Perugia, Umbria:
A Little-known Hilltop City in the Heart of Italy
One of the favorite panoramic views overlooking the “thumb” of Perugia
Intro
Having taken Italian since high school, I knew that I would need to study abroad in Italy one dayto perfect my Italian. All that was left was to pick a program. “You should look into Perugia, Emma,” I remember ProfessoressaBubula-Philips saying after my first quarter in her class. I told her I would, and by the end of the year it had turned into, “You’re going to apply to Perugia right? Wait, of course you are. Where else would you go? It’s perfect for you!” I decided to trust her judgment, and that has been one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.
I’m a pretty middle-ground girl: I like to keep active, but appreciate quiet time; I love the vibrancy of city life, but hate the hecticness of all the hustle and bustle; I enjoy spending time with people, and even more when it’s in low-key scenarios. Perugia ended up being the perfect fit for me. If you mention the city to the average American, you’ll probably get some confused looks, because it’s not that well-known. But that’s what makes it so wonderful. Nestled in the beautiful rolling hills and mountains of the Umbrian countryside, Perugia is the perfect mix between a cosmopolitan city (with its international draw) and an authentic Italian experience, and while the city is relatively small, it’s also vibrantly alive.
The people who live here are an eclectic mix of Italians and foreigners from all over the world, and while the stories of how they came to live here vary, one thing remains true throughout: they all came to Perugia for a short time, fell in love, and simply had to come back. There’s just something special about Perugia, and it’s hard not to love this quaint city with all of its characters and quirky characteristics.
Housing
Most students are housed with Americans studying at the Umbra Institute in apartments in the city center, which is both gorgeous and close to the Institute, and each varies in terms of size, location, and layout. Ours had two double rooms and bathrooms, but I knew of others with four single rooms. Don’t expect other amenities like microwaves, televisions, and dryers (which are nearly non-existent in Italy), as they are not guaranteed. All apartments have wifi, but the connection quality varies greatly from place to place. Heating in Italy is regulated by the government and only turns on after Nov. 1, and then only for 7 hours each day, so definitely pack more warmly for time at home. While apartment living had its challenges, I appreciated the change from dorm living. In Perugia, you have an Italian landlord, Umbra helps mediate communication when necessary, and you’re in charge of your own cooking and cleaning, which was fun to figure out and definitely helped me gain a greater sense of independence.
If you’re tempted by the housing option where you live with other Italian and/or International students, this is only available if you’re doing direct-enrollment at Stranieri, Perugia’s University for Foreigners. My American friends at Stranieriwere housed with students from all over the world and with ages ranging from 18 to early-40s, but for anyone in Umbra, you’re going to be with other American, Umbra students.I also knew one girl who did a homestay with an older Italian woman. Overall, she enjoyed the experience, but she definitely had to go more out of her way to socialize with other students, of course, her Italian improved significantly. However, homestays are definitely a less-common option.
Finances
Living in Italy, and Perugia specifically, is financially doable. Because housing is taken care of by the program costs, the only things you’re really left to take care of are food, class fees, and personal transportation costs. Most courses in Italy have some sort of fee to cover the costs of field trips, and they vary from course to course, with some being around 10 euro and others over 100. On the other hand, textbooks come in the form of readers, most of which are pretty cheap.
Feeding yourself in Italy is one of the greatest parts of the experience. Whether you decide to eat out or cook at home, the cost-to-quality ratio is insanely good. I read somewhere that students in Perugia thought 20 euros a day should be more than enough to pay for food, but I’d say that it’s way more than enough. Groceries are inexpensive and food is always fresh, local, and in-season, so it’s easy to make good food at home for cheap. In terms of going out to eat, 3 euro will buy you the best freshly-made panino or torta al testo (a regional delicacy), 5-7 euro will get you a full pizza, and breakfast should always cost less than 3 euro. Most nice restaurants in centro will charge somewhere between 7-12 euro for a secondopiatto, but that’s about as pricey as it gets. Much more common is going to get aperitivofor dinner, where you essentially buy a drink for 6 euro and then have access to a selection of finger foods.
Although Perugia has its own airport, it’s smaller and provides flights to fewer places (generally at higher prices), so you’re probably going to want to take a bus to Rome to catch flights to other places in Europe. At the same time, because Perugia is so centrally-located, you’re never too far from anywhere in Italy you might want to get to.
Academics
The Umbra Institute offers a variety of humanity courses ranging in areas from business, religion, food studies, history, art, writing, and psychology. Most students take four courses, including one mandatory Italian Language course. Your level of Italian is determined by a short placement test, after which everyone undergoes a week of intensive language study before the start of regular courses. This includes grammar sessions, as well as practical vocabulary lessons and excursions meant to helpstudents accommodate life in Italy.
For the rest of the semester, Italian courses take place for an hour or so every morning, four times a week. Most other classes meet for three hours a week, and there are no classes on Fridays. Classes do have homework, midterms, papers, and projects like usual. While Umbra’s academic system is made to be as close to the American university system as possible, most instructors are Italian and thus teach in a slightly different fashion. By this, I mean that classes tend to be structured with more flexibility. Class sizes are as small as those at SCU, or even smaller, and while most students were from universities in the U.S., there were a handful of Italian students who would come to take courses at Umbra. I enjoyed the courses I took in Perugia, and I felt like there was a good balance between schoolwork, community engagement, and personal time.
Student Life/Social Life
In terms of socializing in Perugia, there are a few weekly activities that students usually frequent. Many of these activities are what’s known as “tandems,” which are language exchanges where you can meet other students and practice your language skills.Tuesdays there’s always international tandem at Alphaville, a local bar. Everyone wears flags to show where they’re from, so it’s super easy to find people to practice just about any language. Of course, Italian is always the unifier. Alessandro, the guy who runs it, is super nice, and it’s always a good place to meet students from all over the world. There’s also a tandem every other Wednesday or so set up by Umbra specifically for Umbra and other Italian students. LacioDrom, the place it’s held at, has a really cool atmosphere, and there’s always free snacks. It’s definitely one of the better places to make Italian friends. The Umbra Institute also hosts a series of Pizza Nights, which are a ton of fun and a great way to get a free meal and catch up with friends.
Another event is karaoke nights on Mondays at the local pub, Shamrock. At the beginning of the semester, it’s dominated by Umbra students, but as time goes on, it turns into a huge international student meet-up where everyone crams into the bar and sings songs from all over the world. Alessandro also organizes a tandem on Monday nights at a local hostel where there’s usually a film and discussion. Later in the semester, there’s Mercoledi Rock, which starts around midnight and features dancing, rock music, and drinks. Other than these events, nightlife usually consists of hanging around Dempsey’s – a popular locale (i.e. “bar”) or going out dancing at the local clubs.
A great way to meet and get to know people is to have dinner parties. Everyone’s got their own apartment with a kitchen, and everyone’s cooking for themselves anyway, so having people over for dinner is a way to get to know each other, relax, test out cooking skills, and spice up the week days. All of the students I met in Perugia, whether they attended Umbra, the Italian university, or Stranieri, were all super friendly and easygoing, which made any and all social events a good time. I was never at a loss for good company.
Engagement
There are a lot of ways for students to get involved with the local community in Perugia, and the Umbra Institute does a good job at connecting students to these opportunities. Lots of courses have community engagement components, where students are either asked to go out into the community to do research (in the case of fields like Education and Psychology), or else partner with groups in the city to complete projects (in subjects like Business and Art).
There are also two academic internships students can take part in, as well as a variety of volunteering opportunities. I knew some students who tutored Italian children in English, as well as others who helped with an afternoon sports program for individuals with disabilities. The way Umbra sets things up, it’s practically impossible to not interact with the city, and most teachers are pretty enthusiastic about providing real-life learning experiences outside of the classroom.
During my time in Perugia, I had an academic internship with Monimbó, the Fair Trade bottega in Perugia. The internship gave me a lot of time to practice my Italian (the volunteers rarely spoke much English). On Mondays we would have our class lecture, where we discussed readings pertaining to Fair Trade principles and economic theory, all of which I found really interesting. Then, we would go to the bottega once or twice a week for a few hours to help with store operations and event-planning. Sometimes this meant unpacking shipments of pasta, others sorting through receipts or arranging displays for Christmas, and sometimes I even got to check customers out at the cash register. At times when business was slow, the store manager – a young Italian volunteer – and I would listen to music and talk about culture. It ended up being my favorite part of the week and one of the best ways I got to learn about what it means to be Italian and live in Italy. By the end of the semester, we also got to help with several larger events, such as a film-screening and chocolate-making lab, as well as taking photos for a local Fair Trade chocolate festival, Altrocioccolato.During my stay, I also volunteered with UNICEF. For that program, we would meet with these elderly Italian women every week to create dolls which were later sold, the profits from each providing vaccines for a mother and child. It was a nice, relaxing way to get involved in the community and practice our language skills. I had a lot of fun with both programs.
Religion
While Italy is a Catholic country and Catholicism is the predominant religion, like much of Europe, Italy has become increasingly secular in recent years. The religion is still much present, but more as a cultural heritage, rather than a faith community. Religion doesn’t come up all that often in conversations, and when would come up that I’m Catholic, I still managed to feel like a minority. I discussed this with my professors and learned that Perugia also has a weaker connection to the Church given the oppression the area underwent during Papal rule before the Unification of Italy. There are definitely plenty of places to worship if you identify as Catholic, and even a couple smaller communities of other religious sects. Mass at the Duomo was different from Mass back home, and attendance was often pretty sparse. However, there is a lively student Mass and dinner every Sunday at a local parish that gets started as soon as the regular Italian University begins its academic year. Because Perugia is less touristic, you won’t be finding any services in English, but attending services can be a good way to practice your Italian comprehension.
Race/Ethnicity
There’s a lot of ethnic diversity in Perugia, simply because it’s a university town with a large international draw. Students attend l’Università per Stranieri from all over the world, and it’s easy to meet people from diverse backgrounds at the weekly Alphaville tandems. Relations seemed good while I was in Perugia, and I never witnessed any instances of conflict.
The only racial and/or ethnic tension that is present is tied to the immigrant populations. There’s a lot of tension in Europe, and specifically, Italy due to the recent massive waves of immigration coming in from Africa and other European nations. While Italy is used to its history of emigration, it’s still in the process of adapting to its status as a country of immigration. I never heard anything particularly racist during my stay, and most of the Italians I talked with had a fairly sympathetic perspective towards these immigrant populations. Still, students should expect to both encounter immigrants on a daily basis, and to get mixed reactions from Italians over their presence.
At the same time, just because a given Italian has a negative perspective towards immigrants from a particular racial group does not mean that this perspective will automatically be applied to all individuals who identify with this group. For example, someone who is prejudiced towards immigrants from Albania is not likely to treat an Albanian student, or someone of Albanian descent, in the same prejudiced manner. From my experience, it was more an individual’s status as an immigrant, rather than their ethnic or racial background, that was the source of frustration.
I will say though, students should not expect their Italian professors to be as “politically correct” as they are in the States. In my experience, Italians feel much more free to poke fun at individuals’ characteristics, whether this be talking quietly, having an unusual accent, or in my case, having blonde hair. Of course, this transfers over to one’s skin color, and there was at least a couple comments made by professors about a given student having particularly light or dark skin which some students took badly. Having been present myself, I can say that these comments were always non-value judgments. The conversation was about skiing. The professor said that I had to be careful or they’d lose me in the snow, as I’m as white as it gets, and then turned to a dark-skinned student and joked that they’d never lose her. These sorts of instances made some students on my program uncomfortable. While professors in Italy are just as accepting and non-racist as those I’ve had in the states, they aren’t so worried about commenting on physical appearances because of the different cultural context.
Gender & Sexuality
Italians like to joke that women are the national Italian sport – not soccer. That being said, I’ve not experienced any issues with the guys in Perugia. The young men I’ve met at language exchanges and at school have been nothing more than respectful, and the climate of gender equality is fine (at least among the youth here; I can’t speak for older generations). As a female, I’ve felt safe walking home alone on the main roads from friends’ houses at night – of course, taking friends is always better. I’ve never been catcalled in Perugia, whereas in Rome, I’ve been catcalled three times in under an hour. It is not acceptable in the local culture to harass women with unwanted touching, crass comments, or any other unwanted attention. It is true that as a woman, you’re going to get more attention than you might be used to in the States, but the mentality is that “eyes were made to enjoy beautiful things.” For example, the grandfatherly owner of the local gelateriareferred to me as his “beautiful star.”
In terms of LGBTQ matters and speaking as a cisgendered, queer female with an openly gay roommate, the climate of acceptance in Perugia is pretty good. My girlfriend and I actually met while studying in Perugia, and we were never given any trouble. While it’s not necessarily the most vibrant community in Perugia,most of the students, faculty, and local Italians I came across were nothing less than open-minded and accepting. While same-sex dating/handholding/etc. might garner curious looks, you’re not going to be given death-stares or be ostracized. There are staff members at Umbra who are more than happy to help connect LGBTQ-identifying individuals to the local community. Some of Umbra’s staff are openly gay, and there was even a drag show and gay rights rally while we were there.