About the Urbino Project

Students, faculty, translators/interpreters, and friends of the 2022 Urbino Project at our final dinner at Meta Beach south of Fano, Italy.

Between May 27 and June 25, 2022, 39 students from James Madison University, Colorado State University, and Rider University developed multimedia stories to document the people and places of Urbino and the Marche Region of Italy. 

The Urbino Project

Twenty-one students created multimedia pieces with text, photos and video. Another nine students created magazine layouts with text and photos. They also created infographics. Nine students worked on the creation of documentary videos. All of their work is shown on this website.

Students learned how to navigate as professional media producers in a foreign culture by working with Italian translators/interpreters and crafting ready-to-publish feature stories. They also studied “survival” Italian to learn about the history and culture of the region.

The project was developed by the Institute for Education in International Media (ieiMedia) and students received academic credit from James Madison University, the University of Jamestown or Rider University.

Students were coached by an experienced staff, including a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and a team of professionals with experience as Washington Post photographers, magazine executive editors, and major television market videographers and reporters. Students were taught writing, photography, and online video with emphasis on experiential learning.

Translators/Interpreters

Student reporters were not required to have Italian language background. Instead, they worked with University of Urbino foreign language students who served as translators/interpreters. They helped guide our reporters through the culture and worked with them during the story development process. Translators included Lorenza Abbondanza, Ilaria Caiazzo, Chiara Centauro, Mariateresa Chiovitti, Martina DeFilippo, Sara Gabellini, Linda Marangoni, Lucia Piazzalunga, Maria Silvia Pieri, Matteo Ridolfi, and Valeria Ritella. We are indebted to them all for their assistance.

The City

Urbino is a picturesque Renaissance hill town in the Marche region of central Italy. Although Urbino was a Roman and medieval city, its peak came during the 15th century when Duke Federico da Montefeltro established one of Europe’s most illustrious courts. Its impressive Ducal Palace houses one of the most important collections of Renaissance paintings in Italy. Urbino’s historic center is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Urbino lies in the northern part of central Italy’s Marche Region, nestled between the Apennine Mountains and the Adriatic Sea. Many say the Renaissance started here. The Duke of Urbino’s twin-turreted palace still houses an outstanding collection of period art. Other attractions include a unique botanical garden and the boyhood home of the Renaissance artist Raphael. Lively beach towns are a bus ride away. Students lived and learned at the University of Urbino, with all meals included.

The University

The University of Urbino is situated in a Renaissance hill town in the northeastern part of central Italy. The university was founded in 1506, and currently has about 20,000 students, many of whom are from overseas. The university has no central campus as such, and instead occupies numerous buildings throughout the town and in the surrounding countryside.