Kyle Brownell Travels to Italy for Study Tour

2013 Feb 14

During winter break, 22 students, including senior finance Kyle Brownell, joined eight faculty members on a trip to Italy, the birthplace of the Franciscan tradition on which Siena College was founded. The trip, called "Religious Treasures of Italy," took the group on a tour around the country, exploring the historic and religious aspects of each city visited, including Rome, Venice, Florence, Assisi and, of course, Siena.

Professor of Religious Studies Peter Zaas, Ph.D. said that the two-week tour of Italy was the culmination of the Religious Studies Field Experience and Biblical Study Tour courses. Zaas said that the courses embraced the life and values of St. Francis of Assisi and offered students the opportunity to learn not only in the classroom, but at the sites that they studied.

The trip included a visit to Assisi, the home of St. Francis, the man whose teachings the Siena College's values are based upon. The city is home to the Basilicas of St. Francis and St. Clare. The Basilica of St. Clare houses the original San Damiano Cross from which Jesus spoke to St. Francis, telling him to rebuild the church. Replicas of that cross hang in Siena College classrooms.

Zaas said that the students were able to see firsthand the relations among nature, art and scholarship that are valued highly in Franciscan tradition. In addition to visiting both Christian and non-Christian religious sites, students explored the ancient cities, ate authentic Italian food and spent some time shopping.

Zaas said that the trip to Italy was the twenty-first annual study tour sponsored by the Religious Studies Department. The first trip, during winter break of 1989-90, was to Israel and Egypt.

Siena College is a learning community advancing the ideals of a liberal arts education, rooted in its identity as a Franciscan and Catholic college. Located in Loudonville, N.Y., two miles north of the state capital, the 176-acre beautiful, suburban campus is home to 3,000 undergraduates. Siena offers over 1,200 program combinations from 27 majors and 49 minor and certificate programs. Students engage in a highly personalized education where they receive the education of a lifetime.