PLAN NOW to join us NEXT SUMMER!

May 16 to June 22, 2024

This program immerses students in university and Italian daily life, and includes excursions to popular destinations, such as Rome, Florence, Spello, Bagnoregio, Orvieto, La Verna, Gubbio and Assisi.

Sunbathing and swimming await you at the beach on nearby Lago Trasimeno.

Students earn six or seven credit hours* from among a selection of St. Bonaventure courses that can fulfill general education requirements.

Perugia is also close to some of the best-known hill towns in Italy including Siena, Greccio and Spoleto.

Students may choose to travel on one free weekend to wherever the schedule and their budget allows. In the recent summers, students have explored Venice, Cinque Terre, and the islands of Capri and Ischia.

Perugia has a population of more than 100,000, making it large enough to offer an interesting and varied cultural experience for college students and small enough for the students to become comfortable in its environs during a summer stay.

With its narrow, winding streets, terracotta-roofed stone houses and palazzi, and large piazzas dominated by churches and other public buildings, Perugia has retained a medieval appearance while adding modern amenities.

The Universitá di Perugia and the Umbra Institute provide rich and lively cultural experiences including museum exhibits, concerts, and festivals in addition to plentiful academic offerings. 

Students take these two following courses taught by St. Bonaventure faculty:

• PHSC 106. Stars and Stellar Systems (3 credits) and PHSC 113L. Astronomy Lab (1 credit); taught by Dr. James Pientka, assistant professor of physics at St. Bonaventure.
• THFS 333. Christian Marriage (3 credits); taught by Bob Donius, Perugia program director and lecturer in the Department of Theology and Franciscan Studies.

OR, students take one of the above courses and one of the 3-credit Umbra Institute courses below:

• LIAH 370: Leonardo da Vinci: Renaissance Man and Modern Myth
• AHIR 310: Italian Renaissance Masters: Art, Invention and Culture
• ARCW 350: Introduction to Ceramics Traditions in Umbria and Central Italy
• CWFS 350: Writing Italian Food
• ARPH 210: Introduction to Photography: Portfolio of Perugia
• HSIT 349: The History and Culture of Food in Italy
• THIT 360: Mafia, Murder, and Mystery: Crime in Italian and American Cinema
• CWIT 340: Italian Tales and Stories: Creative Writing through Literary Models
• SOFS 350: The Culture of Wine: Italy and Beyond
• ITLN 101: Elementary Italian

*PHSC/PHSL is a 4-credit course, so students who include this as one of their two courses would earn 7 total credits instead of 6.

Please note: Course offerings are based on enrollment and are tentative at this time.

Excursions

A number of excursions are included to broaden the cultural experiences of the students. As a group we will travel to some of the world's most beautiful and historic cities: Rome, Florence, Assisi, Spello, Bagnoregio, Orvieto, LaVerna, Gubbio and more.

Students experience living as young adults in Italy and are integrated into the daily life of the city. They live in their own apartments (selected and coordinated by the Umbra Institute) located throughout the city. All accommodations are within a short distance of classes.

Meals are prepared at home or can be purchased at the many excellent restaurants, trattorias, and cafés found in Perugia.

The cost of the Summer Study in Italy — Perugia program is $6,500. It includes:

• 6 or 7 credit hours
• housing
• airport transfer in Italy (Rome to Perugia and return)
• orientation
• excursions
• Institute facilities and services
• resident director
• cultural and social activities
• supplemental student health insurance
• transcripts
• a weekly group dinner.

The cost does not include airfare, meals and optional excursions.