University of Pittsburgh - Owl Yearbook (Pittsburgh, PA)

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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

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THE TALIAN ROOM 16

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THE ERMAN ROOM 18