Pieve International School

International Leadership Certificate Program

Prof. Kristine Hipp
presented by the Faculty of the Cardinal Stritch University Leadership Center; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, US

ITALY-CHINA BOTTEGA CULTURITALY 2010

Experience the real Italian culture with a local artist in a prestigious villa in central Italy. Itinerary for 6 days, cultural tour in Central Italy. If you are interested in Italian culture, history, art, music, cuisine, wine and beautiful nature, we have this special cultural tour for you to experience all this with an Italian family. The Umbrian region is located south of Florence and north of Rome, and it’s called the ‘Green heart of Italy’. The villa is in the countryside between the medieval town of Corciano and the Trasimeno Lake.

What are the Bottegas?

Bottega is a term used during the Renaissance and that is still used to describe a workshop. To give a historical frame of reference, the manner by which the great Master Leonardo Da Vinci acquired his skills as a young artist was working at the Bottega of Verrocchio, learning by doing.

The Pieve Bottegas :

Villa Pieve’s facilities include various work spaces and classrooms ideally suited to this notion of the Bottega.  These range from updated technological classrooms to centuries old vaulted rooms that recall the original Bottegas.  The criteria defining this notion of a 21^st Century Bottega is the  recreation of that apprenticeship environment which includes personal contact with the Master/Professor and the direct participation of the student in the creative process that defines the field of study.

What does it mean?

In the Renaissance Bottega the Master was “paired” with his students as they were working together in a project. All of the discoveries and ideas were produced in the Bottega in a cooperative manner -  learning by doing in this process generating collective knowledge.

This way the Bottega in itself is a space for creativity. The creative process of designing the Bottegas will be developed individually in cooperation with our partners.

The Arts & Crafts Bottega

Painting methodologies:  fresco, egg tempera, gold leaf, oil painting.

Ceramic: working with clay, painting techniques in ceramic.

Sculpture: various  techniques.

Mosaics: exploring history of mosaics (mosaics in Ravenna, Rome and contemporary mosaics)

Engraving: various techniques

Restoration:  The study of fresco and book restoration.

The Italian Language and Culture Bottega

The Italian Language bottega also focuses on ‘learning by doing’.  By finding ways to integrate the students with the area.

The Bottega of Peace

Professors, religious groups, and individuals interested in peace and spirituality can participate in a living debate which, while teaching about these issues, can further develop interesting ideas for reflection, as well as work on more specific projects of the group’s choosing.

The Bottega of Food and Wine

Participants study the historical roots of the traditional Italian cuisine pursuing a more in depth understanding of local ingredients, nutritional values, and regional recipes. This course of study  will also explore regional Italian wines as well as the preparation of an integrated menu.  They will also be taught about table decoration inspired by various époques from the medieval period through the renaissance, the baroque, etc.

The Bottega of the Humanities

Art and Iconography: we will enable participants to read the symbols, philosophy and Biblical stories expressed through the imagery.

Archeology: The Etruscans, the culture, the sites.

Music: Studies of traditional music including music of the Middle Ages, as well as contemporary music and composers; “intuitive music” with flautist Andra Ceccomori.

Film: short films produced by students at Pieve will have the chance to be presented at the Agosto Corcianese Festival in Corciano in conjunction with the Montana Hatch festival.

Theatre: participants will study the history of the theatre, performances,  stage design, study of theatrical texts.

Creative writing: This Bottega will be presented by writers and participants will have the opportunity to meet Italian and American visiting writers.

The Bottega of Creativity

This  bottega focuses on independent creative thinking. There will be an emphasis on cross-disciplinary possibilities where a wide range of disciplines can work cooperatively on common interests or goals.

The duration of each bottega is flexible according to the needs of the individual programs. In addition to program costs Pieve also provides excellent housing immediately adjacent to the program space. (Pieve Country House website)