Students and faculty members from West Virginia University embarked on an intellectual journey to Trento, Italy, on May 29. Faculty members from the Eberly College of Arts and SciencesDepartment of Foreign Languages and 12 students have been documenting their experiences in Italy on the Internet for interested persons to view. Details and photos of their experiences in Italy, which ended June 27, can be viewed online athttp://www.as.wvu.edu/forlang/italian/summer2004/summer2004.htm.

Trento is a lively and historic university town in the Italian Alps, about one hour north of Verona. The students earned six credits for two courses, one in Italian and one in history. In addition to classes in Trento and eight scheduled field trips, the students also visited Mantua and Venice.

Annastella Vester, Italian studies coordinator at WVU , and her husband Matthew Vester, assistant professor of history, have been teaching classes and escorting the students through Italy. For example, after discussions on the Stone Age, Bronze Age and Iron Age settlements in the Trentino on June 2, some students joined the Vesters for a picnic at the Riparo Gaban, a Stone Age site just outside of the Trento in the village of Martignano. The Riparo Gaban is a naturally protected area, surrounded on all sides by rock walls, where a cave served as a residence for Stone Age inhabitants.

Trips to destinations such as Florence, Verona and Rome are vividly portrayed on the Web site with text and photographs.

This study abroad program was supported by WVU s Office of International Programs, which promotes the internationalization of teaching, research and service. Through programs such as the one in Trento, students are provided the opportunity to learn first-hand the intricacies of a foreign culture.