular architecture scholar from the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee. He is a visiting Distinguished Professor at the University of Oregon in 2008. He specializes in graphic literacy, field analysis, and place interpretation.
Ken Marquardt is President of the Canova Association and has overseen the renovation of numerous stone buildings in the Ossola Valley, including most of the buildings in Canova. He and his wife Kali have established Canova as a center for cultural activities, including painting schools and dance workshops. Mr. Marquardt is the coordinator of the field activities.
Paolo Volorio is architect and instructor at the Milan Polytechnic University. He has published numerous writings on the architecture of the Ossola Valley and has overseen the renovation of important structures such as the Villa Silva, which served as a regional historical museum in Domodossola, Italy. Mr. Volorio will lecture and give tours of the architecture of the area.
Paolo Mafricci is a master stone mason and builder. Paolo began his training as a young boy and has established himself in the area as a master of the Piedmont regional style of stonework. He has also proven to be an excellent teacher.
Monica Mezzei is a specialist in the painting and preservation of frescos. Ms. Mezzei was trained at the School of Ornamental Art in Rome and will give a day-long workshop on fresco technique as well as a tour of frescos in the Ossola Valley.
Program Cost for Students:
Program fees will include all course activities; housing for the period beginning June 23 and ending July 18 2008, all meals during scheduled days (except for days off), and tour transportation. Students will be responsible for air and ground transportation to and from Oira and expenses away from the program. Program cost for the full session will be approximately $4200.
Application Information:
Application Deadline: February 15, 2008.
Participants can earn graduate or undergraduate level credits from the University of Oregon. Historic Preservation Program students may use these credits to fulfill the practicum requirement, upon approval by the Director. For further information and application materials contact:
Kingston Heath
Historic Preservation Program
School of Architecture & Allied Arts
5233 University of Oregon
Eugene, OR 97403-5233
PH: 541-346-2115
FAX: 541-346-3626
EMAIL:
kwheath@uoregon.edu
Getting to Oira
Oira is a ten minute drive from Domodossola, which is a main stop on the train line connecting Milan to Switzerland and other destinations north. From Milan, it's an hour and a half from Milano Centrale train station (one hour from Malpensa via reserved autobus). Once in Domodossola, students may take a bus to Oira, or be picked up by one of the school's vehicles at scheduled times.
Included below are links to route maps and directions for getting from Malpensa and Linate Airports and from Milano Centrale train station to Domodossola train station and the field school.
Italian Government Tourist Board - North America
ENIT Italian State Tourist Board
Italian Embassy Tips For Travelers
US State Department Consular Information Sheet On Italy
Health Information for Travelers
Center for Disease Control and Prevention - Travelers' Health
US State Department Health Information For Americans Traveling Abroad
