Category Archives: Uncategorized

This spring we have arranged for a whole series of meetings with business people and companies for our students. Last week our friend Mike Calder, head of the global division of First American Financial’s title insurance operation, came through here on his way to London from California HQ. This week we visited Gasparini, one ofContinue reading “Gasparini S.p.A.”

There is a reason for the timing of our class tours.  I probably would have stormed inside this church on first sight, but I knew the guided tour with our instructor would be worth waiting for.  Of course, we had to read about the Fourth Crusade first!  It made this visit that much more meaningful.Continue reading “St. Mark’s Bascilica”

Family Dinners – every Wednesday night!  Groups of three prepare dinner for the entire house and we dine together.  Two weeks ago Joy helped me make lasagna and a salad while Page supplied the wine.  Last Wednesday night three students served bruschette, spaghetti, and salad after a little reception for our invited weekend guest andContinue reading “Family Dinners”

Cafés around Venice are a bit different than I have seen before.  The idea is to go in, order a cappuccino (comes in a tiny china tea cup and saucer), stand near a coffee bar (or sit depending on the crowd), then pay as you leave.  The cup is so tiny that you are doneContinue reading “Cappuccino”

Michael Calder was on his way to London for business, from California where he lives, and decided to visit us this past week.  He and Page go way back to their days at Hamilton College. They met on the college soccer field in 1971 and joined the same fraternity, Chi Psi. Since Mike grew upContinue reading “Calderiffic!”

The Scuola Grande di San Rocco is an ornate building in Venice.  It’s a 16th-century art museum featuring works by the dramatic Renaissance artist Jacopo Tintoretto.  “Scuola” means school.  “Schools” in Venice were actually social institutions between the 1400s and 1700s.  The “Schools” were similar to modern trade unions: corporations, associations of people doing theContinue reading “School of Rock”

San Giorgio Maggiore is a 16th-century Benedictine church on the island of the same name. The bell tower here allows you to see the San Marco basilica and the Palazzo Ducale across the water. Besides the nicer view, the lines are also limited or non-existing. The bell tower was built in 1791, after the previousContinue reading “San Giorgio Maggiore”

Laundry (bed sheets, bath towels, hand towels, tea towels, dish towels, bath mats, etc.) get done every Tuesday (lower floor) and Thursday (upper floor) by Cheti.  She knows everything about housekeeping, but…she doesn’t speak English.  We do a lot of sign language with each other!  The faculty apartment has a combo washer/dryer.  And I meanContinue reading “Laundry”

This is a replica of the Murano wine decanter (but in red and a fuller decanter) Page bought his parents in 1968 on a trip through Europe when he was 15.  At home I have the 6 goblets displayed around the decanter just like this photo I found on the internet.  I have never usedContinue reading “Glassmaking is in the Family”

The following is what I learned about gondolas: Two hundred years ago, there were 10,000 gondolas in Venice. Although the aristocracy preferred horses to boats through the early Middle Ages, beginning in the 14th century, when horses were outlawed from the streets of Venice, the noble class embraced gondolas as a respectable form of transportation.Continue reading “Gondolas”

Fridays are free days.  No classes means a long weekend, every week!  The students typically will be taking off for a flight somewhere on Thursday afternoons, but this, their second weekend, is being spent getting their residency permits.  No “out of the country traveling” until that is accomplished.  Page and I decided on a localContinue reading “Padua”

Melissa Conn, a Wake Forest graduate, runs the Save Venice, Inc. program here in Venice.  Her headquarters is just a few palaces down the canal!  She attended Casa Artom when she was in school and met her future husband at the Corner Café just outside our house.  The rest is history and ironically, she hasContinue reading “Save Venice”

Frittelle, in Venice sometimes also called frittolle, have been known since Roman times. This sweet donut-like pastry is traditionally linked with the Carnival season. The oldest document related to this Venetian cuisine is a recipe for frittelle dating back to the year 1300! Nowadays they are known and eaten all over Italy and in many countriesContinue reading “Frittelle”

Quite a few people work here at Casa Artom. All I remember in years past was a house director/manager and housekeeper. In London it was originally, Rose (then Fiona) and Fran. In Vienna it was Gunther and a young girl from Croatia. Here in Venice we have a large staff: Laura – Resident Director  LauraContinue reading “Staff”

Today is the day when we establish our residency in Italy for several months. This morning early at 8:00 we left Casa Artom to meet Laura at Piazzale Roma. There we took a taxi over to the mainland to the Office of Immigration in Marghera. Laura had an appointment there for us at 9:00 am.Continue reading ““Insane Process””

This past week the first excursion for students was to Campo Sant’Agostin. This is a tiny, quiet square in the San Polo sestiere (neighborhood), in the very center of Venezia. High on the second floor exterior wall of a yellow house just off the campo is a remarkable plaque, dedicated to the memory of AldusContinue reading “Aldus Manutius”

Our whole group went to the observation deck across from the Rialto Bridge to see the sunset tonight. This marble palace was first built in 1228 and takes its name from when it was a base for German merchants. Over the years, the building has also served as a customs house for Napolean and aContinue reading “T Fondaco Rooftop Terrace”

Courses at Casa Artom Spring 2020 Shaul BassiClaudia Meneghetti 113. Intensive Elementary Italian. (4h) Intensive course for beginners, emphasizing the structure of the language and oral practice. Students acquire the fundamentals of the Italian language: basic structures and essential vocabulary are introduced through quick explanations and a set of activities that encourage their immediate useContinue reading “Curriculum”