Ex-Pavia Student Describes Italv
Editor’ll Note: Ron Terpenlng,
n former Emerald staff writer,
studied at Pavla, Italy, last year.
Here Terpenlng relates some of
his Impressions of the country.
By RON TERPENING
Kin<-ri>l<1 Contributor
In Pavia, the first month is
usually associated with confusion
and readjustment.
This stage is characterized by
a wild-eyed student vainly search
ing an already demented mind
for liie right conversion table.
Tlie most common problem in
volves computing dollars to lire.
Then there are elusive figures
for changing gallons to liters,
miles to kilometers, and pounds
to kilos or ettos.
Freeways Exciting
Perhaps one of the first things
learned in Italy is the impor
tance of taking the right kind of
train, almost all of which sur
prisingly run with electric power.
Tho difference between a "di
rcttissiino” and an "accelerato,”
for example, is drastic. Dismayed
students find that acceleratos are
SU Art Gallery
Features Prints
An exhibit of the work of Rob
ert Browning Reed is continuing
through November 21 in the Stu
dent Union Art Gallery, second
floor SU.
I’rints of 30 woodcuts, etchings,
and lithographs arc included.
Reed's prints reveal a concern
for the condition of man. Some
arc a subtle commentary on the
self-imposed situations that
plague mankind. Others are a
sensitive probing of the make
up of individual members of the
human race Reed’s technique is
disciplined and never allowed to
overpower the idea he means
to communicate.
Reed is an Indiana native and
is now teaching printmaking at j
Purdue University.
This exhibit is on national tour
from Old Bergen Art Guild of i
Bayonne, New Jersey.
Blood Bank
The Lane Memorial Blood Bank needs
the following types of blood for its
special account which serves the fac
ulty, students, and staff of the Univer
sity.
Donor hours are 1:30 to 4 p.m. Mon
day, Tuesday and Thursday, and by
appointment from 3 to 7 p.m. Friday.
The Blood Bank is located at 790 E.
11th Ave., next to the Muyflower
Theatre. Phone 343-0336 for further
information.
Units Needed Type
7 A Positive
0 A Negative
3 O Positive
1 O Negative
2 B Positive
0 AB Positive
I the slowest trains, stopping at
I nearly everybody’s back yard, A
| dircttlssimo, however, will take
the student directly from Pavia
to Milan.
For the excitement-loving stu
dent, autostradas (freeways) are
a constant pleasure. Unlimited
speed and 'the Italian drivers
can provide an excellent work
out for one’s adrenalin. The stu
dent becomes accustomed to find
ing Fiats in the right lane and
Alfa Komcos and Ferraris in
the left, often Hashing by at
speeds over 100 mph. Occasion
ally one hears and, if he’s quick,
maybe even glimpses the tail
lights of a fast-moving test car.
Knotria, which means land of
wines, was Italy’s most ancient
name. The whole world knows
what a source of inspiration and
imagination the Italian wines have
always been, from the grapes that
ripen on the sides of volcanies,
along the warm seacoast, and
on the slopes of the picturesque
hills.
This abundant surce of stimu
lation is fortunately available to
all. Students under 21 in Pavia
no longer have to struggle for
inspiration! From the Barbcra of
Piedmonte and the Chianti of Tos
cana to the l.ambrusco Amabile of
Bologna and the Frascati of Lazio
(Rome), aspiring students can
seek relaxation at the weekly
“fpste ”
Local Cuisine
One of the many pleasures of
studying in Pavia is found in
the local cuisine. While each area
has its own specialties, the stu
dent always has a wide variety
of food to choose from. Within
a week a student may savor such
delights as tagiialelli (noodles
made with egg), ravioli, pasta al
forno (layers of cheese, tomatoes
and pasta), risotto (rice), gnocchi
(pasta made with potatoes), spa
ghetti and, of course, pizza.
Italy is, above all, the classic
land. The most ancient archaeolo
gical finds of Etruscan civiliza
tion date back to the 9th cen
tury B.C. Excellent specimens of
Greek art and the magnificent
ruins of their colonies can be ad
mired in Sicily, Naples, l’aestum
and in many museums throughout
Italy, especially Rome.
Everywhere one turns the im
print of the Homan Empire lies
on the land—in the roads, bridges,
aqueducts, triumphal arches and
theaters. And, from Early Chris
tian art and Byzantine works to
art of the Gothic period and
the Middle Ages, the student
Oregon Daily Emerald
The Oregon Dally Emerald Is pub
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days a week during the academic year,
except during examination periods, by
the Student Publications Board of the
University of Oregon.
Second-class postage paid at Eugene.
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iff she doesn’t give it to you...
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finds masterpieces within easy
traveling distance. In Pavia the
student need not go to a book
to study art; he may go to the
original.
For the history student, Pavia
means a strong Marxist approach
to historical problems. The stu
dent sees and understands the
European viewpoint in relation
to such things as the French
revolution, liberalism, socialism,
nationalism, “raison d’etat,” the
relations between Church and
State in Italy and the origins
of fascism.
An unusual number of holidays
is one of the more notable char
acteristics of Italy, and festivals
are also numerous.
The student in Pavia, having
classes only four days a week,
has the opportunity to travel as
far as Florence, Rome, or even
Naples in a weekend.
Travel Methods
On vacations students can see
most of Western Europe. Most
students travel through France,
Spain, Greece, and Italy and a
few manage to get to such places
as Russia, Turkey, and Africa.
Travel methods vary widely.
While some prefer to hitch -
hike and let fortune have a hand
in their affairs, others enjoy the
ease of trains or planes.
As an example of what is pos
sible, I spent the Christmas va
cation hitchhiking down the
western coast of Italy, through
Sicily and back up the middle
and Eastern side of the coun
try.
Italian Trickery
The weather was magnificent;
trucks rolled through the dark
streets of Naples stacked high
with oranges, lemons, pineapples,
tangerines, and melons. Palms
and bright (lowers bloomed along
the countryside. Christmas Day
in Catania dawned bright and
hot and ended in Siracuse, the
sun shedding a warm glow over
the colorful fishing boats float
ing in the harbor.
It was in Sicily that I became
aware of the fabled Italian trick
ery.
I Beware of Giovanni Pivelli! —
the plot began innocently enough.
I had left Taormina in the
morning and arrived in Catania
| at noon on a warm, pleasant
Saturday. 1 was accosted by a
weather-beaten man asking in
English for the Turkish embassy.
He launched into a long expla
nation of his problem. Being a
Turkish sailor in port for just a j
! few days, he needed money and
was selling some cloth for a sick
I shipmate.
I was not interested, but just as
II was preparing to leave the Tur
kish gentleman, he noticed an
I Italian walking by and request
ed me to do a little traaslating
for him since he spoke no Ital
ian.
Help Mankind (?)
I gladly accepted. Here was
, my chance to help mankind! Sub
! sequently I had to explain the
; whole affair to the Italian.
Needless to say, the Italian had
an uncle who just happened to
be a tailor and therefore he was
interested in buying the Turkish
man’s cloth. We ducked into the
darkened entrance way to an old
pension, leaving the door ajar.
A thin streak of sunlight gave us
enough light to see by yet al
lowed us to maintain a little pri
vacy.
Because of all our precaution
ary measures, I had by this time
imagined the cloth to be stolen.
The Italian, who told me his
name was Giovanni Pivelli, very
eagerly told me the cloth was
worth at least 120,000 lire ($192).
Agreed on Price
Eventually we agreed on 80,- j
000 lire. Since Giovanni, who was 1
buying the material, had only 40,
000 lire on hand, I offered to pay
half. He told me that if I car
ried the cloth on down to Sira- j
cuse he would pick it up that
evening at his shop, paying me
back my 40,000 lire plus 10,000
for my help.
I tried to split the cloth with
Giovanni so he wouldn’t think!
1 would run out on him. “No,” !
he said, “ho fiducia in lei” —
| I trust you. 1 couldn’t help the
feeling of brotherhood that over
came me.
When I reached Giovanni’s
shop on Via Roma in Siracuse,
the sky was dark; a light mist
was falling. The shop was closed.
At 10, Giovanni still hadn’t shown
up but I didn’t mind. I was en
joying myself watching the Si
cilianos.
Fulfilled Obligation
Finally I stuck a note in the
door telling Giovanni if he want
ed his cloth to be at the Central
Station at 5 o’clock the next
morning. I was happy. I had ful
filled my obligation. If Giovanni
didn’t show up, I knew I would
get all the cloth for 40,000 lire,
leaving me a profit of at least
$64.
In the morning Giovanni didn’t
appear. I felt a little guilty be
cause of my happiness.
Six days later I was in Gala
tina, a small village in the very
bottom of the heel of Italy. I
spent New Year’s Day celebrat
ing with the families of two of
my Italian friends.
When I explained my good
luck in relation to the cloth I
had gotten for so little, I no
ticed my friends eyeing each
other. They asked to see the ma
terial.
Taken In
I had, of course, been taken
in. The cloth was worth no more
than I had paid for it. I contem
plated the two extremes for sev
eral days—the generosity of my
southern Italian friends and the
almost humorous adeptness of
Giovanni Pivelli.
Italy means many different
things for each student. For me,
t is the land of a thousand images.
The impressions are almost
innumerable; many are indescrib
able. Above all, Italy to me is
the land where throughout his
tory man’s intellectual and spirit
ual life has received its fullest
expression. Italy is the immor
tal soul of the Western World
—a land where the ancient and
the modern constantly mingle to
produce an ever-varying, eternal
freshness.
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