L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, AUGUST 8, 2019 www.italoamericano.org 22 L'Italo-Americano I n the heart of Rome's Centro Storico, not far from the Campo de' Fiori, sits the his- toric 15th-century Palazzo Pio. The lovely building overlooks the small Piazza del Biscione and is built on the ruins RITA CIPALLA tional technology. A new exhibit space will showcase student work and a terrace overlooking Campo de' Fiori will be created for stu- dent and faculty use. Although the renovations will take more than three years, classes and programs will be ongoing during that time. The goal of the renovation, ac- cording to Amity Neumeister, res- ident director of UW Rome Cen- ter, is to make sure that study abroad, research and scholarly collaboration continue to be a transformative experience. "We envision opening our doors more to the community," said Neumeis- ter, "inviting the public to join us in learning from our expert faculty and guest lecturers who frequent the UW Rome Center in our grand conference room and a new exhibit space. This will be a place where UW programs and the broader community will come to share in the creation and delivery of knowledge, expanding all of our cultural boundaries." Events to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the UW Rome Center will start in spring 2020, and will take place at both the Seattle and Rome campuses. In Seattle, the UW will host an ex- hibit of student work, a celebra- tion dinner and a lecture series on Rome. In Italy, a scholar will pre- sent a keynote lecture at the UW Rome Center. There will also be student exhibits in Rome and a 10-day tour for friends and alumni offered next fall. of the Temple of Venus, which once crowned a theater complex founded by Pompey the Great. Although millions of visitors walk by this site every year, most are unaware of the several "se- crets" housed in Palazzo Pio. The first is its unique historic context: this ancient theater complex was the spot where Julius Caesar was assassinated in 44 BC. The second is that each year for the past five decades, the building has hosted students from the University of Washington. In 2020, the UW Rome Center kicks off its 50th anniversary year. The UW in Rome program be- gan in 1970 when Professor Astra Zarina started a small architecture study abroad program for her stu- dents. By the end of her career, Zarina had taught architecture and urban design at the University of Washington for more than three decades, both in Seattle and in Italy. The Architecture in Rome and the Italian Hilltowns pro- grams that she created introduced hundreds of young architects and designers to the concepts of con- tinuity and change so critical to Italian architecture, urban plan- ning, design and culture. Born in Riga, Latvia, Zarina was very familiar with Rome. Af- ter receiving her master's in ar- chitecture at MIT in 1955, she re- ceived the American Academy in Rome Fellowship in Architecture five years later, the first the acad- emy ever awarded to a woman in architecture. She also received a Fulbright grant for study in Italy. In 1983, with others at the UW, Zarina began negotiating a lease for several floors of Palazzo Pio, owned by the Istituto Tata Giovanni, an ecclesiastical orga- nization that houses and educates orphaned boys. Once the lease was signed, she coordinated the design of both its classroom and residential spaces, and served as director of the Rome Center from 1984 to 1994. She died on August 31, 2008 at the age of 79. Palazzo Pio, as is true of many buildings in Rome, has a long and complicated history. After its be- ginning as a theater and temple, in the Middle Ages it was a forti- fied house used by the Orsini fam- ily. Around 1450, a portion of the building corresponding roughly to the space occupied by the UW Rome Center today was pur- chased by Cardinal Francesco Condulmer, the nephew of Pope Eugene IV. When Professor Zarina re- stored the space in the 1980s, she discovered the ruins of the 13th- century Orsini tower, previously thought demolished. It had been hidden within the walls of Palazzo Pio all those years. She restored the tower as part of her design plan. During the Renaissance, the building became known as the Palazzo dell'Orologio because of the large clock on the tower façade. As the Campo de' Fiori emerged as a center of high cul- ture, the Orsini family commis- sioned Camillo Arcucci to up- grade the building. The baroque façade that Arcucci selected around 1650 is the one that visi- tors see today, and the building became a showcase from that point on. As early as 1747, it was a featured attraction in a tourist guide by Giuseppe Vasi. After the house was acquired by the Pio da Carpi di Savoia fam- ily, it became known as Palazzo Pio. In the mid-1800s, the Pio family sold the palazzo to a banker who in turn passed it on to its current owners, Istituto Tata Giovanni. Eventually, the third and fourth floors of the palazzo were abandoned until the Univer- sity of Washington secured the lease and restored the space. Today, the UW Rome Center combines the charm of an historic Roman palazzo with the conve- nience and technology of a mod- ern academic facility. The Center includes more than 14,000 square feet of classroom and studio space, grand conference room, li- brary, computer lab, faculty apart- ments and study space. Nearly 400 students completed a study abroad program there last year. In January 2019, the university embarked on a multi-year reno- vation of Palazzo Pio that includes structural updates, electrical and mechanical work and fire safety prevention measures as well as new lighting, flooring and educa- In 2020, the University of Washington Rome Center celebrates its 50th anniversary with lectures, exhibits and a special tour of Rome for alumni. (University of Washington). University of Washington Rome Center begins plans to celebrate 50th anniversary SEATTLE ITALIAN COMMUNITY

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