About the Program

Spring 2011 Siena Program Flier  |  Summer 2011 Spannocchia Program Flier

The program includes two days in Siena and 1-2 weeks at Spannocchia, an organic farm and sustainable estate 25 miles from Siena.  Gil Latz, Geography Department faculty and Vice-Provost for International Affairs at Portland State University, began the program in 2004 after visiting Spannocchia as part of a research project on sustainable forestry.  His collaboration with Mauro Agnoletti, geographer at the University of Florence and Visiting Scholar at PSU, has provided the organizing concept for the ongoing program: sustainability in city and country.  PSU Geography Professor Dr. Thomas Harvey's work with the program and his research on Siena resulted in a 2007 article titled Siena and Sustainability: City and Country in Tuscany.  Students working on projects under subsequent program leader, David Banis, GIS lab manager in the Geography Department, has resulted in a series of maps and vignettes for Spannocchia and Tuscan hill towns.  Dr. Martha Works, PSU Geography professor, joined the Spannocchia program in 2010 and will teach in AHA International's term abroad program in Siena in Spring 2011.