Group Internships & Classes

We learned SO much in the first week of the trip! Between the group internships and classes we have covered the basics of the Italian Higher Education system, a crash course in Italian (mainly how to order food and greetings), Italian History and Culture, and the UNIMC computer information systems (technology) set-up.

The Italian History and Culture class provided a great deal of insight into the reasoning behind the layout of the cities, such as curved streets to hinder line-of-sight in case of attacks.
Over the weekend, we visited the Macerata clock tower. We were able to go about halfway up, to where the mechanisms are located. The inner-workings were non-functioning for a very long time, but were replaced with working-replicas about 10 years ago. It turns out the planetary part (below the clock) is in honor of Matteo Ricci, who was an Italian priest from Macerata who brought both Christianity and a time-measurement machine (aka clock) to China. The stairs were very narrow and uneven - to trick enemies who sought to take over the tower.

We also visited the Palazzo Buonaccorsi Museum. It's another striking example of how Italy blends the old with the new. The basement contains an impressive carriage museum, The second floor contains old art and the third floor contains modern art. The view from the top story was amazing.

We were also able to visit the inside of the Sferisterio - where they hold summer opera concerts.

We were also incredibly lucky to be here at the same time the as the Coro Sibilla concert - two men's choruses (one from Macerata) gave a free performance in an upstairs room at the Sferisterio.
I also took the train up to Ancona. I saw the Adriatic Sea!