Meals

A typical Italian breakfast, consisting of coffee or cappuccino and pastries, will be offered at a local café right across from the school; lunch will consist of boxed lunch, delivered and consumed at the site in a designated break area; dinner will be served at a local restaurant and will consist of several “family-style” courses. While every effort will be made to accommodate students with severe food allergies (nuts, shellfish, etc.), there is no guarantee that individual lifestyles and dietary choices (vegetarianism, veganism, etc.) will be accommodated. Students with severe food allergies are required to communicate their specific dietary restrictions to the field school’s organizers immediately upon admission. Meals are not provided during weekends and at any other time when the field school is not in session.

Accommodations

Students and staff will be housed in a school building located about 1 mile east of the site, in the municipality of Altopascio. The school building is equipped with cots with mattresses, restrooms, and showers. Typically, students will share their sleeping quarters with other students of the same sex.  Restrooms are also available at the site. Students are responsible for bringing their own sheets/sleeping bags, towels and toiletries (see Clothing and Equipment).

Local Transportation

The field school will arrange student pick-ups at the airports in Pisa and Florence on the day prior to the start day of the field school. Students who will not be able to meet the field school staff at the pre-scheduled pick-up times will be responsible for making arrangements to get to Altopascio. Students are responsible for making arrangements to leave Altopascio on the last day of the field school. On that date, the field school will offer transportation only to Altopascio’s train station.

For the entire duration of the field school, all students will be provided with bicycles, which will be at their disposal not only for reaching the excavation site (approx. 1 mile away) but also for visiting the surrounding area. Bicycles represent an ecological, economic, and functional means of transportation that will allow the students to visit Lucca (approx. 10 miles) and to easily reach the train station in Altopascio (approx. 1 mile). Faculty and staff will have vehicles for transportation of materials and supplies to and from the site, as well for any emergency transportation.