The Villa Serenella campus is located in Rome ... - Aquinas College

Rome
Italy
LOCATION: The Villa Serenella campus is located in Rome (approximately
5 miles from the Vatican) and has easy access to the city
center.
DURATION: Fall Semester from mid-September to mid-December.
ELIGIBILITY: Full-time students, at least sophomore status, openness to
cross-cultural experience, not on academic or disciplinerelated
probation
HOUSING: Double occupancy of en-suite rooms in the residence halls of
the Monastery of Saint Isaia known as Villa Serenella
ACADEMICS: Projected Course Offerings for the Fall 2014 Program include:
Poetics (3 credits) This class is an intensive examination of the traditional role poetry has played in deepening our
understanding of the nature of language. In conjunction with the writing tutorials, this course develops the
student's basic knowledge of figures in language, as well as the means to communicate the tone and dramatic
situation of a poem. The whole course explores the way poetry can help us to become attuned to the goodness of
reality.
Humanities IV: Approaches to the Eternal City (4 credits) This class allows participants to study authors and
works from a variety of periods that deepen their experience of Roman, Italian and European culture.
Art & Architecture in Rome (3 credits) An introduction to the patrimony of ancient and Christian art and
architecture, with extensive site visits in Rome, Lazio, Umbria, and Tuscany. The "texts" will principally be the
buildings, sculptures and paintings themselves, but students will also be asked to reflect upon the nature and
purpose of the arts through reading selections from Vitruvius, St. John of Damascus, Abbot Suger, Alberti, Josef
Pieper, and John Paul II.
Mysterium Salutis: The Teaching of Saint Paul (3 credits) A careful journey through the writings of St. Paul
with the goal of attaining a clear understanding of the mystery of salvation. In addition to the Pauline corpus,
students will give serious consideration of the commentaries of the Fathers and St. Thomas Aquinas.
Students will also have the option of completing an internship with a variety of Vatican media centers. Students
can receive certification of the internship through the Aquinas College Career Development Center if they
complete the appropriate required procedures. Credit will not be issued for internships completed as part of the
Italy Program.
FACULTY: Courses are taught by Thomas More College professors and local
professors and theologians in Rome.

COST: Aquinas Fall Semester Full-Time Tuition + $10,000 estimated
Program fee
Fee includes:
*Academic program *Int’l Student ID
*Housing *Board (3 meals per day)
*Excursions, field trips and other activities
OTHER COSTS: Flight, passport, visa, books, personal spending on gifts,
postage, personal travel, etc.
STUDENT QUOTES:
"I keep rounding corners going "Really, are you SERIOUS?? A stone fountain?? An
abandoned blue mosaic covered swimming pool? Path upon path lined with Cyprus
trees?" It really is like something out of a story book.
There is the main Villa where the kitchen and dining room and living room are. The
males of the group get to stay on the third floor of this building. Right across the
way is another, smaller building which is where I am. I have a gorgeous room
which looks out onto the olive grove on one side, and onto the main villa on the
other. I threw open the shutters this morning, and looked out on a mist covered
horizon and almost had a complete coronary, caused by the unreal loveliness of
where I am.
The Classroom building is right next to the girls' dorm, and all of this is set in the
middle of 12 acres of olive grove, with the fairy book accessories described above.
The bus into the Trastevere neighborhood is right outside the wrought iron gates of
the property, and every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday after 1:00, when classes
are done, we are at liberty to explore Roma till the last bus stops at midnight. On
Tuesdays and Thursdays we will be taken on guided tours all day to different parts
of the City. Two Saturdays out of every month we will make day trips to other
Italian towns, and the other weekends we are free to take off and explore other
parts of Italy or Europe....as we so choose - as long as we are back for classes on
Monday."
- Thomas More student,
Fall 2009 Rome Program participant
Joelle Baldwin, Director of International Programs
Phone: (616) 632-2076 Email: baldwjoe@aquinas.edu
Student Worker Extension: (616) 632-2074
Aquinas College International Programs Office
Academic Building 20
1607 Robinson Road S.E.
Grand Rapids, MI 49506