17. Old Buildings
One feature that many institutions like to emphasise is the "historical" nature of their location. This is, of course, good marketing, especially to those of us coming from the New World. The attraction is that of the "quaint," of knowing that you are rubbing shoulders with "history" with a capital H. However, I would suggest that you ask yourself how much does the historical nature of a building contribute to your learning of Italian? There could be other, less favourable consequences from studying at an institution located in a "historical" building.
The two institutions I attended both boast of their historical buildings. You can find the following description on the web about the Scuola Leonardo in Siena: "located in a historical building, the school offers an incredible location, close to historic monuments, museums, shopping and more." And the University of Perugia for Foreigners describes how "in 1927 the University for Foreigners moved to its own premises, the Palazzo Gallenga, another ancient building, situated in the centre of the city." Other schools also play this "historical" game. For example, here is a description of a school in Venice, ‘An historic building with a wide terrace on the campo hosts the school."
So what have I got against "historical" buildings? Certainly, Palazzo Gallenga at the University of Perugia for Foreigners is beautiful with its paintings, murals, high ceilings, etc. and during the days when no teacher appeared, or arrived late as some so often did, one could with pleasure contemplate the beauty of the ancient classroom. At the other extreme was the "historical building" of the Scuola Leonardo, which was "historical", but the classrooms were just rooms, albeit with high ceilings. Certainly, because of their downtown location the schools allowed the students to experience the "pulse" of the bustling city.
The problem is that the acoustics in both buildings was terrible. The Scuola’s rooms were smaller and some had acceptable acoustics until a truck went past or the garbage cans rolled out, or people in the street started speaking in a loud voice. The same was true of Gollenga. At Gollenga the rooms had such high magisterial ceilings that one was always struggling with an echo. I would imagine that things would be worse in the summer months when the ceiling fan would be turned on. Frankly, I would gladly trade these historical building for a concrete bunker with good acoustics -- or at least, for a small classroom with good acoustics!
The two institutions I attended both boast of their historical buildings. You can find the following description on the web about the Scuola Leonardo in Siena: "located in a historical building, the school offers an incredible location, close to historic monuments, museums, shopping and more." And the University of Perugia for Foreigners describes how "in 1927 the University for Foreigners moved to its own premises, the Palazzo Gallenga, another ancient building, situated in the centre of the city." Other schools also play this "historical" game. For example, here is a description of a school in Venice, ‘An historic building with a wide terrace on the campo hosts the school."
So what have I got against "historical" buildings? Certainly, Palazzo Gallenga at the University of Perugia for Foreigners is beautiful with its paintings, murals, high ceilings, etc. and during the days when no teacher appeared, or arrived late as some so often did, one could with pleasure contemplate the beauty of the ancient classroom. At the other extreme was the "historical building" of the Scuola Leonardo, which was "historical", but the classrooms were just rooms, albeit with high ceilings. Certainly, because of their downtown location the schools allowed the students to experience the "pulse" of the bustling city.
The problem is that the acoustics in both buildings was terrible. The Scuola’s rooms were smaller and some had acceptable acoustics until a truck went past or the garbage cans rolled out, or people in the street started speaking in a loud voice. The same was true of Gollenga. At Gollenga the rooms had such high magisterial ceilings that one was always struggling with an echo. I would imagine that things would be worse in the summer months when the ceiling fan would be turned on. Frankly, I would gladly trade these historical building for a concrete bunker with good acoustics -- or at least, for a small classroom with good acoustics!
posted by Toby1939 at 12:56 PM
