ANST - Tours of Italy for the SCA

Margo Lynn Hablutzel Hablutzel at compuserve.com
Thu Sep 17 05:24:59 PDT 1998


Pug Bainter forwarded a message and said he didn't know muchabou the
company.  I have included more information below, and I was on a list that
received regular email reports during the trip.  It sounded as if they had
a terrific time, and at least once when something not on the trip sounded
more interesting than something on the trip, they rearranged things to suit
the whims of the people in the group.

I have no affiliation with this group, I was just one of the jealous ones
who did not have the tima available almost immediately to attend the last
trip.


           |\     THIS is the cutting edge of technology! 
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           |/   Morgan Cely Cain * Hablutzel at compuserve.com
                     Barony of the Steppes * Ansteorra
                          daytime: margolh at nt.com

Dallas isn't the Big Apple, but it's a close tangerine.
                            --- Dallas designer Jim Heilman (1982)

--------------- Forwarded Message ---------------

        SCA Programs

        In the late summer of 1997, a member of the Society for Creative
Anachronism happened to be in the den while work was being done on the
itinerary for a program in art appreciation and study in Italy. (See Tours)
Looking over the classes to be offered, he said, "It's a shame there aren't
classes and demonstrations like this in the arts and crafts of the medieval
and Renaissance periods. I bet SCA members would eat that up." 

         Too good a challenge to pass up! Within minutes, an E-mail was off
to our Director of European Operations, Dr. Renato Barbacane, of the
University of Chieti in Italy. Within two hours, an E-mail answer came
back, "You're too used to the west coast Renaissance Arc of Venice, Milan,
Florence, Rome, and Naples.  Bring them over to the east coast of Italy -
to Abruzzo, the region of medieval preservation in Italy." 

         The result was the first SCA-specific tour we offered - "Crusade
d'Italia: Castles to Crafts." You can see it repeated again, not once but
three times during 1999, on the list of SCA-specific tours that follows. We
sent a group of SCA members off on April 26th in 1998 to see for themselves
the small walled mountain-top cities; to walk the narrow cobbled streets;
to tour castles and churches, palaces and ruins; to watch craftsmen and
artisans still practicing the skills and crafts of armor-making,
sword-forging, paper-making, weaving, costuming, herbalism, pottery,
cooking, and more, all done as they were done centuries ago in the middle
ages. 

         The results surprised us, as well as the participants. All through
the tour, we kept getting E-mail commentary from Italy about the
activities,
reactions, surprises, and pleasures this group was encountering. If you'd
like to read about their tour, click Report. Even more surprising to me was
that, for the first time ever, natives and hosts from the country being
visited were also E-mailing me with comments about the group itself! I was
reading statements like - 

             "This group dispels the old opinion that Americans are
uncultured and ignorant of Europe's history and culture."

             "They already know our way of life. It is even more surprising
that they wish to fit right into it, instead of staring at us like
tourists." 

             "These people are scholars of our past. It is amazing to hear
them discuss.  Are you going to send more of them over?"

             "Few tourists, and even fewer Americans, truly wish to learn.
This group never tires of being taught more and more."

             "What is this Society? this SCA?" 

         The end result of 1998's tour has been that Dr. Barbacane's task
of
formulating SCA-specific tours, especially in Italy, has been made
infinitely
easier by the fact that people are calling or visiting his office
frequently with suggestions for future SCA visits, with offers for special
additions that could be put into a tour "just for this SCA," and with
reminders of all the things this last group didn't get to see and learn
that all future SCA groups must see and learn. 

         In 1999, we are going to repeat both of 1998's SCA-specific
programs, "Crusade d'Italia: Castles & Crafts" and "Crusade d'Italia:
Festivals & Faires," at the request of many SCA members who wished to go in
'98 but found too little time left to arrange such a trip once they'd heard
about it, or who had already committed to other things that could not be
abandoned. 

         The first one will be done three times, in May, August, and
October. As before, the main focus will be to find as many artisans
practicing the crafts and arts of the middle ages as possible, who will
welcome the SCA group to demonstration classes in which they can see the
techniques of past centuries in use and often have a "hands on" experience.
While we will duplicate 1998's itinerary and line-up almost exactly, we
will be adding a few more newly discovered delights to the trip, brought to
us by craftsmen who had heard about the 1998 group's visits.

         The second, regretfully, can only be offered once each year,
always
in late July and early August, and always in competition with Pennsic. That
period of two weeks is when almost every single one of the best and biggest
of the medieval festivals are held. This year we are adding some other
festivals to the four "biggies" we included last year, hence the earlier
departure date.

         In addition, there will be a 3rd Italian program: "Crusade
d'Italia: The Northern Kingdoms" and other SCA-specific medieval and
Renaissance programs to Germany, Spain, Turkey, Scandinavia, and Russia in
1999. In coming years, if the interest of SCA members is high enough to add
them, we are planning SCA-specific tours to Ireland, Scotland, Portugal,
France, England, and Czechoslovakia-Austria-Hungary. 

        1999 Tours of interest to the SCA

             The Medieval Rhineland
             Crusade d'Italia: Castles & Crafts of the Middle 
                              Ages & Renaissance
             Crusade d'Italia: Festivals & Faires in Historic
                              and Costumed Re-Creation
             Crusade d'Italia: The Northern Kingdoms
             The Russia of the Czars
             The Viking Experience
             The Moorish, Christian, & Jewish History in Spain
             Turkish Castles, Crafts, & Culture: 
                               A Journey Through Turkey's Past

                Students Abroad For EducationR & LearnerToursR
        3415 Northwest 13th Avenue - Gainesville, Florida 32605-4817 USA
        Phone: (352)375-8505 / 1-800-254-SAFE (7233) / Fax:(352)375-8877
                           Email: safelt at gnv.fdt.net


        --------------- Forwarded Message ---------------

        From:   INTERNET:safelt at gnv.fdt.net
        To:     
        Date:   Tue, Sep 15, 1998, 8:27 PM

        RE:     News for the SCA

        From: safelt at gnv.fdt.net <mailto:safelt at gnv.fdt.net> 
        To: News4SCA at compuserve.com <mailto:News4SCA at compuserve.com> 
        Subject:  News for the SCA


                Last year we organized two SCA-specific excursions to 
        Italy, to tour and study castles and medieval crafts in one, and 
        to take part in costumed medieval and Renaissance festivals and 
        faires in the other. This year, we have many more excursions 
        planned for SCA members, as well as a repeat of those two by 
        popular request. Please visit our web page: 
        http://gnv.fdt.net/~safelt and grant us the great boon of 
        passing the address along to your SCA friends so they may visit 
        as well, should it find merit with you.

                We already have invitations from all of the festivals 
        seen in the programs to have our costumed SCA members join in 
        with the townspeople and take part. And two festivals will book 
        any groups of SCA musicians that wish to perform period music 
        for them; perhaps more will ask later. One festival inquired if 
        there are any "Rapier Masters" in the group who could give an 
        exhibition - are there?

        In service,
        Johannes das Schieffer-Mueller
        (mka John Schiffermuller)

        If this email reached you by mistake, and you wish to be removed 
        from our email list, please reply to sender: 
        <safelt at gnv.fdt.net>. Included "Remove from list" in the subject 
        and your email address in the message area.


        


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