Viterbo Courses – 2026 Summer Sessions I & II
Academics
Viterbo offers immersive language learning in an authentic, non-touristy environment. Its rich artistic heritage, including Renaissance and Gothic architecture, provides a living classroom for art history. Surrounded by ancient archaeological sites and papal history, Viterbo is ideal for exploring Italy’s cultural and historical depth firsthand. Daily interaction with native speakers and small class sizes foster rapid language acquisition and deeper cultural understanding.
You may enroll in three to seven credits during Session I and/or Session II. At least one 3-credit course is required each session you are enrolled. No prior knowledge of Italian is required for the program, though language study is strongly encouraged for those seeking a richer cross-cultural experience.
Courses Offered
Course availability is contingent upon scheduling constraints, meeting enrollment minimums, and is subject to change. View course details and descriptions.
Courses marked with an asterisk* are taught in Italian
Summer Session I
Italian Language, Culture, & Society
- Introduction to Italian Language
- Elementary Italian I*
- Intermediate Italian I*
- Food and Culture
- Italian Culture and Society
- Sacred Steps: Pilgrimage and Spiritual Walking in Italy
Non-Credit Workshop
- Italian Cuisine
Art, Architecture, & Art History
- Art Crime: Looting and Restitution in Italy
- Roman Art and Architecture
- Spirituality and Architecture in Italy
- Travel Photography
Internships
Summer Session II
Italian Language, Culture, & Society
- Introduction to Italian Language
- Elementary Italian I*
- Elementary Italian II*
- Intermediate Italian I*
- Intermediate Italian II*
- Italian Culture and Society
- Music and Identity in Italy
- Travel Writing and Multimedia Storytelling
Non-Credit Workshop
- Italian Cuisine
Art, Architecture, & Art History
- Art Crime: Looting and Restitution in Italy
- Italian Renaissance Arts
- Roman Art and Architecture
- Viterbo Sketchbook: Drawing Italy
Internships
U.S. Visiting Professors
While most USAC courses are taught by local faculty, the following U.S. professors will also teach in this program:
Summer Session I, 2026
Course: Food and Culture
Erin Dormedy, Ph.D., California State University, Fresno
Dr. Erin Dormedy is a Professor and Chair of the Department of Food Science and Nutrition at CSU, Fresno. She has a MS and PhD in Food Science and Technology from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and her BS in Food Science and Nutrition from California Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo. Dr. Dormedy teaches food microbiology, food chemistry, and other courses. Through research and applied technology, she teaches her students how to transform raw farm commodities into value-added food products. Her love for travel and learning about food is passed through her teaching in the classroom by creating a transformative experience for her students.
Summer Session II, 2026
Course: Travel Writing and Multimedia Storytelling
Jes Therkelsen, California State University, Fresno
Jes Therkelsen holds an MBA and an MFA. He is a documentary filmmaker, photographer, and Professor with over 15 years of international storytelling experience. His films have screened at Slamdance, Big Sky, and on regional PBS. He is a recipient of the Broadcast Education Association's Best Festival Award. He has led storytelling workshops across 6 continents with National Geographic Expeditions and directed many study abroad programs, He is passionate about fostering global perspectives for students through storytelling.
USAC Course Descriptions
Click the course title to view course details, description and availability. To request a course syllabus: syllabus@usac.edu
- Summer Session IArt History 400-level 3 credits Taught in EnglishSummer Session IIArt History 400-level 3 credits Taught in English
This course explores the fascinating and often illicit world of Italian art theft and restitution. Through a critical examination of historical case studies, students will investigate the theft, smuggling, and recovery of Italy’s priceless cultural artifacts. The course will explore the impact of these crimes on cultural heritage, the legal frameworks for restitution, and the ongoing challenges faced by art historians, legal professionals, and governments in the protection and repatriation of stolen art.
While class discussions and lectures will provide the framework of the course, a series of field trips will offer us the chance to observe the preservation, display, and safeguarding of a range of Etruscan antiquities. In fact, the area around Viterbo is rich with necropoli, archaeological museums, and ongoing excavations. Assessments will include practical research exercises, several small projects, and short, independent research essays using primary sources.
- Summer Session IItalian 100-level 4 credits Taught in ItalianSummer Session IIItalian 100-level 4 credits Taught in Italian
This course is designed to help students acquire basic communicative competence by providing opportunities to develop the basic skills of a language: listening, speaking, interacting, reading, and writing
- Summer Session IIItalian 100-level 4 credits Taught in Italian
This course is designed to help students acquire basic communicative competence by providing opportunities to develop the basic skills of a language: listening, speaking, interacting, reading, and writing.
Prerequisite: one semester of college Italian, or equivalent
- Summer Session IAnthropology Nutrition 300-level 3 credits Taught in English
This course explores connections between what we eat and who we are through a cross-cultural study of how personal identities and social groups are formed via food production, preparation, and consumption. Food is not just about sustenance, but about the cultural symbols that bind people together in ritual and as a community. How one learns about, participates in, and understands the act of eating – when, how, and why certain foods are prepared - is the heart of this course.
- Summer Session IItalian 200-level 3 credits Taught in ItalianSummer Session IIItalian 200-level 3 credits Taught in Italian
This course offers an intensive study and practice of productive and receptive language skills in the oral and written modes. The course will allow students to improve their knowledge of grammar, increase their vocabulary, and their understanding of cultural and social aspects of Italian life.
Prerequisite: two semesters of college-level Italian, or equivalent
- Summer Session IIItalian 200-level 3 credits Taught in Italian
This course offers an intensive study and practice of productive and receptive language skills in the oral and written modes. The course will allow students to improve their knowledge of grammar, increase their vocabulary, and their understanding of cultural and social aspects of Italian life.
Prerequisite: three semesters of college-level Italian, or equivalent
- Summer Sessions I & IIInternships 300-level 3 credits Taught in English
USAC skills-based internships abroad are designed to complement a student’s program of study while providing a structured work or field experience under the direction of a professional supervisor and with the oversight and support of an on-site USAC internship coordinator.
USAC internships facilitate the academic and professional development of students through:
1) the practical application of knowledge and skills learned in the classroom to a professional work environment.
2) the further development of practical competencies essential to the ongoing work of the placement site.
3) the cultivation of a network of professional contacts.
USAC internships will expose students to the workplace culture, norms, and expectations of their respective placement site and host country, deepening cross-cultural understanding and helping students develop intercultural communication and language skills in an internationally focused organization or other professional work setting.
Through the consistent participation in the processes and practices of a professional field, students will acquire a working knowledge of that field and will apply that learning to their own career and academic choices and goals.
This course has an additional fee
- Summer Session IItalian 100-level 1 credit Taught in English and ItalianSummer Session IIItalian 100-level 1 credit Taught in English and Italian
This course will introduce students to Italian language topics, including a general introduction to everyday vocabulary, grammar, and syntax. Students will learn and practice speaking and pronunciation in groups and with guidance from the instructor.
- Summer Session ISummer Session II
Each session will begin with a brief introduction to the day's recipes and ingredients, followed by plenty of time to dive into cooking and food preparation. Together, we’ll learn to create classic and modern Italian dishes, including antipasti, pasta, pizza, main courses with veggie sides, and desserts.
Our focus will be on enjoying the experience, with attention to traditional Italian dining customs. Sharing meals together will be one of the best parts of the workshop!
Please note: This workshop is not suitable for students on a gluten-free or vegan diet, as many recipes will feature traditional dishes from all the Regions of Italy.
This workshop has an additional fee.
This workshop requires a minimum enrollment of 9 students to run.
- Summer Session IItalian Studies 200-level 3 credits Taught in EnglishSummer Session IIItalian Studies 200-level 3 credits Taught in English
This course offers a holistic view of Italian culture and society while focusing on important aspects of Italian culture, including food, music, religion, and family, among others. Analyzing these topics will provide students with the necessary tools and concepts to understand Italy as a complex, post-modern society.
- Summer Session IIArt General Humanities And Social Sciences History 300-level 3 credits Taught in English
This course explores the fundamental concepts of arts in the Italian Renaissance (14th – 16th century, from early Humanism to Mannerism), in order to furnish the tools to interpret the practice of painting, sculpture, architecture, music, theater, and poetry of that period. Specific attention is given to the evolution of the relationship between art and nature, its heritage in Western culture, and its relation to technology and environmental issues today. Students are given the opportunity to study significant Renaissance masterpieces in class and in sites, such as Viterbo, Rome, and Caprarola. This course will provide students with the opportunity to experience the spirit, creation, and reception of arts in the Italian renaissance, as well as reflect on their influence on today’s practices of the arts.
- Summer Session IIAnthropology Music 200-level 3 credits Taught in English
We’re excited to introduce this new course option as course details are being finalized. Please check back after 1/15 for full course details.
- Summer Session IArt History 300-level 3 credits Taught in EnglishSummer Session IIArt History 300-level 3 credits Taught in English
This course will explore the most important examples of Roman art and architecture through on-site visits to archaeological sites, monuments, and museums in the Rome and Lazio region, providing students with foundational knowledge of Roman history related to the world of art and architecture.
- Summer Session IHistory Religious Studies 300-level 3 credits Taught in English
This course explores pilgrimage as a dynamic religious and cultural practice from late antiquity to the present. While rooted in faith and ritual, contemporary pilgrimage often reflects secular motivations such as seeking well-being or inner balance, connecting with nature, engaging in cultural tourism or physical challenge, and pursuing spiritual reflection outside traditional religion. Students will also engage with debates on authenticity, heritage tourism, gender, and the secularization of pilgrimage, gaining insight into a living tradition that continues to link past and present, body and spirit, place and meaning.
- Summer Session IArchitecture History Religious Studies 200-level 3 credits Taught in English
We’re excited to introduce this new course option as course details are being finalized. Please check back after 1/15 for full course details.
- Summer Session IIEnglish Journalism 300-level 3 credits Taught in English
This course invites students to discover Viterbo and its surrounding region through writing and multimedia storytelling. Blending travel writing, photography, audio, and video, students will learn to see the world like a storyteller — attentive to detail, alive to culture, and reflective about their own role as travelers. We will explore the ethics of representation, the challenges of communicating across languages and cultures, and the possibilities of new media in shaping travel narratives today. Class sessions combine workshops, excursions, and guest speakers, encouraging students to engage deeply with local life while honing their creative voice. By the end of the course, students will produce a portfolio of work that integrates multiple forms of storytelling and reflects both personal insight and cultural engagement. This course is designed for students interested in writing, photography, journalism, and the art of storytelling.
- Summer Session IArt 300-level 3 credits Taught in English
Photographers, like any other artists, have the responsibility of mediating reality for those who will view their pictures. Travel photography is the quintessential mediation of reality, since people looking at a travel reportage will probably never get to visit the places depicted. The job of travel photographers is then to show their own impressions of a place, representing what caught their attention and what they deemed important, rather than showing famous landmarks.
This course will help you to capture memories, learn to tell a story with images, and give your own impression of a place through photographic expression. In particular, the course will go through the basics of exposure management, getting to know the main features of your camera, managing studio lighting, and understanding composition. The course will also go through the work of the masters of travel photography to encourage students to find their own style of visual expression.
- Summer Session IIArt 100-level 3 credits Taught in English
This course is centered on the sketchbook as an instrument for developing drawing and painting techniques and for learning how to observe and understand visual information. Students will use a variety of materials to document historic sites, building up a unique and personal record of the world around them. Individual and group instruction will be provided throughout, and attention will be paid to the progress and needs of each student as they learn the fundamental techniques of perspective and proportion and gain an understanding of the methods that can be used to reproduce a three-dimensional world onto a two-dimensional surface. The course will be structured with in-class activities and outside workshops during which the medieval city of Viterbo will offer a treasure of architecture and artwork that will serve as inspiration.
This course has an additional fee