Sustainability in City and Country: Portland State University
Dates:
September 10-22, 2008
Price:
$2200 (est.)
Program Website:
http://web.pdx.edu/~dbanis/tuscany2008.htm
Program Coordinator:
David Banis
Address:
Department of Geography
Portland State University
P.O. Box 751-GEOG
Portland, OR 97207-0751
Telephone:
503-725-8903
Fax:
503-725-3166
E-mail:
dbanis@pdx.edu
Preferred method of contact:
email
Description:
The focus of the program is urban and rural sustainability in Tuscany. We will be based at Spannocchia, a rural estate located southwest of Siena. On day trips we will examine urban design and social life in Italian hill towns, noted as models of urban sustainability. In addition to a close look at Siena, we will visit Volterra and Massa Marittima (a designated CittàSlow – part of the Slow City movement); the small village of Chiusdino; and the 13th century Abbey of San Galgano.
City-country relationships have long been important in Tuscany. In the Middle Ages, agricultural land was often owned by city-based landlords and farmed through a mezzadria (sharecropping) system which lasted until the mid-twentieth century. In today’s tourist economy, connections between city and country remain important. The Tenuta di Spannocchia dates back to the 12th century, when a group of monks settled at Santa Lucia, a hermitage located on the banks of the Rosia River at the base of what is now the Spannocchia property. The Spannocchi family was on the property by the early 1200s and later settled in Siena. In the mid-1400s, Ambrogio Spannocchi was personal banker to Pope Pius II. The Palazzo Spannocchi, one of the great palaces in Siena, is now part of the Monte Dei Paschi Bank, the world’s oldest bank.
Today the Tenuta is an organic farm and forest and is part of the Alto Merse nature reserve. At Spannocchia students will explore sustainable agriculture and agritourism in self-defined, individual projects. As a group, we will participate in ongoing mapping projects and contribute to an interpretive plan for the cultural landscapes of the estate and its surroundings.
Coordinator Biography:
David Banis manages the Center for Spatial Analysis and Research in the geography department at Portland State University. His teaching focuses on map use, cartography, and geographic information systems. His interests include resource management and cultural geography. He has traveled in more than 30 countries including several trips to Tuscany.
Tom Harvey is a professor of geography at Portland State University. He has worked in historic preservation and as a city planner. His teaching and research emphases are urban geography, sustainability, and sense of place. He taught for a term in Siena in 1999, has traveled extensively to Tuscany’s hill towns, and has a strong interest in landscape photography.
Gil Latz is Vice Provost for International Affairs and Professor of Geography and International Studies at Portland State University. Dr. Latz was awarded a Fulbright Research Scholarship, University of Florence, Italy, 2001-02, to study landscape conservation at Spannocchia.
“My most memorable experience at Spannocchia was four young Cinta Senese pigs
taking a stroll into the yard and up to the Limonaia studio.”