The Italian School - Insights from the Director

What do you tell someone interested in learning more about the Italian language and culture, but who has never heard of the Middlebury Italian School?

Middlebury Language Schools is the best place to spend the summer to learn Italian because of a very dedicated, experienced, knowledgeable, and hardworking faculty and staff, and a rich cultural program, co-curricular activities, and wonderful guests. 

Middlebury is one of the few places in the world where learners can live in a culturally rich and stimulating environment that is also friendly, demanding and always offers help and assistance to those who want to learn more. 

How long have you taught at the Italian School?

I really cannot tell you the exact year, but I remember that Professor Edoardo Lebano, Director of the Italian School, called me and asked if I was interested in teaching a film course for the upcoming summer. I accepted the offer and included the syllabus plus filmography for the course I wanted to teach. 

That summer I taught a graduate course on Italian Style Comedy. I still remember that wonderful experience that made me understand, live and be part of the magic of the summer program. I had wonderful students from various American and Italian universities. One of the students from my first summer is now a professor and teaches Italian Cinema. After that experience, I was invited to teach the following summer and served as Associate director with Professor Lettieri and later became the Director of the School. 

What has inspired you to keep returning to the Italian School every summer for so many years?

The students and the opportunity to create new courses and new cultural programs every summer! I have taught in five different universities and I can affirm that every summer at the Italian School is a unique, indelible cultural and human experience!

Over the years, you’ve seen many students pass through the gates of the Italian School.  What does a student need to do to get the most out of a summer at the Italian School? 

Students need to understand the nature of the summer program - the benefits of the Language Pledge and the full immersion. If students are aware and open, at the end of the summer they will have improved not only their language skills but also obtained more positive attitudes toward people who are different than themselves. They will have honed their analytical skills, gained a more profound understanding of their own culture, and increased creativity.

What are some of the unique advantages of studying at the Language Schools at the graduate level? 

Graduate students at the Italian School have the opportunity to earn a Master’s degree in seven different specializations. They have the opportunity to study and work with international experts in these fields and write papers and dissertations on unexplored fields.  

Graduate and undergraduate students often cite our courses as some of the most valuable courses they had in college. Many of our students now have jobs in business, medicine, law, technology, the military, industry, marketing, and even in the Vatican.

In addition to being an Italian School director, you also traditionally teach a graduate course. Do you know what course you will teach in Summer 2021? 

In Summer 2021, I will teach a new course with a different approach. To commemorate the one-hundredth anniversary of Fellini’s birth, I will teach a course on 12 films, six by Fellini and six by Pasolini using a comparative approach. Students will have a better understanding of these films and the society that produced and valued them.

The Italian School has hosted many filmmakers over the last 25+ years, including Giuseppe Tornatore, Francesco Rosi, Vittorio Taviani Giuseppe De Santis, and Tonino Valerii (just to name a few). Please share a behind-the-scenes moment with one of these filmmakers.

I have many stories, but I will tell you two. 

When Giuseppe De Santis came to Middlebury, I was his assistant. He decided to shoot a scene after midnight in the center of the town – using a camera mounted on a pickup truck. He insisted that we had to do a very long take (un piano sequenza) of the stores at night.

As I expected, after 10 minutes police cars arrived. One policeman came up to us and asked for documents. I tried to explain who we were and that Maestro De Santis (Director of Bitter Rice) wanted to film a night scene of the stores. The officer asked to see my driver’s license and De Santis’ documents.

De Santis told the officer in ITALIAN who he was and that he was a special guest of the college, but since he only had his Middlebury ID card the officer took it and went back to his car. De Santis looked at me and said in Roman dialect: “Anto’ e mo’ come magno?” [Antonio, how will I be able to eat now?] 

Another memorable event is when Giuseppe Tornatore, who received an Oscar for best foreign film with Cinema Paradiso, came to Middlebury. As we were walking to Twilight Hall for an evening screening he was surrounded by students from other Schools who wanted autographs and pictures. He looked at me and said, “I am more famous than I thought!” 

What’s your favorite part of being a director? 

I have many favorite parts!

• Seeing returning students and meeting new students.
• The arrival of our cultural guests.
• Watching soccer games with the other schools. It’s fun to prepare banners and flags for the game. 
• Playing bocce and watching volleyball games. 
• Watching the evening news with faculty and students. 
• Attending lectures and participating in the Q&A sessions. 
• Visiting all the classes and having discussions with students. 
• Most of all, seeing the progress our students make!

What do you think is the most underrated strength of the Italian School?

The love, dedication, commitment, pride, hard work, and the care of all the people involved, from the Sunderland staff to faculty to assistants. People work all year to create a successful program. The passion and the commitment of the faculty and staff during the seven weeks on campus are the culmination of a well-prepared program. 

After spending over 80 summers on the Middlebury campus, the Italian School joined other Middlebury Language Schools on the campus of Mills College in Oakland, California for six summers. How did this move impact the character of the Italian School? 

The Italian School had the wonderful experience to collaborate with the Italian American community of San Francisco and had the opportunity to teach new courses on Italian emigration. We were also able to establish a productive collaboration with the Italian American Museum and use their facility for some events. We were also able to visit Italian American vineyards and our students were able to see museums and attend Italian opera. 

Overall, the character of the school was enriched and expanded! We will bring that same spirit to Bennington, and I have already made contacts with the Italian Cultural community in Boston, Toronto, and the Saratoga Summer Opera Festival.  

Though originally scheduled to spend the Summer 2020 at Bennington College with Middlebury Arabic and Portuguese schools, all Language Schools moved online due to the pandemic. How were the faculty and students of the Italian School able to adapt to the new online format? 

We did very well, as attested by the overall evaluations of the courses. The faculty worked very hard to restructure their courses and overall, we were successful.

Our program was very rich and multifaceted. We were able to offer lectures in art history and multiculturalism as well as guided virtual trips in Florence, the Tuscan Countryside, and Livorno. 

We offered two concerts and held our yearly play online. We had a mandolin concert live from Europe, and many other events and performances. We created chess tournaments, cultural clubs, and digital piazze for our students interested in politics, sports, and other chosen topics.