Vicenza and the Veneto: Program Overview
Summer 2025
Dates TBA
Application Deadline Forthcoming
Learn More and Apply
Virtual Information Session
Tuesday December 3, 5:30PM
On Zoom, Register
AN INTRODUCTION TO A PRACTICE IN A PLACE
Lines of connection follow observation. Relationships are determined following questioning. Questions start drawings. Drawing therefore is at the core of a designer’s work for it actively combines the processes of observation and considered positioning with the making of substantive marks. Well-founded consideration and clear position-taking are essential components in a successful design process. Without drawing, design as we know it does not happen.
The Vicenza Program is driven by questions and to a certain degree quests. No matter the level of sophistication, in my experience I do not know of an instance when a person who has made a drawing pursuant to a question is not wiser (or at least more knowledgeable) for having made the effort. Drawing never narrows ones field of view - drawing only expands us. In short, drawing is instructive. I sense that most students know this. There is evidence that drawing, when combined with a concerted effort to seek out, question, and document connections, may be one of the most powerful tools a hopeful person has to maintain positive and creative outpu
— by former Program Director, Professor Emeritus Charlie Menefee
LOCATION
This summer program is based in Vicenza, in the Veneto region of Italy. With a population just over 100,000, Vicenza is home to the Villa La Rotunda and numerous other buildings by Palladio. It is located approximately 30 minutes by train from the city of Venice.
LEARN MORE —
Program dates, Program details, Planning Information, Program Costs, Financial Aid Information and Application Details can be found at UVA's Education Abroad Website.
Graduating 4th years and rising 4th years are prioritized in the admission process, but graduate students, and rising 2nd and 3rd years are also eligible to apply. Applicants must meet the Eligibility Criteria to participate in an education abroad program.
Please note: School of Architecture students are encouraged to apply for dedicated financial aid for this program. This is a Walker Global Experience Scholarship Program - supported by a generous $2 million gift. Students may apply for an award of up $5,000 to cover expenses such as program tuition fees, room and board, transportation and incidental costs.
ARCH 5800: Vicenza Program I, 3 credits
ARCH 5801: Vicenza Program II, 3 credits
Syllabus Vicenza 2024
Objectives
Students take both 3-credit courses (for a total of 6 credits), in which the student will be given the opportunity to:
- Develop freehand drawing skills through instruction in diagramming, measuring, and recording what they see in sketches and analytical drawings.
- Develop the essential skill of observing relationships both particular to the place and those that are universal to human occupation.
- Analyze and record the development of prototypical constructions at the scale of the town, building, and building element. This includes particular architectural types such as Roman and medieval towns, the villa and palazzo types, and also includes elements and conditions such as the window and corner.
- Address universal conditions such as threshold, boundary, and frame and how these conditions are approached at a range of scales.
- Consider the making of civic identity through the study of the development of the Venetian town from a Roman outpost to modern economic power as the community incorporates physical, political, economic, religious, pugilistic, agricultural, intellectual, and artistic influences.
Completion Requirements & Grading
Completion will be defined by and grading based on level of productivity, attentiveness, range and quality of critical inquiry and documentation, and degree of improvement in communicating observations through sketching and analytical drawing. Final grading takes place in the fall semester following the summer term.
Luis Pancorbo | lgp6t@virginia.edu
Associate Professor in Architecture, Professor Pancorbo's research interests focus on the technical dimension of architecture and its influence on the methodology of architectural design, American industrial architecture, and industrial ruins and derelict productive landscapes.
Ines Martin Robles | imm3x@virginia.edu
Associate Professor in Architecture, with research interests in Modern Spanish and Ibero-American architecture, the survival of the past through tradition, and the role of memory for architectural design methodology.