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After near self-destruction in the first half of the twentieth century, Europe has come alive again. All over the continent, people are proud to be European. A degree of enthusiastic unification has been achieved that was inconceivable barely twenty years ago. A large new, unified market has been created with a single currency, the euro, as its leading symbol. This transformation is eloquent testimony for the ability of mankind to transform institutions when consciousness changes. The process of change, the parallel evolution in the cultural sphere and in the economic order is the real subject of our course.

Our trip will begin in the heartland of western civilization, Magna Grecia, (greater Greece) and in particular in Velia (Elea in Greek), the home town of three of its most important philosophers, Xenophanes, Parmenides, and Zeno.
In an altogether remarkable way, the archaeology of Velia has thrown new light on the thought of Parmenides. We explore Velia thoroughly, then spend a day on a family farm, then visit Paestum with the three of the best-preserved temples on the mainland of Europe. We talk with an economist from the University of Salerno who works on the problems of economic development in the area.

We then move on to Pompeii, the city buried by Vesuvius in A.D. 79. Weather permitting, we will go up Vesuvius and explore its slopes with a naturalist. We spend a long day in Pompeii itself, then the next day head for Naples to see some of the finest things from Pompeii which have been moved to the National Archaeological Museum of Naples. A free day allows a trip to Capri or to Herculaneum or other site. Finally, we will work a day at Stabia, where the University is active through the School of Architecture. Some of the finest recent archaeological work in Pompeii was done by a University of Maryland professor of history, Wilhelmina Jashemski, and the new involvement at Stabia continues in her tradition.

Velia, Paestum, and Pompeii all have striking monuments, all more or less in ruins. Why are these ruins so fascinating for us? Leone is interested in how ruins and archaeological interpretations are put together to create something meaningful for a new society, as well as how they work on visiting tourists like ourselves. How do they connect us with the world of their builders, a world remote from us but one we can understand obliquely? How are we changed by that connection?

From Pompeii, we move on to the much better known sights of Rome in Florence. In their monuments we see the principles of modern individualism expressed in three dimensions. These elements are the beginnings of modern life. We will walk through the Roman forum, visit early Christian churches, take a walk that includes the Trevi fountain, the Spanish steps, the tomb of Augustus, the Pantheon, the Piazza Navona, and St. Peter�s. We have a day in the Vatican museums and one at Ostia Antica, the ancient port of Rome, also as remarkably preserved by being covered by sand as Pompeii was by being covered by ash. And of course there is a free day.

In Florence, we see not only the famous art galleries and climb the dome but also study with faculty of the University of Florence the evolution of the European Union and the long road that led to the creation of the euro. We have a final dinner at a restaurant that has recreated Renaissance cuisine. Then one day is totally free so that you can go to Siena or Pisa or Bologna or Ravenna or even Venice. Or you can stay in Florence, for you will have only scratched the surface there. We head back to Rome on a Sunday morning. We will eat and go somewhere together, just where depends on what is available. One year it was the opera; once it was the ballet; once, a concert of guitar music.

The trip is a course, and you have around 500 pages of required reading plus a project. Both are intended to open your eyes to what you will be seeing. You should do as much as you can of the required reading before leaving, but you may be able to find a few quiet hours for reading in Ascea. The reading should be finished before leaving Ascea.

The typical project will involve reading a book or article from the list of readings or other book related to the course and agreed upon with an instructor, presenting one theme from this reading to the class, and writing a 5 - 10 page summary of your presentation. The written report is due a week after our return. The papers are put together and printed for distribution at our reunion dinner about a month after we get home.