International students from the California Polytechnic State University visited Castelvecchio Calvisio this week as part of their Rome Program in Architecture. Thanks to the generous support of Academic Initiatives Abroad, fifteen students and Prof. Tom Rankin took part in a day long symposium called “Trekking Across Time and Territory” focused on the opportunities of the central Apennine mountains for cultural tourism and educational travel.
The goal’s of the Borgo Abruzzo project were reiterated during the meeting:
- to educate (through short and long-term programs in fields such as architecture, archaeology, agriculture, ecology, economics, history, etc.). An international summer school in architectural documentation is being planned for the July 2020.
- to acquire and restore damaged structures in the town to be used as a working laboratory for restoration workshops and eventually the headquarters of the Borgo Abruzzo project.
- to oversee enough cultural and educational initiatives throughout the year to relaunch the local economy of Castelvecchio Calvisio and its surrounding towns.
Attending the meeting for ISAR were archaeologists Dora Cirone and Caterina Coletti who presented her project for a publication on itineraries for the central Apennines. Also present were Mayor Luigina Antonacci, former Mayor Dionisio Ciuffini, Cultural Commissioner Giorgia Ciuffini, representative of the national tour guide organization Margherita Capponi, and local architectural historian Corrado Marsigli.
