Beginnings

Our intrepid group of 25 college faculty scholars from across the US and our leaders ( Greg Warden, our scholar in residence; Carole Lester, our incomparable Director: and Marsha Anderson, Co-Director and Local Arrangements guru across Italy) began our study of the lost culture of the Etruscans on June 5, 2012.  Our group was harmonious from the outset and only contiued to bond as we shared our various knowledge and expertise with each other over the next three weeks.  In our first 3 days in Orvieto, we were able to visit excavations under a church from the 11th century ( we went farther back in time below the church), view the Etruscan countryside from the heights of Orvieto, hold artifacts that were thousands of years old, have seminars in the lovely Orvieto library, explore the first of our 12 museums and enter the first of our many Etruscan necropli.  These days set a tone of high quality and scholarship.  The institute would only become better!

Fyi

My favorite Etruscan quote

Just found my favorite Etruscan quote in our text page 200.  In case you missed it, it was a quote from Aelian's On Animals: "[The Etruscans] lay out nets and other snares destined to trap the beasts.  then a practised flute player arrives, who tries to give his melody the most flowing possible sound, taking the greatest pains with the harmony; he plays that music for the flute which is softest. In the calm and the silence, the sound easily ranges over hilltops, valleys and woodlands...into the animals dens.  When the music first reaches their ears, it stuns them and fills them with fear; then the true and invincible pleasure that the music brings seizes them, and, filled with it, they forget their young and their liars. Although beasts seldom like to be separated from the places of their birth, in Etruria they are torn away as if by a magic enchantment, and the fascination exerted on them by the melody draws them into the nets, victims of the music."

Talk about fiction!  Although from what we learned over our three weeks, the Etruscans were certainly able to bring in game.  But I'm guessing it wasn't by using flute music!

Traci Hodgson

Marzabotto

Visiting Marzabotto today really made the layout of the city come alive. It would have been grand living in their palatial estates! Traci

Etruria in Orvieto today

It was fascinating to see links to Etruria in today's Corpus Domini parade. There was a litmus in the hands of the Cardinal and Etruscan symbols in several places. Traci

Tarquinian tombs

Viewing the Tarquinian toms on Friday has been the highlight of the Institute so far. The richness of the colors and the iconography was fascinating to analyze. I am intrigued by the representation of human hands in the tombs! Traci

First Day

Well - all of our scholars are here except the one that got stuck in Paris,  The trains are not running on time.  We expect him here some time tomorrow.  We are retiring for the night after a a great meal and stimulating introductions.  Our first seminar will be tomorrow at the Orvieto city library.