Teachers' Blog

Teachers' Blog

Discover Siena School for Liberal Arts staff and teachers' view on art, sustainability, the universe and everything!

Read their Tumblr blog: you will find out much about italian culture and what living in Italy really means!


Do you want to know more about them? Read their CVs and watch their presentation on our Faculty Page.

Exploring Rome

I had the chance to explore some fascinating archaeological sites in Rome's city center. Rome is an easy 3-hour bus ride from Siena, so I've had the chance to visit many times in the past, but this was...

Education in Siena

This blog article is very special for us at Siena School for Liberal Arts: its author is NAU teacher Frances Julia Riemer, whose students were with us for Siena School/NAU 2016 Education Program! I’ve b...

Festa della Liberazione!

Slightly after the fact, but I thought I’d call the attention of non-Italian friends to an important holiday celebrated here each year on April 25 — the day designated to commemorate the overthrow of ...

Erasing street art

Most people come to Italy fascinated by the art of the past. But how many know contemporary Italian art? Street Art, for example. Who knows that Keith Haring left one of his last works, Tuttomondo, in ...

Toscana petalosa!

Tuscany is in bloom, with wild flowers popping up everywhere! Have you heard about the Italian word "petaloso", and adjective meaning "full of petals"?  You might have seen the news about this brand-new ...

Road Trippin' to Massa Marittima

You can’t resist Road trippin’ through Tuscany in general and the South of Tuscany in particular. An enchanted past has survived throughout the centuries. Modernity exists in the shell of a world that was...

History of a Tuscan Villa: Art, History and...

There are so many  beautiful villas in the Tuscan countryside, but today I want to let you know  a special one: La Foce. I casually discovered this place through a book written by an old schoolfriend. W...

Primavera!

Yes, it’s here.  Time once again to walk through the woods with my wife Valeria and hunt for wild asparagus.   Before moving to Tuscany—or before getting to know Valeria, for that matter—I never dreamed...

The spirit of the Twentieth Century in a...

From March 19 to July 24 Palazzo Strozzi – in Florence – hosts a great exhibition entitled “From Kandinsky to Pollock. The art of the Guggenheim collections”. I’ve always been attracted by the so define...

#WomenHistoryMonth: Sofonisba Anguissola

Sofonisba Anguissola, Self-Portrait, 1556, Lancut Museum, Poland. Sofonisba Anguissola is a rare example of a woman who led a successful career as a painter during the late Italian Renaissance.  She w...

In trouble with your Italian? Speak Grammelot!

Today I’d like to celebrate Dario Fo, in my opinion Italy’s greatest actor, play-writer, theatre director, comedian, singer, painter and political campaigner. Fo was awarded the Nobel Prize in Liter...

Mimosas on March 8th: standing for Italian...

Now is the time of year when Siena is awash in gold, as the mimosa trees’ clusters of yellow blooms are bursting into bloom everywhere. In Italy, since WWII, flower has been adopted as a symbol for I...

"No thanks, Your Majesty!"

Siena declined the invitation from Queen Elisabeth II to take part in a parade of horses that is being organized in London to celebrate her 90th birthday. As the Queen is a lover of horses, her staff...

Nebbia

As a college student years ago, I went to see Fellini’s beautiful film “Amarcord.”  Many scenes have stuck with me forever. One in particular: the fog scene. The grandfather of the family steps outside...

A busy Time in Siena for Restoration Projects...

You might think that Siena is quiet in the off-season, but for the city workers responsible for maintaining the streets and landmarks of the historic center, it’s quite the opposite: this is an incredibly b...

The Golden Boat

(Italian below!) A golden boat for the Tuscan sky to connect with the ocean! Ho preso un pezzo del fantastico cielo della Toscana e gli ho costruito un'imbarcazione d'oro per collegarlo alla profondità ...

Meet the Staff: Alberto Burri, 2015: from...

I recently visited the “Burri e Brandi – un’ amicizia informale” show at the Santa Maria della Scala Museum. The Santa Maria is an amazing complex of ancient buildings which served as hospital - one o...

Book Art Studio Visit

Our study abroad students met artisan Piergiorgio Bertolozzi Caredio at his studio Sator Print.  He leads our Book Arts elective course, and specializes in making and restoring hand-crafted books, prints, m...

What Would a Town Be Without Music?

Another instalment from my ongoing love affair with the Band of Asciano or, as it is officially called, la Società Filarmonica “Giuseppe Verdi” di Asciano. Founded in 1818—one-hundred and ninety-nine years ...

European Deaf Culture Initiatives

Several European organizations including SSLA are currently engaged in Deaf related projects: from how to set up a Deaf Museum to Sign Language in Sports, how to teach Sign Language online and Deaf communities...
1 | 2 | 3