San Gemini

San Gemini is a small hill town in Umbria along the ancient Via Flaminia.  It is located a few kilometers north of Terni and has a population of about four thousand.

It was first settled as an agricultural suburb of Carsulae in the 1st Century along the Via Flaminia.  This settlement was called Casventum.  During the Middle Ages, as Carsulae was abandoned, Casventum developed into a small city.  In the early Middle Ages its name was changed to San Gemini.  There are various theories as to why this happened; the most popular being that a Syrian monk named Gemine stopped to preach and live there, inspiring the change, another is that it derives from a very ancient tradition  of twin deities or saints associated to curative waters. Read more

Umbria

Umbria is one of the most interesting regions in Central Italy. It is located on the inland side of the regions of Tuscany and Lazio and offers a scenic, mountainous landscape. Umbria has a very rich historical and cultural heritage. The modern territory covers areas originally inhabited by the Umbrians, an old Italic people, and the Etruscans. It became part of the heartland of the Roman Empire and, in the late middle ages, was part of the vibrant city state movement that brought about the Renaissance. Read more

Athens

In January 2012, there will be an organized 10 day visit to Athens. The themes of the trip will be the history of Athens, its evolution over time, its monuments, and the challenges presented by the conservation of the monuments in modern day Athens. The trip will include lectures and visits to the city and its monuments, including talks and guided tours by the specialists involved in the conservation and restoration of the monuments. Read more

Field Trips

An important part of our study in Italy are visits to active restoration sites and to various restoration research centers and institutes. The sites we visit each year vary according to availability of sites and people. The following is a list of the sites we have visited and some images from those visits. Read more

Visits

During our residence in Italy we dedicate part of the time to travel. The third week of the program is spent traveling to Florence , Rome and other cities. Usually on weekends we make day trips to places in Umbria, in the vicinities of San Gemini. The preliminary schedule we have set some destinations but there may be some changes in the final destinations. The following are some of the cities that we have visited in the last four years. We will for sure go to Florence, Rome and Siena. We will visit several of the other sites but there could be changes in the schedule due to various reasons. Read more