University of Pittsburgh - Owl Yearbook (Pittsburgh, PA)

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THE TALIAN ROOM 16

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Freedom and truth are the two great ideals of the Czechoslovak peoples. Dominating their cheerful room is a bronze relief of Thomas G. Masarvk, greatest personality of the Czechs and Slovaks. It is embedded in the front wall between the words v' “Pravda Vitezi,” “Truth Conquers.” Cast for its exact position the portrait suggests with the nation’s motto that here nothing unworthy can be learned or taught, that the poison of prejudice is neutralized. Flowers of botanical accuracy are painted on the larch rafters as in Slovak country churches. Other designs are creations of fantasy. Miraculous trees, delightful concepts of the love of life where bright birds and insects perch and buzz among oddly mixed leaves, fruits and flowers, are deftly painted on the window wall. The unusual ceiling has six panels portraying famous men in Czechoslovak history. Further beauty is added by the use of wood inlay. The desk is ornamented with panels symbolizing higher knowledge. A spray of linden appears on the reading stand as an emblem of homelife. Upholstered in red leather, oak furniture with heart-shaped apertures contrast strikingly with mellow white walls. Opposite the entrance a wrought-iron shrine encases a handwritten letter from President Masarvk to Pitt students, proclaiming education the workshop of the world. The whole room is-a shrine recognizing Czechoslovakia’s inspirational ideals. 5

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Replica of a fifteenth century Tuscan convent, the Italian Room has the studied air of Renaissance beauty. The vivid ceiling attracts immediate attention with turquoise cazettas separated by mouldings of terra cotta, each set with a carved and gilded rosette. Under such a ceiling, nuns of the San Dominico Convent, Pesaro, copied holy manuscripts centuries ago. Modeled after Italian choir stalls, the tops of the walnut backs are inlaid with the names in olive wood of men who created Italy’s cultural rebirth—Petrarca, Da Vinci, Galileo and others of unsurpassed genius. Plastered walls of dove gray complement the Romanesque entrance and sandstone fireplace from an old Florentine home and provide the background for a fresco commemorating the first woman graduate of a college. Six windows in the alcove are made of old blown glass in tints of yellow, turquoise and light pink. Each window has shutters oddly reminiscent of the Old World. Sunshine gleams through these southern windows onto the velvet cushions, adding a touch of Italian warmth. Student scats simulate the benches of a monastery chapel. They are excellent examples of ecclesiastic furniture made suitable for classroom purposes by the addition of tablet arms. Each seat has the name and founding date of an Italian university carved on its back, reminding students and visitors alike that the first university in the world originated at Bologna in 1088. 7