Our contact information in Italy is:

Paula Lustbader 327 859 9674 lusty@seattleu.edu Note: if dialing from a U.S. mobile phone, add the Italian country code 39 before the phone number.

Hotel Address

Sovana Hotel & Resort - Via del Duomo, 66 - Sovana - 58010 Sorano (Gr) – Italy Tel. 0564 – 617030 (use this address for both the Scilla and Sovana Hotels)

We recommend that you write this information down and carry it with you during your travel in case you need to reach us.

A seminar staff member will meet you at the Rome airport (Terminal 1 Arrivals) at 1:30pm on the first day of the seminar. You will then take a private chartered bus to Sovana. View a map of the meeting spot at the Rome airport

Please contact us IMMEDIATELY:

Hotel Address

Sovana Hotel & Resort - Via del Duomo, 66 - Sovana - 58010 Sorano (Gr) – Italy Tel. 0564 – 617030 (use this address for both the Scilla and Sovana Hotels)

If the bus has departed, the best way to get to Sovana is to take a train from Rome Termini (the main train station in Rome) to Orvieto (€8) and we will send a car service to pick you up. Please telephone us at the numbers above to let us know which train you are on to Orvieto, so that we can arrange for a car to meet you at the appropriate time. From Orvieto it is a 1 hour 15 minute car trip to Sovana that will cost you €90.

Please contact your mobile phone service provider to see about international service. As an alternative you can use Skype where there is internet or purchase an international phone card before you leave on the trip.

The easiest answer is to rent a car. There is plenty of parking in Sovana for the week. Otherwise, we recommend taking the train to Orvieto (€8) and then using a car service between Orvieto and Sovana (approximately 1 hour and 15 minute drive). The car service we use is through our transport company IdealViaggi, and it will cost you €90 from Orvieto to Sovana. Let us know if this is needed and we can help set it up for you.

The Rome Airport Hilton (not the Hilton Garden) is connected to Fiumicino Airport through a skyway and is extremely convenient for early morning departures.

It is a good idea to arrive in a country with some of the local currency on hand, so we advise buying some Euros before you leave the U.S. There are ATMs on the arrivals levels of all the terminals at the airport, as well as in Sovana and in the surrounding towns. If you don’t use ATMs, there are currency exchange facilities in the airport, but they tend to offer a less favorable exchange rate than banks elsewhere do.

There is wireless internet in the public spaces of both the Hotel Sovana and Hotel Scilla. There is also wireless internet in the seminar room and in the town square. The wireless does not extend to the hotel rooms because of the thick stone walls.

There are no public laundry facilities in Sovana, but the hotel can launder items for €4 a kilo. A few days after you arrive in Sovana there will be an option to drop off laundry at the hotel front desk, and it will be returned the next day in the afternoon, unless it rains heavily, then the clothing will need an extra day to dry.

Yes, both the Scilla and Sovana hotels have hair dryers. They are, however, not very powerful.

Italy Adapter Plug B works in most of the outlets at both hotels. The plug adapters are widely available in the U.S. on Amazon or from some electronics stores.

Yes, there is one. Sometimes it does run out of cash, but it is usually replenished in a few days.

There is not. If you intend to exchange Dollars for Euros, we recommend doing it before you leave the U.S. or in Rome before you meet the group.

Sovana is a very small village. There are small shops that sell snacks like gelato, pizza, and drinks, but there are no larger grocery stores or a pharmacy; the closest of these are in Pitigliano. There is an excursion to Pitigilano on the 3rd day of the seminar.

The weather in Sovana is generally a bit warmer than Seattle. In October and April the weather will be in the high 60’s to low 70’s during the day and chilly at night –down to the low 50’s or high 40’s. There may be rain, so bring waterproof shoes and rain gear.

There are a few small shops in Sovana that sell leather goods, wood products, jewelry and wine. They are all very close to the seminar room. There will be a small amount of time during the Pitigliano and Sorano city excursions to visit a wider variety of shops.

The course materials will be posted on the registration site about one week before the program.  We will send an email alerting the group when they are ready. We will also bring flash drives for each person loaded with the course materials. The course materials are voluminous, and it is not necessary to print the entire set. We recommend using the electronic version.

The dress for the seminar is casual. Some folks do dress up a bit more for the closing banquet. All of the excursions require good walking shoes and the seminar room is often cold in the morning – we recommend a sweater and warm socks as the stone floors in your hotel room can get chilly!

Yes, we have included tips for the hotel staff, servers, bus drivers and tour guide. You are, of course, welcome to tip more if you feel you have received great service.