Wake Forest University Venice: Casa Artom - Cultural Heritage Preservation in the Floating City (Spring Short-Term)
Save Venice! Save Venetians!
International concern for the city of Venice focuses on the restoration or preservation of the buildings, bridges, and waterways of the so-called “floating city.” But in a city with over 2000 years of human history and 271,000 current residents, which past(s) should be preserved? Students in this course will use Venice as a case study to learn about common issues in cultural heritage preservation, investigating debates about conservation vs. restoration, observing international and local influences on discussions about Venice’s future, and evaluating the opposing pressures to preserve and to innovate. In Venice, we will meet with architects, art historians, international non-profits, and local residents as well as viewing medieval churches and modern engineering projects to experience how theories of cultural heritage preservation are being put into practice in today’s city.Dates and Deadlines
| Term | Year | Application Deadline | Decision Date | Start Date | End Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spring Short-Term | 2024 | 10/15/2023 | Rolling Admission* | TBD | TBD |
Program Description
Need Help? Get an advisor at 1-336-758-5938
Venice is sinking! Save Venice! Save Venetians! International concern for the city of Venice focuses on the restoration or preservation of the buildings, bridges, and waterways of the so-called “floating city.” But in a city with over 2000 years of human history and 271,000 current residents, which past(s) should be preserved? Venice’s lagoon environment makes it a uniquely fragile place, and Venetians and visitors alike agree that something must be done to save the current city from rising sea waters and the tides of tourists that inundate the historical center each year. But how to preserve a city that is often described as a living museum? What is it like to live in a museum? In the spring semester on the Reynolda campus, students will read debates between proponents of restoration vs. conservation, consider how to balance international and local priorities in cultural heritage preservation, and ask about the costs and benefits of innovation and modernization in a historical site with living residents. In Venice, they will see these problems and solutions in action by meeting architects, art historians, international non-profits, and local residents as well as viewing medieval churches and modern engineering projects to experience how theories of CHP are being put into practice in today’s city.
The course, CHP 200 Special Topics: Cultural Heritage Preservation in Venice: Art, History and the Environment (3 hrs) will be cross-listed as HST 311, ENV 311, and ART 209. It will fulfill elective requirements in the cultural heritage preservation minor and will count towards a major or minor in history, environmental studies, or art history. We will meet for the second half of the spring 2023 semester on campus as a regular seminar, followed by an immersive week (during May 2023) on site at Casa Artom in Venice. The selection process requires an interview and permission of the instructor. Interested students should email program director, Monique O’Connell (oconneme@wfu.edu). Please put in the subject line “Venice.”
The course, CHP 200 Special Topics: Cultural Heritage Preservation in Venice: Art, History and the Environment (3 hrs) will be cross-listed as HST 311, ENV 311, and ART 209. It will fulfill elective requirements in the cultural heritage preservation minor and will count towards a major or minor in history, environmental studies, or art history. We will meet for the second half of the spring 2023 semester on campus as a regular seminar, followed by an immersive week (during May 2023) on site at Casa Artom in Venice. The selection process requires an interview and permission of the instructor. Interested students should email program director, Monique O’Connell (oconneme@wfu.edu). Please put in the subject line “Venice.”
Surrounded by water, Venice is an enchanting city built on 117 small islands. Its magnificent sights are best seen by walking along the narrow streets, crossing the many canals, and meandering through the piazzas. The Piazza di San Marco, Palazzo Ducale, and the Rialto bridge are three among numerous sites that make Venice an unforgettable city. In addition, Wake Forest students may conveniently explore other parts of Italy including Rome, Florence, Pompeii, and Sicily.
In 1971, the University, with the assistance of Graham Martin, Ambassador to Italy and Wake Forest alumnus, leased the building that formerly housed the American Consulate. In 1974, the building was purchased by Wake Forest and named Casa Artom in honor of Dr. Camillo Artom, a professor at the Baptist Medical Center until 1969. His wife, Bianca Ara Artom, taught Italian at Wake Forest for many years and served as the director of Casa Artom during the summers until her death in 1994.
Casa Artom is a magnificent two-story building facing the Grand Canal. It is flanked by the Palazzo Venier dei Leoni, which houses the Peggy Guggenheim art collection, and the magnificent 15th century home Ca'Dario.
Click the following link for pictures of Casa Artom: Casa Artom Photographs.
In 1971, the University, with the assistance of Graham Martin, Ambassador to Italy and Wake Forest alumnus, leased the building that formerly housed the American Consulate. In 1974, the building was purchased by Wake Forest and named Casa Artom in honor of Dr. Camillo Artom, a professor at the Baptist Medical Center until 1969. His wife, Bianca Ara Artom, taught Italian at Wake Forest for many years and served as the director of Casa Artom during the summers until her death in 1994.
Casa Artom is a magnificent two-story building facing the Grand Canal. It is flanked by the Palazzo Venier dei Leoni, which houses the Peggy Guggenheim art collection, and the magnificent 15th century home Ca'Dario.
Click the following link for pictures of Casa Artom: Casa Artom Photographs.
The course is a deeply interdisciplinary enterprise, with overlapping themes of cultural heritage preservation, history, museum studies, and sustainability. It places the very contemporary crisis of Venice in historical context and uses Venice as a case study to understand common issues in cultural heritage preservation. The course is organized around three paired themes that highlight tensions and debates and allow students to consider cultural, environmental, social, and artistic perspectives. The first pair, conservation vs. restoration, considers whether to preserve original buildings/artwork/spaces or to bring a building back to its historical appearance using contemporary materials and techniques. For instance, in 19th century Venice, John Ruskin and Viollet le Duc disagreed violently on how to restore the Basilica San Marco; in the 20th century, similar debates erupted over Save Venice’s restoration/reconstruction of Santa Maria dei Miracoli. The second pair, international vs. local, looks at the often opposing interests of the large community of foriegn tourists and art lovers who want to save Venice’s artistic heritage and the smaller community of Venetians who live in the city and want clean water, affordable housing, and sustainable economic development. The third pair, preservation vs. innovation, asks how to balance desires to keep Venice’s historical center and monuments “com’era, dov’era” (as it was, where it was) against economic and environmental pressures to modernize, either for convenience or economic development. The collapse of the Campanile in 1902, the devastating 1966 floods, and the conflagration that consumed La Fenice in 1996 all brought this debate into high relief.
The course, CHP 200 Special Topics: Cultural Heritage Preservation in Venice: Art, History and the Environment (3 hrs) will be cross-listed as HST 311, ENV 311, and ART 209. It will fulfill elective requirements in the cultural heritage preservation minor and will count towards a major or minor in history, environmental studies, or art history. We will meet for the second half of the spring 2023 semester on campus as a regular seminar, followed by an immersive week (during May 2023) on site at Casa Artom in Venice.
The selection process requires an interview and permission of the instructor. Interested students should email program director, Monique O’Connell (oconneme@wfu.edu). Please put in the subject line “Venice.”
The course, CHP 200 Special Topics: Cultural Heritage Preservation in Venice: Art, History and the Environment (3 hrs) will be cross-listed as HST 311, ENV 311, and ART 209. It will fulfill elective requirements in the cultural heritage preservation minor and will count towards a major or minor in history, environmental studies, or art history. We will meet for the second half of the spring 2023 semester on campus as a regular seminar, followed by an immersive week (during May 2023) on site at Casa Artom in Venice.
The selection process requires an interview and permission of the instructor. Interested students should email program director, Monique O’Connell (oconneme@wfu.edu). Please put in the subject line “Venice.”
Dr. Monique O’Connell
Professor and Chair, Department of History
Tribble B-104
336-758-4711
oconneme@wfu.edu
Professor and Chair, Department of History
Tribble B-104
336-758-4711
oconneme@wfu.edu
Casa Artom can accommodate twenty students. The house has bedrooms, a library, classrooms, a dining room, a living room, two kitchens, a patio, and an open courtyard. Modern kitchen facilities are available, and students often prefer to cook their meals together in the house. The house is wired for Internet access and students should bring their laptop computers. The Resident Professor has a suite upstairs consisting of two bedrooms and a bath. Washers and dryers are available in the laundry room.
Click the following link for pictures of Casa Artom: Casa Artom Photographs.
Click the following link for pictures of Casa Artom: Casa Artom Photographs.
The Resident Professor is responsible for the selection of each group based on the following criteria:
- Academic suitability
- Social and emotional maturity
- Seriousness of the student in pursuing the academic and cultural aims of the program
- Applicability of the program to the student's interests and studies
- Majors in all disciplines are eligible and encouraged to apply.
Interviews will start Fall 2022
- Academic suitability
- Social and emotional maturity
- Seriousness of the student in pursuing the academic and cultural aims of the program
- Applicability of the program to the student's interests and studies
- Majors in all disciplines are eligible and encouraged to apply.
Interviews will start Fall 2022
The total cost of a spring short-term study abroad program can be broken down into three categories:
Program Fee - Usually covers room, in-country travel, excursions, some meals and other costs associated with the program.
Airfare (estimated) – Varies per location. Students are responsible for their own airfare unless otherwise noted.
Personal Expenses (estimated) – These will vary depending on the students' spending habits, cost of living in the destination country, and the number of meals included in the program fee. This may also include visa fees, vaccinations, academic supplies/books and other miscellaneous daily expenses.
Program Fee - $1,715
Airfare (estimated) - $1,200
Personal Expenses (estimated) - $500
Estimated total cost - $3,415
Program Fee - Usually covers room, in-country travel, excursions, some meals and other costs associated with the program.
Airfare (estimated) – Varies per location. Students are responsible for their own airfare unless otherwise noted.
Personal Expenses (estimated) – These will vary depending on the students' spending habits, cost of living in the destination country, and the number of meals included in the program fee. This may also include visa fees, vaccinations, academic supplies/books and other miscellaneous daily expenses.
Program Fee - $1,715
Airfare (estimated) - $1,200
Personal Expenses (estimated) - $500
Estimated total cost - $3,415
Dr. Monique O’Connell
Professor and Chair, Department of History
Tribble B-104
336-758-4711
oconneme@wfu.edu
Dr. Lisa Blee
Associate Professor of History and Coordinator, Cultural Heritage Preservation Minor
Tribble B-110
(336) 758-6695
bleelm@wfu.edu
Dr. Alessandra Von Burg
Program Director of Casa Artom and Associate Professor of Communication
E-mail: beaslea@wfu.edu
Sean McGlynn
Study Abroad Advisor
Center for Global Programs and Studies
116 Reynolda Hall
Phone: (336) 758 3194
E-mail: mcglynsd@wfu.edu
Casa Artom Global Ambassador
Willa Baker
bakewk20@wfu.edu
House Address:
Casa Artom
Dorsoduro 699
San Gregorio
30123 Venice, Italy
Phone: 011-39-041-522-2709
Fax: 011-39-041-522-0277
Professor and Chair, Department of History
Tribble B-104
336-758-4711
oconneme@wfu.edu
Dr. Lisa Blee
Associate Professor of History and Coordinator, Cultural Heritage Preservation Minor
Tribble B-110
(336) 758-6695
bleelm@wfu.edu
Dr. Alessandra Von Burg
Program Director of Casa Artom and Associate Professor of Communication
E-mail: beaslea@wfu.edu
Sean McGlynn
Study Abroad Advisor
Center for Global Programs and Studies
116 Reynolda Hall
Phone: (336) 758 3194
E-mail: mcglynsd@wfu.edu
Casa Artom Global Ambassador
Willa Baker
bakewk20@wfu.edu
House Address:
Casa Artom
Dorsoduro 699
San Gregorio
30123 Venice, Italy
Phone: 011-39-041-522-2709
Fax: 011-39-041-522-0277