Read more and see more pics after the jump!

The five villages are all built into the mountains that end right into the sea.  As you can see here, the bays come to the village’s very edge.  This old church began construction almost a thousand years ago and has been modified over the centuries.

A powerful storm caused devastating flooding to the villages in October 2011.  Here workmen continue their repairs.

The sign to the famous “Lovers’ Walk.”

The rebuilding seems to be going well.  The villages are historic, beautiful, and located in some of the prettiest country in the world.

It’s interesting to see how American pop culture is interpreted and reinterpreted in other countries.  For example, we found this stencil of an AT-RT Walker (from the Star Wars movies) on a building here in Parma.  The building probably existed at the time of the American Revolution!

Read more and see more pics after the jump….

Students learning Italian in the classroom at the convent.

The weather has been beautiful and we’ve all been having a great time here in Parma.  For our first week, classes were held at a convent near the hotel.

Speaking of the hotel, check out the beautiful view from the room Ken and I share.  It looks onto the park that’s across the street.  There are always people out and about walking their dogs.

Mr. Olson and students listen to the guide at the Mille exhibition.

On Thursday, Mr. Olson arranged for the students to have a special guided tour, in English, of a local photo exhibition.  The exhibition is entitled “Mille,” which means, “one thousand.”  Its full title is “A Thousand Shots for One Story of Italy.”  Google will translate the linked page if you like!

The poster on the left is the image used to advertise the exhibition, which is all about how there are many different Italys, but also one Italy.

Elyse Grasser, vice president of History Club, served as "m.c." for the event and presented a narrative, as told to her by Mr. Ruggiero, about SFU students protesting the library's formal dress code in the 1970s. As Mr. Ruggiero told Elyse, "this was our Vietnam."

March 2012.  In conjunction with the Cambria County Historical Society, History Club presented a “History Short,” consisting of readings of stories from Saint Francis University’s past.

Thanks to Elyse, Julie, Leah, and Lizeth for making SFU’s history come to life.  Thanks also to the Cambria County Historical Society and Dave Huber for inviting History Club to participate in this event.  Read more and see more pics after the jump.

Julie Cashdollar told the crowd about Saint Francis University's history, including the fires that have devastated the university in the past

Leah Kletzli, club secretary, regaled the audience with the tale of how her parents met at Saint Francis College.

Lizeth George's parents were married and she was a baby when her father decided to return to his studies at Saint Francis. Administrators would not let baby Lizeth live in the same dorm for which she was the RA.

Kelly Anne Heyden, club treasurer, and Lizeth George, club president.

Lizeth George, president of History Club, was recognized by SFU’s Student Government Association for all the work she’s done with History Club at the First Annual Student Involvement Awards held on Thursday, April 19th, 2012.

In the past year, Lizeth has coordinated:

• field trips to “History Shorts” put on by the Cambria County Historical Society
• the production of a History Short, “Saint Francis University Among the Pines”
• a bus trip – free and open to all SFU students – to Washington, D.C.
• and other activities, meetings, and fundraisers.

Thanks to Lizeth and all the History Club members, especially officers Elyse Grasser, Kelly Anne Heyden, and Leah Kletzi, for your hard work and participation.  History Club adds extracurricular fun and opportunities to the HiPS department and the SFU community.

Dr. Woods, History Club president Lizeth George, and friends reach higher at the Cherry Blossom Festival.

The daffodils were in bloom.

History  Club president Lizeth George (class of 2013) demonstrated her inquisitive nature and interest in photography even before reaching Washington, D.C., at this rest stop along the way.

The Korean War Memorial offered a glimpse into this often-forgotten conflict.

Washington’s sights, such as the Korean War Memorial, offered students the chance to experience History outside of the classroom.

A beautiful example of a tipi, at the Museum of the American Indian.

Students took advantage of the fact that entrance into the Smithsonian museums is FREE – thanks to our tax dollars – and experienced history in this way, too.  Some visited the Museum of the American Indian.

History and Environmental Engineering students at the flood memorial in South Fork, where the dam broke in 1889, causing the Johnstown Flood - one of the most devastating, and famous, natural disasters in U.S. history.

 Crossing disciplines and using the local to study the global

The students in Dr. Damico’s class, “Disaster!  Social and Environmental Crises in World History,” took a field trip in February 2012 to Johnstown, PA.  They joined students from Dr. Bill Strosnider’s Environmental Engineering class, “Appropriate Technologies in the Developing World.”

The project

In the spring of 2012, the students in Dr. Strosnider’s and Dr. Damico’s classes worked with local non-profit Sandyvale Association.  In conjunction with the non-profit Natural Biodiversity, the Sandyvale Association seeks to transform a former cemetery, devastated by the Johnstown Flood of 1889, into a memorial park, green space, dog park, and community gardens, all in a sustainable, eco-friendly manner.

The field trip

the students began their trip at the Johnstown Flood National Memorial at South Fork, where the dam broke (pictured above).

Next, students visited the Johnstown Flood Museum, in downtown Johnstown, where the flood destroyed buildings and killed over 2,000 people.  There, students were given a personalized tour by Ms. Kaytlin Sumner, chief curator and archivist at the Johnstown Area Heritage Association and adjunct History instructor at Saint Francis University.

At the Flood Museum in Johnstown, students learned about the flood - and the media circus surrounding the flood, which continues to shape how we remember this disaster today.

They concluded the trip with a visit to the Sandvyale site itself, where they saw the progress being made and learned what they could do to further that progress.

See student work on their projects here.