{"id":763,"date":"2023-09-28T15:17:05","date_gmt":"2023-09-28T19:17:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.trincoll.edu\/reporter\/?page_id=763"},"modified":"2023-10-02T15:09:20","modified_gmt":"2023-10-02T19:09:20","slug":"pestilli-and-painter","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.trincoll.edu\/reporter\/fall-2023\/features\/pestilli-and-painter\/","title":{"rendered":"Pestilli and Painter"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Andrew J. Concatelli<\/em><\/p>\n

Roughly 5,500 students hold fond memories of their time at the Trinity College Rome Campus, the College\u2019s oldest global study program. Whether they knew it at the time, their experiences were shaped by the significant contributions of two key figures in the program\u2019s history: Livio Pestilli, former director of the Rome Campus who led the program for nearly four decades, and Borden W. Painter Jr. \u201958, H\u201995, president and professor of history, emeritus, whose steadfast support for the program helped to establish it as a hallmark of the College.<\/p>\n

Founded in 1970, the campus celebrated its 50th anniversary this year, three years late due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The March 2023 gathering in Rome included tours, receptions, and panel discussions, including a faculty forum that featured both Pestilli and Painter talking about their longtime involvement with the program.<\/p>\n

When Stephen D. Marth* began serving as the director of the Rome Campus and assistant professor of Italian studies in 2017, it was clear to him that the program, which welcomes students from Trinity and from other U.S. colleges, was thriving after being developed and shepherded by Pestilli and Painter. \u201cIt\u2019s just an inspiring place to come to. The Rome Campus has a very special feeling to it,\u201d Marth says. \u201cYou get a sense of that when you visit the Aventine Hill for the first time. There is a real family feel to the campus that makes it so when people make a connection with this place\u2014either as professors or students\u2014it remains forever as a very intimate and lasting connection.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018The Mayor of Rome\u2019<\/h4>\n
\"Borden
Borden W. Painter Jr. \u201958, H\u201995, second from left, and Livio Pestilli, second from right, are flanked by Rome Campus professor Valentino Pace and Henry A. DePhillips Jr., Vernon K. Krieble Professor of Chemistry, Emeritus.
Photo by Wendy Imperial<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Born in Italy and raised in the United States, Pestilli was hired in 1978 by the late Michael R. Campo \u201948, H\u201996, John J. McCook Professor of Modern Languages, Emeritus, who founded the Rome Campus. Pestilli first taught Italian language, then art history, and in 1979 became the program\u2019s on-site director\u2014a position he would hold for 37 years until he stepped down in 2016. He remains on the Rome faculty today, teaching courses on Michelangelo and Bernini and sharing his love of travel and of Italy.<\/p>\n

\u201cStudy-abroad programs widen our horizons,\u201d Pestilli says. \u201cI tell the student it\u2019s the best decision they made. It\u2019s only by going abroad that you will better understand yourself and the world you live in. Going to study abroad is about appreciating how different people and societies approach issues or problems coming from a different angle.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen studying abroad, many students feel an incredible epiphany,\u201d he continues. \u201cIt\u2019s an age of discovery. And add to that experience the beauty, the historical significance of a major western city, along with the art, the food, the weather, and the friends they meet here.\u201d<\/p>\n

One such epiphany came to Quanti E. Davis \u201993, who was inspired in part by his time studying at the Rome Campus to start a travel management firm. Davis says, \u201cMy Rome experience unleashed in me a profound love for travel.\u201d Davis, who now works as a 911 dispatcher, remembers Pestilli\u2019s deep knowledge of all things Italian and his extensive connections in Rome. \u201cIt seemed that Livio knew everybody; we called him \u2018The Mayor of Rome.\u2019 He had been doing the program so well for so long, and his demeanor was always so calm in any situation,\u201d says Davis.<\/p>\n

Pestilli says that he and his colleagues in Rome enjoy sharing their passions with students. \u201cThe excitement we transmit to the students in a classroom; on-site; in a church, a museum, or an archeological area strikes a chord with them,\u201d Pestilli says. \u201cI believe the humanities are an enrichment of the human soul. That, to me, is much more valuable, ultimately, for human beings than the more strictly practical experiences that may land more jobs and money.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pestilli cites hiring and leading a dedicated staff and faculty among his greatest achievements with the Rome Campus. Ever humble, Pestilli sees himself as something of a caretaker to the program, even after decades leading it. \u201cMichael Campo brought it to life; I helped to nurse it along. Now it\u2019s someone else\u2019s turn,\u201d Pestilli says. \u201cIt\u2019s important to take the ego out of the job.\u201d<\/p>\n

Marth notes, \u201cLivio was extremely welcoming and available to help me get settled into the new role. He talked to me a lot about the parts of the program that made him the happiest. Most of that was connected with sharing knowledge and passion about Italy, his research with students, and making those connections that have a real impact on people\u2019s lives.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018A Spark in his Eyes\u2019<\/h4>\n

In addition to teaching courses in English and European history, Painter has served as Trinity\u2019s dean of the faculty (1984\u201387), director of Italian programs (1989\u20132004), acting president (1994\u201395), and president (2003\u201304).<\/p>\n

Painter also served as chair of the Cesare Barbieri Endowment for Italian Culture for 15 years and is the author of Mussolini\u2019s Rome: Rebuilding the Eternal City<\/em>, which continues to be used in courses at the Rome Campus. Since he retired in 2004, he has published books, book reviews, and journal articles.<\/p>\n

\u201cI first taught in Rome in the summer of \u201971, so I had an association with the program early on,\u201d says Painter, who oversaw the Rome Campus as director of Italian programs. \u201cThanks to Michael Campo, Trinity gained a university-level reputation in Italian studies because of our program on campus and in Rome. It put us on the map.\u201d Together with Campo, Painter instituted Trinity\u2019s Elderhostel program (now called Road Scholar) in Italy in the early 1980s, providing educational travel programs for adults near or in retirement.<\/p>\n

\"Borden<\/a>
Borden Painter, second from left, and Livio Pestilli, second from right, dine in September 1997 at Le Grottelle (\u201cthe little grottoes\u201d) on the island of Capri with graduate fellow Mark Seymour and professor of Italian language and literature Ivana Rinaldi.<\/p>\n

Photo courtesy of the Trinity College Archives<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Painter advocated in the 1990s for Pestilli\u2019s director role to expand to full time and to include the summer session. \u201cLivio had the perfect temperament for his job,\u201d Painter says. \u201cHe was essentially an American and also a Roman, so we had the best of both worlds.\u201d<\/p>\n

Working closely with the Rome program opened a new and unexpected chapter for Painter. \u201cMy wife and I got to know the city quite well. In some ways Rome was our second home. When I started teaching at Trinity, I would have never predicted this for my future, so I consider myself very lucky to have been an integral part of this.\u201d<\/p>\n

Painter says it\u2019s always gratifying to hear alumni say their time in Rome was life-changing. \u201cSome of them got into art history as a result, some of them continued their study of Italian,\u201d he says. \u201cThey remember this as a wonderful time and something they would never forget.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ashley Graves Turney \u201993, for one, says studying in Rome directly influenced her life. \u201cI fell in love with the city,\u201d she says. \u201cAfter I graduated, I worked in Italy as a group leader with Elderhostel programs. I got to know Borden and Dr. Campo and his wife. They took me under their wing and showed me around. I now have my own travel company\u2014L\u2019Esperta, meaning \u2018The Expert\u2019\u2014that designs trips to Italy. Because of my experience in Rome, I have found a way to keep Italy in my life every day, and I thank Trinity College and the Rome Campus for giving that to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Marth adds that he has learned a lot about the Rome Campus from both Painter and Henry A. DePhillips Jr., Vernon K. Krieble Professor of Chemistry, Emeritus, who brought groups of chemistry students to Rome to learn about art conservation in Rome and has remained very close to the program over the years. \u201cThere\u2019s a spark in his eyes when you talk to Borden about Rome,\u201d Marth says. \u201cBorden was and continues to be a huge supporter of the program and has made an enormous contribution toward its success over the years.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018New Opportunities\u2019<\/h4>\n

As Trinity\u2019s Rome Campus is three years into its next 50, Pestilli and Painter reflect on the lasting impacts they made on the program and their hopes for its future.<\/p>\n

\u201cI tried to create an environment in which I would love to work,\u201d Pestilli says. \u201cWhat\u2019s made the program so valuable for so many students is its size and intimacy\u2014we average around 50 students per term\u2014and the fact that we have a staff and faculty who love what they do.<\/p>\n

\u201cI hope we don\u2019t forget the things that distinguish us, that the program continues to maintain its high standards, and that it continues to focus on taking advantage of being in Rome, at the sites of ancient civilizations with so much history, literature, and art,\u201d he says. \u201cAnd as I told Stephen, \u2018If you always think of the students first, you will run a good program.\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n

Painter says he is proud of the work he did with the Rome program and of its ongoing success. \u201cThe fact that the program survived things like September 11 and COVID-19 speaks to its continuing strength. It\u2019s not static; it\u2019s adapting and expanding all the time under Stephen\u2019s leadership. There\u2019s a very active internship program now that we didn\u2019t have originally. There are new opportunities for students to work in the city or to live with Italian students,\u201d he says, adding, \u201cThe program is a feather in Trinity\u2019s cap. It\u2019s something we can be proud of, and it\u2019s got a very bright future.\u201d<\/p>\n

*Stephen Marth left his position with the Trinity College Rome Campus in August 2023.<\/sub><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Andrew J. Concatelli Roughly 5,500 students hold fond memories of their time at the Trinity College Rome Campus, the College\u2019s oldest global study program. 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