8
PHOTO ESSAY
Thursday, August 7, 2003
THE BATTALION
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Junior management major Ryan Stephens looks back at a pigeon that landed on his shoulder in St. Mark’s Square in Venice. The pigeons of St. Mark’s are a staple image of the ancient Venetian City.
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By Amber Dugat
SPECIAL TO THE BATTALION
Aggies experienced paradise in
Castiglion Fiorentino, Italy earlier this
summer. The Santa Chiara Study Center,
located in this Tuscan town, is open to
students of all majors. The center enter
tains interests of picturesque village
scenes along with cosmopolitan vivaci
ty.
For students attracted to a program
where they can be absorbed in the cul
ture of their surroundings, Castiglion
Fiorentino is abound with local hospi
tality. Texas A&M students, by invita
tion, participated in local medieval fes-
Photos by Randal Ford
tivals and celebrated with townspeople
during competitive events such as the
town palio (horse race).
Due to the center’s centralized loca
tion, students were able to enjoy the
famous attractions of larger cities near
by including the historic monuments in
Rome, ruins of Pompeii, cathedrals in
Florence and canals in Venice.
Students studied in the company of
personal travel guides — professors Joe
Hutchinson, Steve Oberhelman, Dan
Wood, Vivian Paul and Florence native,
Paolo Barucchieri.
“Traveling with the professors was
such an opportunity,”, said Ryan
Stephens, a junior management major.
“I learned so much more studying with
all the professors on trips rather than
traveling with a tour guide. Each prof
had something unique to add.”
The trip also allowed free time for
the students to explore Italy on their
own. Students sun-bathed on the small
coasts of Cinque Terra, Elba and the
Isle of Capri, while the daring students
went sky-diving in Switzerland. The
trip concluded in the Dolomites, a
mountainous region near the Austrian
A Venetian gondoleer paddles onward through the canals in Venice approaching St. Mark’s Square.
A paraglider in the Dolomites sets up his parachute before taking off into a valley. The Dolomites is the mountain range in
Northern Italy that is sometimes referred to as the Italian Alps.
The side of Santa Maria Novella in Florence peaks over the city with the Greeli let
ters Alpha and Omega inscripted on its facade.
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